24-25: Everyday Democracy

Portland, Oregon has had an outsized national image in recent decades, from quirky darling of the New York Times and Portlandia to the “urban hellscape” shown in media cautionary tales of the post-COVID era. Less visible in this shifting public imaginary is what’s more ordinary about Portland: despite a broad range of resources for unique forms of social engagement here, the city has struggled to bring citizens together across differences in identities and ideologies. University campuses could be a space for addressing these struggles, but instead students report feeling under-equipped to handle discussion and disagreement around difficult topics, while the wider public reports weakening confidence in the purpose of college.

Inspired by these challenges in our local and academic contexts, our 24-25 theme, "Everyday Democracy," suggests that bridging the gulfs that divide us might begin with ordinary gestures as simple as talking with one another and engaging locally. To that end, the program will bring together a working group of faculty, students, and community partners to co-create projects and courses related to everyday dialogue and civic life. In an era of increasing polarization and stress on democratic norms, how can we use the tools of the humanities to create hopeful and productive forms of civic engagement? And how might connecting the humanities to other academic disciplines in turn help us engage across difference and with our communities? Across the year the program will explore those questions through a variety of research projects and events with the goal of helping to build healthier democratic culture in our city. 

Use the menu to the left to check out the 24-25 "Everyday Democracy" projects along with our cohort of faculty and student fellows .

All of this work is part of a larger project titled "Hub, Pathway, Core: Implementing Engaged Humanities Curriculum Across the University of Portland" supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities grant. You can read more about the project here.