Discussion Questions and Further Reading

August 26, 2024

We hope the stories in each issue of Oregon Humanities are the beginning of conversations and exploration for our readers. Here you'll find some prompts for discussing these articles with others, as well as links to books, articles, and organizations where you can learn more about the stories and ideas explored in the "Public" issue.

Questions

  • In "From Hedge to Hedge," Wendy Willis asks, “What if the democracy of what is is infinitely more pluralistic than we have ever imagined? And what if the full pluralism of what is requires more than including prairie dogs and redbud trees in our lawsuits and public processes?” What do you think a democracy that encompasses the other-than-human world would look like? How would it differ from democracy as it exists in our world today?
  • In “Nowhere to Hide,” Casey Chaffin explains the importance of developing a safety plan, or “a document that lays out a plan in case a crisis occurs—whether that be a mental health crisis, a medical emergency, or some other kind of disruption to one’s life.” Such plans, she writes, answer questions like: “Who are you comfortable with me calling? If this [emergency situation] is going on, do you want to go somewhere? Where? What are the places you don’t want to go? And in what circumstances?” Would you consider implementing a safety plan in your own life? And if you were to draft your own plan, what specific questions or considerations would you include?
  • In “We Contain Multitudes,” Joon Ae Haworth-Kaufka writes about how mainstream narratives about adoption have often prioritized the perspectives of adoptive parents while excluding the voices and experiences of adoptees themselves. She writes, “We all know the quintessential adoption story: A baby is born in [insert: name of third  world country] to a mother who is [insert: single, destitute, a prostitute, a victim of sexual assault, dead] and was abandoned [insert: in the trash, on a doorstep, in a box, to the nuns] to be adopted by parents who [insert: offer unconditional love, don’t see race, deserve to be parents]. Ultimately, the child has [insert: a better life, opportunity, freedom, wealth, Christianity]. The story invariably ends with [insert: gratitude, gratitude, gratitude].” Did reading Joon Ae’s piece contextualize or complicate this “quintessential story” for you? Did you learn anything that surprised you? Why do you think you were surprised?
  • Joni Kabana’s essay, "The Power of Community Spaces," recounts her journey from urban life to rural Eastern Oregon, where she has transformed an old general store into a community hub for art, music, and connection. Think about where you live—are there community spaces that are free and open to all? How might the creation of community spaces, like the one described in the essay, contribute to the social and economic vitality of communities, and to rural communities in particular? What sorts of impacts—social, political, economic–might the loss of these spaces have on Oregon or the country more broadly?  
  • The three essays by Brett Zimmerman, Mark Putney, and Eddie Melendrez offer different perspectives on public service work from a teacher, a firefighter, and a local elected official. What other kinds of work fall under the category of “public service”? What distinguishes public service from categories of labor?
  • In "Writing on the Wall,"Enrique Bautista emphasizes the importance of understanding “the person behind the tag.” How does this perspective challenge the way society typically views graffiti and those who create it? What steps can communities take to foster understanding and empathy?

 

Further Reading

“From Hedge to Hedge”

Wendy Willis recommends the following:

 

“Nowhere to Hide”

Casey Chaffin recommends the following:

  • Strangers to Ourselves: Unsettled Minds and the Stories that Make Us by Rachel Aviv. “This book is a deep dive into how narratives about mental illness shape people's experiences, told through several profiles of individuals.”

  • "What if you couldn't find your way home?" from This is Actually Happening podcast. “The episode linked here is actually about a woman who lives in Portland, who experienced a psychotic episode and ended up homeless for a period as a result.”

  • NAMI Oregon (@NAMIOregon on Instagram), the state chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, where people can find local chapters that offer information, resources and support groups for both people with mental health diagnoses and their loved ones. (Local chapter locator linked here.)

  • Project LETS (@ProjectLETS on Instagram), an organization dedicated to anti-carceral peer support, political education, and advocacy services.

  • Friends of Portland Street Response (@FriendsofPSR on Instagram), an organization that advocates for better funding and political support for Portland Street Response.

 

“We Contain Multitudes”

Joon Ae Haworth-Kaufka recommends the following:

Websites

 

Books

 

Podcasts

 

“The Power of Community Spaces”

“After Fire”

Brett Zimmerman recommends the following:

“A Radical Idea”

Mark Putney recommends the following:

  • "More Divided Than Ever," Hidden Brain podcast

  • "Us 2.0: Not at the Dinner Table," Hidden Brain podcast  

  • "How to Save a Sad, Lonely, Angry and Mean Society," David Brooks, New York Times (January 25, 2024) 

  • "America Should be in the Middle of a Schools Revolution." David Brooks, New York Times (February 16, 2023)

  • "The Rungs," Benjamin Gucciardi, Poetry Unbound Podcast 

  • The Courage to Teach by Parker Palmer 

  • "What College Students Really Think About Cancel Culture," Jennifer Miller, the Atlantic, (February 4, 2022)

  • BridgeUSA, a “multi-partisan student movement that champions viewpoint diversity, responsible discourse, and a solution-oriented political culture.”

 

“An Honor and a Duty”

Eddie Melendrez is a 2024–26 Fields Artist Fellow. You can read more about Eddie and the fellowship, a collaboration between Oregon Humanities and the Oregon Community Foundation, on the fellowship page.

Eddie appeared on The Detour in 2022 to talk about divides in his community.

“Writing on the Wall”

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Also in this Issue

From the Director: West of Boardman

Editor's Note: Public

Poem: Anonymous

From Hedge to Hedge

Nowhere to Hide

We Contain Multitudes

The Power of Community Spaces

After Fire

A Radical Idea

An Honor and a Duty

Writing on the Wall

Posts

People, Places, Things: Paul Knauls, Portland

Discussion Questions and Further Reading

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