Global and Local — Oregon Humanities

Telling Our Story

May Saechao writes about how the Iu Mien community connects to history and traditions across time and distance.

Magazine | August 24, 2022

Unstable Connections

Caroline Gao writes about the possibilities enabled by digital communications and the challenges of making these opportunities available to all.

Magazine | December 15, 2021

Hidden Histories: Pendleton's Early Chinese Community

The ninth and final program in the Portland Chinatown Museum's series Hidden Histories: Oregon's Early Chinatowns and Chinese Worker Settlements looks at the history of Pendleton. Since at least the 1980s, tourism, media depictions, and even well-known works of fiction have promoted the idea that nineteenth-century Chinese immigrants built and occupied an extensive tunnel network under the city of Pendleton and in many other locations throughout the American West. In this program, Priscilla Wegars, PhD, and Renae Campbell, MA, will explore these "Chinese tunnel" rumors and compare those in Pendleton with the historical record of Pendleton’s Chinese community.

Register for this free event.

Event | December 18, 2021

Hidden Histories: Deconstructing the Astorian Chinese Experience

The Portland Chinatown Museum is pleased to announce the eighth program in the Hidden Histories: Oregon's Early Chinatowns and Chinese Worker Settlements series. Please join us on Saturday, October 30, 2021, with featured speakers Dr. Chelsea K. Vaughn, Liisa Penner, and Suenn Ho. In 1870, Astoria had thirteen Chinese residents. A decade later, that number had grown to 1,208 in Astoria proper, with an additional 924 individuals in what was then described as “Upper Astoria,” at the east end of town. Countywide, there were 2,317 residents of Chinese descent, accounting for a full one-third of Clatsop County’s population. The recruitment of laborers to work in the fish canneries accounted for a majority of this growth, but this period also saw an influx of Chinese merchants, whose businesses would cater to both the local Chinese community as well as the broader population of Astoria. Increased mechanization within the canneries combined with exclusionary laws would greatly reduce the number of Chinese laborers living in Astoria by century’s end, and in the years that followed, the full scope of this history would be minimized and the poor treatment experienced by many in the community would be obscured. For our panel, we will look at this larger history, question what it means for this history to be deliberately forgotten, and examine the experiences of the small Chinese American community that remained. This program is made possible in part by a grant from Oregon Humanities.

Event | October 30, 2021

Conspiracy Theories

In this program, we’ll explore some conspiracy theories old and new, famous and obscure. What common themes do they share? How do they operate as stories and how do they evolve? What’s the difference between a conspiracy theory and myth, folklore, and “fake news”? We’ll talk about the mechanics of conspiracy theories as we explore how to determine what’s true, what’s false, and whom to trust.

Event | July 22, 2021

Love and Noodles

Marilou Carrera writes about the meaning of pancit, a dish that is so much more than just fried noodles—it's history, family, and community.

Beyond the Margins | March 3, 2021

Fermenting My Asian American Identity

Jen Shin writes about how a summer in Vietnam helped her embrace her Korean heritage.

Beyond the Margins | January 19, 2021

Kitchen Ghost

Digging into the origins of her family's Filipino–Polish food traditions, Lola Milholand finds a tangle of colonialism, identity, and hurt.

Magazine | December 17, 2020

Eid al-Adha, Festival of Sacrifice

Visiting family in Egypt during Eid Al-Adha, when sheep and cattle are sacrificed and their meat is given away, an Egyptian-American writer considers family, faith, and violence.

Magazine | December 17, 2020

CANCELED - Conversation Project: Is Technology Outpacing Our Humanity?

Technology is often considered a cure-all to our modern challenges. It is, undeniably, a powerful tool in addressing our greatest endeavors. Whether it be automation, the iPhone, or gene editing, some say our technical capacities have outstripped our moral knowledge. Others believe they have provided us immense creativity in dealing with our biggest ethical questions. Are these mutually exclusive? Facilitator Manuel Padilla will lead this conversation to explore how technology shapes our moral reasoning and our perceptions of, and relationships with, one another.

This event has been postponed and will be rescheduled.

Event | March 19, 2020

Is Technology Outpacing Our Humanity?

Technology is often considered a cure-all to our modern challenges. It is, undeniably, a powerful tool in addressing our greatest endeavors. Whether it be automation, the iPhone, or gene editing, some say our technical capacities have outstripped our moral knowledge. Others believe they have provided us immense creativity in dealing with our biggest ethical questions. Are these mutually exclusive? Facilitator Manuel Padilla will lead this conversation to explore how technology shapes our moral reasoning and our perceptions of, and relationships with, one another.

Event | March 11, 2020

CANCELED - The Space Between Us: Immigrants, Refugees, and Oregon

Global displacement is on the rise, thanks to intractable conflicts, economics, and climate change. Oregonians have and will continue to see the results of international migration in our neighborhoods. In this conversation, Manuel Padilla, who has worked with refugees in Haiti, Chad, and Washington, DC, asks participants to consider questions of uprootedness, hospitality, identity, perception, and integration and how we might build more informed, responsive, resilient, and vibrant communities.

This event has been postponed and will be rescheduled.

Event | March 18, 2020

Is Technology Outpacing Our Humanity?

Technology is often considered a cure-all to our modern challenges. It is, undeniably, a powerful tool in addressing our greatest endeavors. Whether it be automation, the iPhone, or gene editing, some say our technical capacities have outstripped our moral knowledge. Others believe they have provided us immense creativity in dealing with our biggest ethical questions. Are these mutually exclusive? Facilitator Manuel Padilla will lead this conversation to explore how technology shapes our moral reasoning and our perceptions of, and relationships with, one another.

Event | February 6, 2020

The Space Between Us: Immigrants, Refugees, and Oregon

Global displacement is on the rise, thanks to intractable conflicts, economics, and climate change. Oregonians have and will continue to see the results of international migration in our neighborhoods. In this conversation, Manuel Padilla, who has worked with refugees in Haiti, Chad, and Washington, DC, asks participants to consider questions of uprootedness, hospitality, identity, perception, and integration and how we might build more informed, responsive, resilient, and vibrant communities. Admission Fee: $5 donation suggested

Event | February 18, 2020

On Paper Wings—2008

Brett Campbell writes about how an Oregon filmmaker set out to tell the story of six Oregonians killed by Japanese balloon bombs during World War II in the 2008 “Strangers” issue.

Magazine | December 23, 2019

Bridge City

Anna Vo writes on the dark side of local pride and the changes in our attitude toward place required to make Portland a welcoming home for all.

Beyond the Margins | July 29, 2019

Conversation Project: The Space Between Us

Global displacement is on the rise, thanks to intractable conflicts, economics, and climate change. Oregonians have and will continue to see the results of international migration in our neighborhoods. In this conversation, Manuel Padilla, who has worked with refugees in Haiti, Chad, and Washington, DC, asks participants to consider questions of uprootedness, hospitality, identity, perception, and integration and how we might build more informed, responsive, resilient, and vibrant communities.

Event | September 25, 2019

Conversation Project: The Space Between Us

Global displacement is on the rise, thanks to intractable conflicts, economics, and climate change. Oregonians have and will continue to see the results of international migration in our neighborhoods. In this conversation, Manuel Padilla, who has worked with refugees in Haiti, Chad, and Washington, DC, asks participants to consider questions of uprootedness, hospitality, identity, perception, and integration and how we might build more informed, responsive, resilient, and vibrant communities. A $5 donation is suggested. No person will be turned away for lack of funds.

Event | June 18, 2019