Public Research Fellows Events

Campus Conversation: Reimagining Readiness

Campus conversation image.

Wednesday, Oct. 26, 4-5:30pm, Teske Dining Room

A new catchphrase on college campuses is “Career Readiness.” While it's always been thought that a college education provides a strong foundation for future employment, these days colleges are feeling increasing pressure to prepare students more directly for careers. Here at UP, a new framework has recently been introduced that aims to help students and professors connect academic coursework to career competencies and thus make graduates more ready for their job searches. All of this prompts questions such as: What IS "readiness"? What does it mean to be "ready" for a career? What other meanings might "readiness" have? 

At this Campus Conversation, we will explore these questions and more, by way of open-ended discussion based on sharing and listening to perspectives different from our own. There will be six spaces each for faculty, staff, and students at the table. If you're interested in joining, please email Molly Hiro with your name, role at UP, and a brief line about why you are interested.

Collaborative Teaching in the Core

Collaborative Teaching in the Core Flyer.

Why Do It, Where to Start, How the Engaged Humanities Can Help

Thursday, Sept. 15, 2:30-3:45pm, Franz 222

Are you interested in developing interdisciplinary courses with your colleagues but need some support in taking the first steps? Join us for this experiential workshop where you can find out more about designing a Core X course using engaged humanities practices and learn more about opportunities for support in turning your idea into a concrete plan. Most of the session will be devoted to interdisciplinary speed networking sessions with colleagues from across the University. Faculty from CAS as well as the professional schools are welcome!

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Poetry & Vitality Workshop with Naomi Shihab Nye

Naomi Shihab Nye.

Monday, Sept. 12, 6-7:30pm, Bauccio Dining Room

What can poetry do beyond the page? Join this hands-on workshop with poet Naomi Shihab Nye to explore how poetry--far from something only to study in class--can become a ready source of personal vitality, flexibility, and presence. 

Open to students, faculty, and staff!

Part of the PRF 2022-23 Series: Engaging Humanities

Poetry & Vitality Workshop Flyer

The 21-22 PRF Showcase

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Thursday, April 21, 5-7pm in Franz Hall

Join us for an open house showcase of the program's 21-22 working group projects. Browse interactive exhibits, sample locally-produced food and drink, and attend live musical performances and the premier of a student-produced documentary film. This is a choose-your-own-adventure interdisciplinary event: drop by and peruse at your own pace or stay a while to engage with the project creators--your choice!

 

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Putting Interdisciplinarity to Work: a Faculty Brainstorming + Sharing Session

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Faculty Workshop

Friday 2/18, 1:30-2:30pm, DB 235

Collaborating across disciplines can be some of the most invigorating work we do as faculty, but how do you get started and where do you find like-minded colleagues? Join PRF for the third event in our Spring Series highlighting the potential in interdisciplinarity: a lively workshop that will explore avenues and tools for interdisciplinary connection at UP followed by a speed networking session to brainstorm collaborative projects. Faculty from all disciplines welcome! 

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Everybody's Interdisciplinary: Framing Your Liberal Arts Coursework for the Future

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Student Workshop

Wednesday 2/9, 6:00-7:00pm, DB 233

PRF invites all students to join us for the second event in our Spring Series highlighting the potential in interdisciplinarity. This hands-on workshop will provide concrete strategies for talking about your coursework in real-world contexts, whether you've just begun thinking about your future career or are farther along in your professional development. All majors welcome!

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Humanities "Versus" STEM?: A Roundtable

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Thursday, Feb. 3, 2022

4:00-5:15pm, Bauccio Dining Room

Are there “two cultures” at UP—one for humanities and one for STEM? Or is the division between our disciplines more imagined than real? The Public Research Fellows invite you to join us for a student and faculty roundtable discussion of disciplinary stereotypes and the possibilities for moving beyond them through interdisciplinary collaboration.

This event is part of the PRF Spring Series; stay tuned for future student and faculty events that follow up on the discussion with hands-on workshops on how to put interdisciplinarity to work.

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The 2021 PRF Showcase

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Thursday, Apr. 29, 2021

7:00-8:15pm PDT

The Public Research Fellows invite you to a showcase of the program’s 20-21 work. Students and faculty fellows will unveil their projects and be on hand to guide attendees through a variety of lenses for thinking about our theme, Displacement and Justice. From a podcast that explores displacement through the experience of first-generation students, to an interactive map that uses Portland African American literature to tell local stories of displacement, to a virtual performance that thinks through displacement with music—the PRF teams have created a range of exciting projects that use innovative, accessible forms to expand our ideas of what research can look like. Join us for this interactive event to get inspired about the possibilities in your own work and learn more about how displacement manifests in local contexts and beyond.

Join the Zoom event here.

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Public Humanities at UP: Imagining PRF's Future

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Thursday, Apr. 8, 2021

4:00-5:15 PDT

What are the “Public Humanities”? How have UP faculty and students participated in Public Humanities work? And how might the Public Humanities enable or inspire your own thinking, learning, and teaching—and be mutually enriching for you and for the public? We invite you to join us for a discussion of these questions and more. We’ll be sharing some pillars of the public humanities; giving an overview of how the PRF program has enacted these; and inviting input from participants about other ways of envisioning Public Humanities work at UP and beyond.

Join the Zoom event here. 

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Displacement and (In)Justice in Portland: A Roundtable Discussion with Community Leaders

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Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021

5:00-6:15 PST

Join us for a roundtable discussion that brings together community leaders to discuss an ever-pressing issue in Portland: Displacement and Justice. From houselessness to redlining, Portland's politics of displacement have impacted already marginalized communities. By centering community-led efforts, the event seeks to conceptualize justice considering injustices experienced by the displaced.

Watch a recording of the event here. 

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PRF 2020-21 Kickoff: Displacement and Justice

PRF Kickoff Flyer.

Friday, November 13, 2020

3:30-4:45 PST

Access the Zoom event here. 

Join us as we kick off the program's 2020-21 theme with a talk by Dr. Lara-Zuzan Golesorkhi (Political Science and Global Affairs / Gender and Women's Studies): "Displaced Justice: On Agency, Representation, and Accountability." Golesorkhi will problematize power dynamics at the nexus of displacement and justice and discuss the ever-pressing question of "who speaks for whom" by sharing experiences from her work as a scholar-activist. Guided discussion with the program fellows to follow.

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The Fight to Vote: Engaging the Public in Suffrage

Vote.

Thursday, Oct. 1, 6-7pm on Zoom

Access the Zoom Webinar Here

As we look ahead to November, voting rights have never been a more important part of the national conversation. But what are the best ways to engage the public on this vital issue? And how can academic work make a real difference in how we understand the history of the vote and its meaning today? Join us for a panel discussion featuring students, faculty, and activists as they talk about their work in the inaugural 2019-2020 year of the Public Research Fellows program and in the community. 

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Virtual Talk by Dr. Brittney Cooper

Dr. Brittney Cooper.

Friday, September 4, 2020

3:30-4:30pm (PDT)
 
Please join us for a virtual talk by Dr. Brittney Cooper, titled "Trust Black Women: The Importance of Black Women in U.S. Politics." Cooper will discuss the struggle for Black women's suffrage and the historical role of Black women's vote, making the case for why there is no progressive politics in America without Black women. Cooper's address will be followed by a Q&A with attendees.
 
Follow the link below to register and feel free to share with others who may be interested in attending what is sure to be a provocative discussion with resonance for the upcoming election season.
 
Cooper's talk will kick off the Public Research Fellows Fall Virtual Series, a set of online events that bring the UP campus and the local community together to explore a timely theme. Stay tuned for more details!
 

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Program Kick-Off

PRF Program Kickoff.

Monday, September 23, 2019

4–5:30 p.m.  |  Bauccio Commons Board Room

The Public Research Fellows Program kicked-off its inaugural year with a lecture by History professor Christin Hancock, "A History of the Woman Suffrage Movement in the U.S." Hancock then led the audience in a rotating, interactive discussion on questions of women's history and memorialization. Over 60 attendees, both students and faculty, were in attendance for this lively introduction to the program.