OCH Publications > Oregon Humanities table of contents
Oregon Humanities is a journal of ideas and perspectives published three times a year by the Oregon Council for the Humanities. Each issue includes essays and articles that explore a particular theme from a variety of perspectives, broadening the ways in which readers think about a subject and providing a basis for further thoughtful discussion.
Oregon Humanities Spring 2008
- Kathleen Holt
- EDITOR
- Jennifer Viviano
- GRAPHIC DESIGN
- Leigh van der Werff
- PUBLICATIONS ASSISTANT
- Allison Dubinsky
- COPY EDITOR
- Editorial Advisory Board
- Tom Booth
- Brian Doyle
- Debra Gwartney
- Julia Heydon
- Marianne Keddington-Lang
- Guy Maynard
- Win McCormack
- Camela Raymond
- Kate Sage
- Rich Wandschneider
- Curt Yehnert
Oregon Humanities, a journal of ideas and perspectives about the humanities, is published triannually by the Oregon Council for the Humanities, 812 SW Washington Street, Suite 225, Portland, Oregon 97205.
We welcome letters from readers. If you would like a letter published, subject to editorial discretion, please include a daytime telephone number. Letters may be edited for reasons of space or clarity. Oregon Humanities is provided free of charge.
To be on the mailing list to receive this magazine, please e-mail us, or call the OCH office at (503) 241-0543 or (800) 735-0543.
To submit articles and essays for consideration, please read our writers' guidelines.
A Small, Generous World
Like so many other city dwellers, I spend my days in the company of strangers. In the simple daily acts of walking on the streets of downtown Portland, riding in elevators, or commuting on buses, I swirl along with the masses, all of us trying not to touch one another or make eye contact or have any but the most fleeting interactions. In our more tender moments, we exchange quick smiles, hold doors open for each other, or agree that the weather is ghastly or sublime.
Perhaps it's easier to move among each other in this perfunctory way, investing more energy and interest in friends, colleagues, and acquaintances. After all, there are more strangers in the world than there are people any one of us might know. Keeping the masses nameless and faceless makes it easier to navigate this a large and complex world.
But on my worst days, I fear that I move not among strangers, but around them, making quick assessments and categorizations as I efficiently get from point A to point B. I fear I resemble the disengaged narrator of Raymond Carver's short story "Cathedral," who, when faced with the prospect of meeting his wife's blind friend, makes judgments and assumptions about the unknown man, dismissively remarking, "I wasn't enthusiastic about his visit. He was no one I knew." But the narrator's attitude changes over the course of an evening as he, his wife, and their guest share food, drink, and words, becoming familiar to one another in the process. Carver once commented that "Cathedral" was one of his favorite stories, saying he wrote it during "a period of generosity."
What would our daily interactions be like if we were not only more generous with and curious about each other, but also willing to make the world a smaller place? In his New Yorker article exploring the small world theory (also known as "six degrees of separation"), Malcolm Gladwell profiles Lois Weisberg, a Chicago woman who seemingly "knows everyone." Gladwell notes that people like Lois don't merely know a lot of people--they belong to many different worlds and, in effect, connect the rest of us to each other. He adds that there's not anything magical or special going on here; Lois simply "knows lots of people because she likes lots of people. And all those people ... invariably like her, too, because there is nothing more irresistible to a human being than to be unqualifiedly liked by another." When viewed in this way, a world full of strangers who could possibly like each other seems like an exhilarating rather than overwhelming place.
As you join us in the exploration of "Strangers" on the following pages, you may notice that this issue of Oregon Humanities looks a little different than previous ones. This redesign reflects both the editorial board's recommendations and feedback from a recent readers' survey. Both groups wanted to see the magazine more often (this issue kicks off our first year as a triannual publication) and also wanted more art and news about the Oregon Council for the Humanities. We've done our best to oblige. Of course, not everything has changed: you'll still find the same compelling stories and ideas that you're accustomed to. We hope you like the direction we're heading in. Please drop us a line and tell me what you think.
--Kathleen Holt, Editor
Published in the Spring 2008 issue of Oregon Humanities.
© 2008 Oregon Council for the Humanities