Upcoming Events
Please check back, more events will be posted soon.
Past events
The Immigrant Story
October 10, 2023
The Immigrant Story Live at Willamette University is back! Join us in celebrating the spirit of Global Diversity Awareness Month through an incredible evening of live music and storytelling.
The Immigrant Story Live will begin with a musical performance featuring the talented Martin Zarzar, Mario Diaz, and Randy Porter. Afterward, four storytellers from Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Indonesia, and Afghanistan will share their stories about the challenging journeys that brought them to the United States. This live event celebrates the rich diversity in our community through the power of storytelling.
Faculty Colloquium: The Conversation Project: Reflections on Research and Teaching in Conversations Across Difference
This talk reports on our research and teaching supported by a three year grant from the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning, “Connecting in the Classroom: Lessons from Community-Based Organizations.” The grant allowed us to learn from community-based organizations across the country who have responded to the problem of polarization by developing a range of “dialogue across difference” projects, some of them quite successful. The talk will reflect on this research and our experience teaching the first in a three tiered curriculum, The Conversation Project, designed to prepare students to participate in and facilitate difficult conversations.
Buffalo Soldiers
February 9, 2023
The Conversation Project at Willamette University is pleased to present the documentary, Buffalo Soldiers: Fighting on Two Fronts, directed by Dru Holley. Following the screening of this new film, Holley was joined by Zachary Stocks of the Oregon Black Pioneers to discuss Buffalo Soldiers and answer questions from the audience. The Buffalo Soldiers—an African American regiment in the United States Army in the 19th century—fought military conflicts abroad and civil rights struggles at home. The film examines the profound and often-contradictory roles played in American history by the Buffalo Soldiers. The Conversation Project at Willamette believes that storytelling – and especially the telling of stories that have too often been neglected or erased – is vital to the creation of more just, inclusive, and equitable communities.
The Immigrant Story
October 11, 2022
In the spirit of Global Diversity Awareness Month, The Immigrant Story is honored to partner with Willamette University to bring our acclaimed live storytelling event, The Immigrant Story Live, to Salem, Oregon.
The Immigrant Story Live began with a musical performance featuring a collaboration between Masumi Timson, a renowned musician of the koto, one of Japan’s most treasured instruments, and Dr. Joseph Harchanko, a well-regarded composer and cellist living and teaching in Salem, OR. Afterward, four storytellers from Bosnia, Rwanda, Syria, and South Korea will share their stories about the challenging and frequently dangerous journeys that brought them to the United States.This live event celebrated the rich diversity in our communities and investing in their stories and traditions.
