Consider This is an annual series of onstage conversations with writers, civic leaders, scholars, and artists in venues around Oregon.
Consider This 2025–26: Beyond 250
July 4, 2026 will mark 250 years since the ratification of the Declaration of Independence. Our 2025–26 series will explore what this anniversary means. How do we think about and experience equality, freedom, independence, tyranny, justice, union, and other ideas central to the Declaration and to our nation’s understanding of itself? How has the Declaration shaped the country we live in today, and how might we shape its future?
- October 27: Equality and the Constitution with Akhil Reed Amar
Alberta Rose Theatre, Portland, with live streams in La Grande, Clatskanie, and Salem, and on YouTube. - February 3: The Stories We Tell About Our Nations with Colum McCann
Alberta Rose Theatre, Portland, and on YouTube - June 18: Nations and Communities with Poet Naomi Shihab Nye
Alberta Rose Theatre, Portland, and on YouTube
Consider This has brought provocative conversations to communities around Oregon since 2009. You can find recordings of past events in our archive.
Consider This is made possible by funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), the Oregon Cultural Trust, The Standard, and Susan Hammer Fund of Oregon Community Foundation.
Events in this series are part of By the People: Conversations Beyond 250, a series of community-driven programs created by humanities councils across the United States, its territories, and the District of Columbia in collaboration with local partners. Together, these programs explore 250 years of the nation's cultural life and imagine its shared future. The initiative was developed by the Federation of State Humanities Councils and the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage as a complement to the 2026 Smithsonian Folklife Festival.
Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities or Oregon Humanities.