Submissions: Oregon Humanities- Civility (Deadline March 15)

Oregon Humanities invites submissions for its Fall/Winter 2008 issue on the theme of “Civility.”

Rules of conduct, etiquette, and civility—whether codified or implicitly understood—are the social contracts that frame human interactions. In the midst of a dramatic election year, these interactions—between colleagues with political differences or candidates who duke it out in public debates—raise questions about how Americans engage with one another in discussing difficult issues. Can politeness, in an attempt to avoid heated conflict, keep us from having productive, meaningful conversations? Or are public discussions best regulated as inclusive, polite, consensus-building affairs?

For the Fall 2008 issue of Oregon Humanities, which falls under the Oregon Council for the Humanities’ current programmatic focus, “Borders and Boundaries,” we are looking for essays and articles that explore the theme of civility. Writers may wish to explore civility in literature, history, arts, and popular culture; the role of civility and propriety, or conversely discourtesy and impropriety, in public discourse; the changing rules of civility in a newly global, multicultural, and highly technological world; the pros and cons of regulating civility, decency, and propriety; the role of civility in the conduct of war; arguments for or against civility in environmental movements; or the notion of propriety in a variety of public spheres, such as courtrooms, talk
radio shows, and Internet blogs.

We welcome all forms of nonfiction writing, including scholarly essays, journalistic articles, and personal essays. We accept proposals and drafts of scholarly and journalistic features, which range between 2,500 and 4,000 words in length. We accept drafts only of personal essays, which should consider larger thematic questions and run no longer than 1,500 words. All contributors receive an honorarium. Currently the magazine is distributed to 12,000 readers. Essays from Oregon Humanities have been reprinted in the Pushcart Prize anthology and the Utne Reader.

If you are interested in contributing to this discussion, please submit a proposal or draft by June 16, 2008, to Kathleen Holt, Editor, Oregon Humanities magazine, Oregon Council for the Humanities, 812 SW Washington Street, Suite 225, Portland, Oregon, 97205, or kholt@oregonhum.org.

Oregon Humanities is the triannual magazine of the Oregon Council for the Humanities, an independent, nonprofit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). We believe that knowledge and ideas are fundamental to the health of our communities. You can learn more about OCH’s programs, which include Oregon Chautauqua, Humanity in Perspective, and Commonplace Events, and read the contents of the current issue of Oregon Humanities at www.oregonhum.org .