Events & News

Upcoming Events

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Please reach out to us for more information.

Love button lecture
APRIL 15th
Professors Wendy Petersen-Boring and David Gutterman presented a workshop for the Cal Poly Pomona Love Button Lecture series. The workshop was titled "Stories of Hope and Belonging From our Current Moment". The event brought students and faculty and students together to engage in a storytelling practice, which hopes to create deeper relationships.

A Peace of My Mind Week of Events
MARCH 31ST TO APRIL 7TH, 2025
The Conversation Project is thrilled to bring John Noltner, a photojournalist, peace activist, and community builder, to Willamette from March 31st to April 7th with his current project, A Peace of My Mind. We hope John’s visit will bring our community together for conversations and artwork exploring the theme of Radical Belonging. We have witnessed the power of John’s work in action in Northern Ireland at Corrymeela, and we can’t wait for him to come to WU.
John will visit classes the week of March 31st - April 4th. On April 3rd, he will hold a studio daywhere he will take portraits and collect stories from the Willamette community. He will then present these portraits and stories at hiskeynote address on April 7th. During the week,John's exhibit, entitled “American Stories”, will also be on display in Cone Chapel. All events are open to the entire Willamette community.

The Immigrant Story Live! 2025
FEBRUARY 25TH & MARCH 4TH, 2025
In collaboration withThe Immigrant Story, The Conversation Project is thrilled to host another Immigrant Story Live! event on March 4th from 7:00 pm to 9:30 pm in Hudson Hall in the Rogers Music Center.
We are incredibly excited to have four remarkable storytellers from the community at our event who will be sharing stories of their migration from Myanmar, Afghanistan, Vietnam, and Laos. Music will be performed by Joe Kye – a Portland-based violinist from South Korea – who specializes in electronic and acoustic music with the accompaniment of visual art.
In addition to this event, The Conversation Project will host a post-event on March 11th in Cone Chapel, exploring the complex issues and themes of home and belonging through our own immigration stories.
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.