Oregon History 101 was a nine-month public history program series designed to give Oregonians a basic understanding of the state’s significant people, places, and events. Each month, historians presented a chapter of Oregon History, beginning with the earliest peoples and ending with the turn of the twenty-first century. The series emphasized Oregon’s connection to historical themes in American History, including Native history, early exploration, western expansion, race, gender, and social justice, and the post-industrial economy.
Series Editors Dr. Carl Abbott and Dr. William Lang designed the series and invited many of the state’s most distinguished senior scholars to speak. Each presentation featured images from the Oregon Historical Society archives and was filmed and will be made available on the World Wide Web. All events took place at McMenamins Kennedy School (Portland).
Series Schedule and Speakers
September 8, 2014
Native Life and Pre-Contact
Dr. David Lewis, Cultural Resources Director, Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde
October 6, 2014
Exploration and Fur Trade
Dr. William Lang, Emeritus Professor of History, Portland State University
Gregory Shine, Chief Ranger and Historian, Fort Vancouver National Historic Site
November 3, 2014
Missionaries, the Oregon Trail, and State-Making
“How the Donation Land Act Created the State of Oregon and Influenced its History.”
Presented by David Johnson, Professor of History, Portland State University
December 1, 2014
“A Good Beginning”: Immigration, Ethnicity, and Racial Exclusion in Oregon, 1850-1910.
Presented by Dr. Jacqueline Peterson-Loomis, Emeritus Professor of History, Washington State University
January 5, 2015
Cities and Towns
It's Not Just Portland: Cities and Towns....and Steamboats and Railroads.
Dr. Carl Abbott, Emeritus Professor of Urban Studies and Planning, Portland State University
February 2, 2015
“Social Movements, Citizenship, and Civil Liberties: Oregon Women and Progressive Era Reform and Reaction (1890s to World War I).”
Presented by Dr. Kimberly Jensen, Professor of History and Gender Studies, Western Oregon University
March 2, 2015
Economic Change: Ships to Silicon Chips
Dr. Daniel Pope, Emeritus Professor of History, University of Oregon
April 6, 2015
New Politics: Environmentalism and Civil Rights
Dr. Steven Johnson, Adjunct Professor of Urban Studies and Planning, Portland State University
Dr. Marisa Chappell, Professor of History, Oregon State University
May 4, 2015
Thinking About Oregon
Dr. Richard Etulain, Emeritus Professor of History, University of New Mexico
Dr. Jane Hunter, Professor of History, Lewis & Clark College