Oregon Humanities
@oregonhumanities.org
Oregon Humanities connects people and communities through conversation, storytelling, and participatory programs to inspire understanding and collaborative change.
Pinned
Late last night, we received notice that an NEH grant intended to support our work through 2027 has been terminated in its entirety, along with grants for all other state and jurisdictional humanities councils.
Here's how you can help:
oregonhumanities.org/who/advocacy
Here's how you can help:
oregonhumanities.org/who/advocacy
Four Oregon artists have been named Fields Artist Fellows, each receiving $150,000 over two years to advance their creative practice and deepen their community impact.
• Amber Kay Ball (Portland)
• Yanely Rivas Maldonado (Salem)
• Talilo Marfil (Portland)
• Ernesto Javier Martínez (Eugene)
+more
• Amber Kay Ball (Portland)
• Yanely Rivas Maldonado (Salem)
• Talilo Marfil (Portland)
• Ernesto Javier Martínez (Eugene)
+more
January 16, 2026 at 5:45 PM
Four Oregon artists have been named Fields Artist Fellows, each receiving $150,000 over two years to advance their creative practice and deepen their community impact.
• Amber Kay Ball (Portland)
• Yanely Rivas Maldonado (Salem)
• Talilo Marfil (Portland)
• Ernesto Javier Martínez (Eugene)
+more
• Amber Kay Ball (Portland)
• Yanely Rivas Maldonado (Salem)
• Talilo Marfil (Portland)
• Ernesto Javier Martínez (Eugene)
+more
On Friday, January 23, we're gathering for Tough Shit, an onstage conversation about the most challenging questions Portlanders are facing.
Join us at 7:00 p.m. at PAM CUT Tomorrow Theater.
Tickets + info:
tomorrowtheater.org/movies/tough...
Join us at 7:00 p.m. at PAM CUT Tomorrow Theater.
Tickets + info:
tomorrowtheater.org/movies/tough...
January 13, 2026 at 8:49 PM
On Friday, January 23, we're gathering for Tough Shit, an onstage conversation about the most challenging questions Portlanders are facing.
Join us at 7:00 p.m. at PAM CUT Tomorrow Theater.
Tickets + info:
tomorrowtheater.org/movies/tough...
Join us at 7:00 p.m. at PAM CUT Tomorrow Theater.
Tickets + info:
tomorrowtheater.org/movies/tough...
This month on The Detour, we're talking with Akhil Reed Amar about equality and the Constitution: what it means, where we live up to our hopes and where we fall short, and how understandings of equality have changed throughout our nation's history.
Listen here: oregonhumanities.org/rll/podcast/...
Listen here: oregonhumanities.org/rll/podcast/...
January 13, 2026 at 12:38 AM
This month on The Detour, we're talking with Akhil Reed Amar about equality and the Constitution: what it means, where we live up to our hopes and where we fall short, and how understandings of equality have changed throughout our nation's history.
Listen here: oregonhumanities.org/rll/podcast/...
Listen here: oregonhumanities.org/rll/podcast/...
Reposted by Oregon Humanities
It was me!
As we digest more and more incredibly shitty news, I wrote this for @oregonhumanities.org as an offering for each of us to take in and learn all that we can from the resiliency of the ocean.
As we digest more and more incredibly shitty news, I wrote this for @oregonhumanities.org as an offering for each of us to take in and learn all that we can from the resiliency of the ocean.
A beautiful piece from a friend writing back in Oregon about life by the ocean, the energy that it generates, and the need for community in order to meet possible emergencies. Brilliant, @katelovesmath.bsky.social.
Wave Lessons
Kate Ertmann on what the ocean can teach us about rural emergency preparedness.
oregonhumanities.org
January 7, 2026 at 8:16 PM
It was me!
As we digest more and more incredibly shitty news, I wrote this for @oregonhumanities.org as an offering for each of us to take in and learn all that we can from the resiliency of the ocean.
As we digest more and more incredibly shitty news, I wrote this for @oregonhumanities.org as an offering for each of us to take in and learn all that we can from the resiliency of the ocean.
At the end of a challenging year, our staff shares a few of the conversations, stories, and moments that stood out from our work, helped us think differently, and strengthened our sense of community.
Thanks for being part of our work in 2025.
oregonhumanities.cmail19.com/t/t-e-wlkdhu...
Thanks for being part of our work in 2025.
oregonhumanities.cmail19.com/t/t-e-wlkdhu...
December 23, 2025 at 9:02 PM
At the end of a challenging year, our staff shares a few of the conversations, stories, and moments that stood out from our work, helped us think differently, and strengthened our sense of community.
Thanks for being part of our work in 2025.
oregonhumanities.cmail19.com/t/t-e-wlkdhu...
Thanks for being part of our work in 2025.
oregonhumanities.cmail19.com/t/t-e-wlkdhu...
We were thrilled to hear the news this week that two essays published in Oregon Humanities magazine were listed among the "Notable Essays and Literary Nonfiction of 2024" in the most recent 'Best American Essays' anthology.
December 19, 2025 at 11:35 PM
We were thrilled to hear the news this week that two essays published in Oregon Humanities magazine were listed among the "Notable Essays and Literary Nonfiction of 2024" in the most recent 'Best American Essays' anthology.
Throughout 2026, Oregon Humanities will get Oregonians together to talk about democracy, freedom, and what it means to be an American—now and into the future.
We’re offering sixteen facilitated conversations, open to communities around the state.
Learn more: oregonhumanities.org/programs/con...
We’re offering sixteen facilitated conversations, open to communities around the state.
Learn more: oregonhumanities.org/programs/con...
Beyond 250: Conversations About Democracy and Community
Throughout 2026, Oregon Humanities will get Oregonians together to talk about democracy, freedom, and what it means to be an American—today and into the future.
oregonhumanities.org
December 17, 2025 at 8:33 PM
Throughout 2026, Oregon Humanities will get Oregonians together to talk about democracy, freedom, and what it means to be an American—now and into the future.
We’re offering sixteen facilitated conversations, open to communities around the state.
Learn more: oregonhumanities.org/programs/con...
We’re offering sixteen facilitated conversations, open to communities around the state.
Learn more: oregonhumanities.org/programs/con...
The High Desert Museum is launching the Schnitzer Prize of the West, a new annual prize awarding $50K to an individual or small group whose work addresses environmental & conservation challenges of the American West.
Nominations are open through 1/30/26. highdesertmuseum.org/schnitzer-pr...
Nominations are open through 1/30/26. highdesertmuseum.org/schnitzer-pr...
Schnitzer Prize of the West - High Desert Museum
highdesertmuseum.org
December 15, 2025 at 10:55 PM
The High Desert Museum is launching the Schnitzer Prize of the West, a new annual prize awarding $50K to an individual or small group whose work addresses environmental & conservation challenges of the American West.
Nominations are open through 1/30/26. highdesertmuseum.org/schnitzer-pr...
Nominations are open through 1/30/26. highdesertmuseum.org/schnitzer-pr...
In our newest issue, now online, Dawn Marie Knopf traces the growth of the US highway network that disrupted communities and displaced thousands—and asks whether it can be made more humane.
oregonhumanities.org/rll/magazine...
oregonhumanities.org/rll/magazine...
On Tender Systems
An essay by Dawn Marie Knopf about the history of the US highway system, the costs of its creation, and conflicts over freeway expansion in Portland
oregonhumanities.org
December 11, 2025 at 10:38 PM
In our newest issue, now online, Dawn Marie Knopf traces the growth of the US highway network that disrupted communities and displaced thousands—and asks whether it can be made more humane.
oregonhumanities.org/rll/magazine...
oregonhumanities.org/rll/magazine...
Traveling over the next few days?
Cue up a few episodes of This Place, our short podcast featuring audio postcards from around the state, spoken by the people who live there.
Here's where we've been so far this year:
oregonhumanities.org/rll/podcast/...
Cue up a few episodes of This Place, our short podcast featuring audio postcards from around the state, spoken by the people who live there.
Here's where we've been so far this year:
oregonhumanities.org/rll/podcast/...
November 26, 2025 at 9:32 PM
Traveling over the next few days?
Cue up a few episodes of This Place, our short podcast featuring audio postcards from around the state, spoken by the people who live there.
Here's where we've been so far this year:
oregonhumanities.org/rll/podcast/...
Cue up a few episodes of This Place, our short podcast featuring audio postcards from around the state, spoken by the people who live there.
Here's where we've been so far this year:
oregonhumanities.org/rll/podcast/...
We're mentioned in Jill Lepore's recent New Yorker story on how cultural + historical orgs are programming around the nation's 250th anniversary—amid sweeping funding cuts, censorship, and more.
The piece describes our Beyond250 series as "one of the better stories." tinyurl.com/y5byba9u
The piece describes our Beyond250 series as "one of the better stories." tinyurl.com/y5byba9u
What Was the American Revolution For?
Amid plans to mark the nation’s semiquincentennial, many are asking whether or not the people really do rule, and whether the law is still king.
www.newyorker.com
November 17, 2025 at 9:38 PM
We're mentioned in Jill Lepore's recent New Yorker story on how cultural + historical orgs are programming around the nation's 250th anniversary—amid sweeping funding cuts, censorship, and more.
The piece describes our Beyond250 series as "one of the better stories." tinyurl.com/y5byba9u
The piece describes our Beyond250 series as "one of the better stories." tinyurl.com/y5byba9u
We're accepting pitches and feature-length submissions from Oregon writers for our Spring issue, Labor.
Looking for: essays, journalism, and criticism between 1,500 and 4,000 words. Pay is $750–1,500, depending on length and complexity.
Read more: oregonhumanities.org/rll/magazine...
Looking for: essays, journalism, and criticism between 1,500 and 4,000 words. Pay is $750–1,500, depending on length and complexity.
Read more: oregonhumanities.org/rll/magazine...
November 14, 2025 at 6:28 PM
We're accepting pitches and feature-length submissions from Oregon writers for our Spring issue, Labor.
Looking for: essays, journalism, and criticism between 1,500 and 4,000 words. Pay is $750–1,500, depending on length and complexity.
Read more: oregonhumanities.org/rll/magazine...
Looking for: essays, journalism, and criticism between 1,500 and 4,000 words. Pay is $750–1,500, depending on length and complexity.
Read more: oregonhumanities.org/rll/magazine...
Are you ready for test your knowledge of Portland's literary scene?
Hope to see you tomorrow at Dear Sandy!
Hope to see you tomorrow at Dear Sandy!
Attn book + trivia nerds 📚
We're teaming up with Buckman Publishing for a night of local literary trivia in Portland. Come celebrate our region's storied history and win bookish prizes!
Organized in partnership with Literary Arts' Cover to Cover series.
oregonhumanities.org/events/liter...
We're teaming up with Buckman Publishing for a night of local literary trivia in Portland. Come celebrate our region's storied history and win bookish prizes!
Organized in partnership with Literary Arts' Cover to Cover series.
oregonhumanities.org/events/liter...
Literary Trivia with Oregon Humanities and Buckman Publishing
<p> Oregon Humanities and Buckman Publishing are pairing up for a night of literary trivia at Dear Sandy! We’re highlighting the ways that Portland’s unique culture, geography, and history have shaped...
oregonhumanities.org
November 4, 2025 at 9:56 PM
Are you ready for test your knowledge of Portland's literary scene?
Hope to see you tomorrow at Dear Sandy!
Hope to see you tomorrow at Dear Sandy!
The energy was electric for our first Consider This of the season! You all really showed UP in Portland and at watch parties in La Grande, Salem, and Clatskanie. Thanks to everyone who joined and to Akhil for an in-depth, important conversation.
Catch it in full: www.youtube.com/live/BiX5PGR...
Catch it in full: www.youtube.com/live/BiX5PGR...
October 28, 2025 at 11:19 PM
The energy was electric for our first Consider This of the season! You all really showed UP in Portland and at watch parties in La Grande, Salem, and Clatskanie. Thanks to everyone who joined and to Akhil for an in-depth, important conversation.
Catch it in full: www.youtube.com/live/BiX5PGR...
Catch it in full: www.youtube.com/live/BiX5PGR...
Tonight!
We're looking forward to tonight's conversation with constitutional law scholar Akhil Reed Amar. The Portland event has sold out, but you can still join our free live stream—or one of our watch parties in La Grande, Clatskanie, and Salem.
oregonhumanities.org/programs/con...
We're looking forward to tonight's conversation with constitutional law scholar Akhil Reed Amar. The Portland event has sold out, but you can still join our free live stream—or one of our watch parties in La Grande, Clatskanie, and Salem.
oregonhumanities.org/programs/con...
Consider This: Equality and the Constitution with Akhil Reed Amar
Join us for a conversation with one of the country’s leading thinkers on constitutional law. October 27 at the Alberta Rose Theatre in Portland.
oregonhumanities.org
October 27, 2025 at 4:50 PM
Tonight!
We're looking forward to tonight's conversation with constitutional law scholar Akhil Reed Amar. The Portland event has sold out, but you can still join our free live stream—or one of our watch parties in La Grande, Clatskanie, and Salem.
oregonhumanities.org/programs/con...
We're looking forward to tonight's conversation with constitutional law scholar Akhil Reed Amar. The Portland event has sold out, but you can still join our free live stream—or one of our watch parties in La Grande, Clatskanie, and Salem.
oregonhumanities.org/programs/con...
Less than a week to go until our new #ConsiderThis series kicks off with Akhil Reed Amar! We'll explore what the notion of equality has meant for our laws, history, and national identity—and consider how we strive toward this ideal today.
Learn more:
oregonhumanities.org/programs/con...
Learn more:
oregonhumanities.org/programs/con...
Consider This: Equality and the Constitution with Akhil Reed Amar
Join us for a conversation with one of the country’s leading thinkers on constitutional law. October 27 at the Alberta Rose Theatre in Portland.
oregonhumanities.org
October 21, 2025 at 6:52 PM
Less than a week to go until our new #ConsiderThis series kicks off with Akhil Reed Amar! We'll explore what the notion of equality has meant for our laws, history, and national identity—and consider how we strive toward this ideal today.
Learn more:
oregonhumanities.org/programs/con...
Learn more:
oregonhumanities.org/programs/con...
In a recent episode of his podcast ,"Amarica’s Constitution," @akhilreedamar.bsky.social dives into the question of whether major tariffs are constitutional—drawing on history, legal precedent, and the text of the Constitution itself.
akhilamar.com/podcast-2/
akhilamar.com/podcast-2/
Amarica's Constitution
In this new podcast, Professor Amar offers weekly in-depth discussions on the most urgent and fascinating constitutional issues of our day. He is joined by host Andy Lipka and frequent guests: other t...
akhilamar.com
October 15, 2025 at 8:02 PM
In a recent episode of his podcast ,"Amarica’s Constitution," @akhilreedamar.bsky.social dives into the question of whether major tariffs are constitutional—drawing on history, legal precedent, and the text of the Constitution itself.
akhilamar.com/podcast-2/
akhilamar.com/podcast-2/
Attn book + trivia nerds 📚
We're teaming up with Buckman Publishing for a night of local literary trivia in Portland. Come celebrate our region's storied history and win bookish prizes!
Organized in partnership with Literary Arts' Cover to Cover series.
oregonhumanities.org/events/liter...
We're teaming up with Buckman Publishing for a night of local literary trivia in Portland. Come celebrate our region's storied history and win bookish prizes!
Organized in partnership with Literary Arts' Cover to Cover series.
oregonhumanities.org/events/liter...
Literary Trivia with Oregon Humanities and Buckman Publishing
<p> Oregon Humanities and Buckman Publishing are pairing up for a night of literary trivia at Dear Sandy! We’re highlighting the ways that Portland’s unique culture, geography, and history have shaped...
oregonhumanities.org
October 14, 2025 at 12:06 AM
Attn book + trivia nerds 📚
We're teaming up with Buckman Publishing for a night of local literary trivia in Portland. Come celebrate our region's storied history and win bookish prizes!
Organized in partnership with Literary Arts' Cover to Cover series.
oregonhumanities.org/events/liter...
We're teaming up with Buckman Publishing for a night of local literary trivia in Portland. Come celebrate our region's storied history and win bookish prizes!
Organized in partnership with Literary Arts' Cover to Cover series.
oregonhumanities.org/events/liter...
Tomorrow in Corvallis, our executive director Adam Davis will host a panel discussion, The Future of Indigenous Food in the Kalapuya Ilihi, part of the Champinefu Lecture Series at OSU's PRAx.
Free and open to all: prax.oregonstate.edu/events/champ...
Free and open to all: prax.oregonstate.edu/events/champ...
October 7, 2025 at 10:19 PM
Tomorrow in Corvallis, our executive director Adam Davis will host a panel discussion, The Future of Indigenous Food in the Kalapuya Ilihi, part of the Champinefu Lecture Series at OSU's PRAx.
Free and open to all: prax.oregonstate.edu/events/champ...
Free and open to all: prax.oregonstate.edu/events/champ...
"Our written constitution, though far from perfect, remains the basis of our republic, but that terse text will not save us. Without a national narrative, our republic cannot long endure.”
A recent essay from author and constitutional scholar Akhil Reed Amar: www.thefp.com/p/the-consti...
A recent essay from author and constitutional scholar Akhil Reed Amar: www.thefp.com/p/the-consti...
The Constitution Can’t Save Us. Only We Can.
Newly minted democracies began to prevail across the globe after 1787, and they did so thanks largely to the political and cultural success of America’s Constitution, writes Akhil Reed Amar. “The mode...
www.thefp.com
September 25, 2025 at 7:16 PM
"Our written constitution, though far from perfect, remains the basis of our republic, but that terse text will not save us. Without a national narrative, our republic cannot long endure.”
A recent essay from author and constitutional scholar Akhil Reed Amar: www.thefp.com/p/the-consti...
A recent essay from author and constitutional scholar Akhil Reed Amar: www.thefp.com/p/the-consti...
We loved seeing our 2024 Community Storytelling Fellow Sarah Fox and her fellowship project—The Watershed Rock Opera—featured in a recent article for @sierraclub.org magazine!
www.sierraclub.org/sierra/2025-...
www.sierraclub.org/sierra/2025-...
SIERRA: The national magazine of the Sierra Club
Sierra
www.sierraclub.org
September 17, 2025 at 8:19 PM
We loved seeing our 2024 Community Storytelling Fellow Sarah Fox and her fellowship project—The Watershed Rock Opera—featured in a recent article for @sierraclub.org magazine!
www.sierraclub.org/sierra/2025-...
www.sierraclub.org/sierra/2025-...
We're excited to share several local watch parties for our first Consider This conversation of the season!
On October 27, join folks in La Grande, Clatskanie, and Salem for a live screening of our onstage conversation with Akhil Reed Amar: Details: oregonhumanities.org/programs/con...
On October 27, join folks in La Grande, Clatskanie, and Salem for a live screening of our onstage conversation with Akhil Reed Amar: Details: oregonhumanities.org/programs/con...
September 5, 2025 at 6:12 PM
We're excited to share several local watch parties for our first Consider This conversation of the season!
On October 27, join folks in La Grande, Clatskanie, and Salem for a live screening of our onstage conversation with Akhil Reed Amar: Details: oregonhumanities.org/programs/con...
On October 27, join folks in La Grande, Clatskanie, and Salem for a live screening of our onstage conversation with Akhil Reed Amar: Details: oregonhumanities.org/programs/con...
Theater artist and educator Paul Susi spends his evenings and weekends helping people recover lost driver’s licenses and birth certificates.
In the "Real" issue, he writes about what it takes to navigate the bureaucratic maze of legal documentation.
oregonhumanities.org/rll/magazine...
In the "Real" issue, he writes about what it takes to navigate the bureaucratic maze of legal documentation.
oregonhumanities.org/rll/magazine...
Who We Really Are
Paul Susi writes about the challenges of recovering lost legal ID and what it takes to prove you are who you say you are.
oregonhumanities.org
September 5, 2025 at 12:59 AM
Theater artist and educator Paul Susi spends his evenings and weekends helping people recover lost driver’s licenses and birth certificates.
In the "Real" issue, he writes about what it takes to navigate the bureaucratic maze of legal documentation.
oregonhumanities.org/rll/magazine...
In the "Real" issue, he writes about what it takes to navigate the bureaucratic maze of legal documentation.
oregonhumanities.org/rll/magazine...
Now online: Natchee Barnd investigates how public art installations around Oregon are engaging in Indigenous Placekeeping.
oregonhumanities.org/rll/magazine...
oregonhumanities.org/rll/magazine...
Placekeeping in the Pacific Northwest
Natchee Barnd writes about how public art helps re-mark traditional territories, promote long-submerged traditional art forms, and enhance cultural and spatial practices for Indigenous people.
oregonhumanities.org
September 4, 2025 at 8:57 PM
Now online: Natchee Barnd investigates how public art installations around Oregon are engaging in Indigenous Placekeeping.
oregonhumanities.org/rll/magazine...
oregonhumanities.org/rll/magazine...
"What does it mean to routinely move through the places we live in a machine designed to encourage escapism?"
In the "Real" issue, Meg Wade explains how car culture has led to the erasure of public transit in rural Oregon, disconnecting people in the process.
oregonhumanities.org/rll/magazine...
In the "Real" issue, Meg Wade explains how car culture has led to the erasure of public transit in rural Oregon, disconnecting people in the process.
oregonhumanities.org/rll/magazine...
Uncanny Cars
Meg Wade on seeing beyond the windshield in rural Oregon
oregonhumanities.org
September 3, 2025 at 9:57 PM
"What does it mean to routinely move through the places we live in a machine designed to encourage escapism?"
In the "Real" issue, Meg Wade explains how car culture has led to the erasure of public transit in rural Oregon, disconnecting people in the process.
oregonhumanities.org/rll/magazine...
In the "Real" issue, Meg Wade explains how car culture has led to the erasure of public transit in rural Oregon, disconnecting people in the process.
oregonhumanities.org/rll/magazine...