Lake Oswego

The Power of Articulation: Turning Values into Political Messages
Using Value-Laden Language to Communicate about Health Reform 

A special one day workshop for leaders in health reform.

For too long, health reform leaders have been bogged down in policy-speak. That is, they have focused on policy minutae and failed to speak a language that connects with everyday Americans. This approach fails in the public arena, because the reality is that many Americans don’t have the interest or time to sift through the endless array of issues, personalities, and competing agendas in today’s political culture. As a result, individuals look for ways to simplify their intake and evaluation of information. One way that has become increasingly commonplace among citizens is to rely upon “cues” — that is, credible people or information that can be confidently used to guide decisions. The most politically potent cues, often, are core values and beliefs that unite Americans and inspire them.  

The bottom line is this: Progressives must become effective — much more effective — in identifying and communicating their core values in ways that are moral and culturally resonant. We call this articulation: the use of language in purposeful, everyday ways to create clear connections between guiding principles and social priorities. To do this is hard work — far harder than one might suspect. The approach we utilize is highly interactive and hands-on: Our goal is to help you identify and pursue your goals by clarifying and working through key ideas, issues, strategies, and concerns. We strive to merge our scholarly expertise with concrete, realistic, and applied understandings of contemporary politics and media.  

Proposed Workshop Agenda:

The Archimedes Movement is proud to sponsor a 6-hour workshop to help activists craft a purposeful language to communicate about the issues that are important to us.

The workshop will include elements of these steps:

• identifying central, over-arching principles that unite groups,
• creating powerful, engaging language that link these principles with your messaging,
• learning how the media serves as an “echo chamber” for political messages, and
• connecting these principles, language, and political messages into action plans.

David Domke, is a professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Washington. He worked as a journalist for several newspapers in the 1980s and early 1990s, including the Orange County Registerand Atlanta Journal-Constitution, before earning a Ph.D. in 1996. His research and teaching focus on how political leaders strategically craft their public communications and how news media and the public respond to these messages. His most recent book is The God Strategy: How Religion Became A Political Weapon in America, published in 2008 by Oxford University Press. In the last few years he has spoken about politics and news with academic, political, media, and public audiences around the country. In 2002 he received the University of Washington’s Distinguished Teaching Award, the university’s highest honor for teaching.  In 2006 he was named the Washington state Professor of the Year by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. And in spring 2008 he was selected as the favorite professor of the UW graduating class. 

Crispin Thurlow, also a professor in the Department of Communication, has an academic background in psychology and critical linguistics, and his work examines the ways that people use language and other forms of communication to negotiate their differences. Specifically, he is committed to understanding how relations of power and conceptions of privilege and inequality are sustained in everyday human interaction. His latest book is Talking Adolescence: Perspectives on Communication in the Teenage Years (Peter Lang, 2005). In 2007, he received the University of Washington's Distinguished Teaching Award.

» Register Now

To find out more please email Matt Webber at matt@wecandobetter.org.

Sorry for the late notice. Our friends at Oregon Action are hosting an evening forum on federal health reform and asked us to post this event. Please attend and bring a friend! 

Here's the agenda: 

6:30        Welcome, Overview:  Gary Cobb

6:40        Jo Ann Bowman, Oregon Action

7:00        Betsy Dillner, HCAN

7:20        Liz Baxter, Archimedes Movement

7:40        Question and Answer Session

8:15        Next Steps: Betsy Dillner

8:25        Acknowledgments: Jo Beall and Gary Cobb

8:30        End 

Hosted by SAFE: United for a Healthy Oregon, you're invited to a reception to celebrate Oregon's big step forward on health reform with the passage of HB 2009 and HB 2116. IF you have questions you can call Chris Coughlin at 503-312-8178.

Wear your WCDB t-shirt if you have one; if you don't have one let us know and Erick will get one to you for the next event! 

On April 14th, Archimedes Movement Executive Director Liz Baxter will be giving a presentation to the Queen's Bench, the Portland chapter of Oregon Women Lawyers (OWLS), which is an independent non-profit organization whose mission is to promote the professional advancement, camaraderie, and good fellowship among women in the legal profession and the community.

Lunch is $14 at the door, cash or check only. No reservations required. For more information contact Kristin Sterling.

Archimedes member Roberta Hall will be interviewing nurse practitioner Ruth Palma, who discusses her profession, current problems in the health care system and the need for universal health care.

The interview is part of KBOO's Health and Health Care Forum, radio series that provides a window into today's health care by interviews with diverse people involved in it. One goal of the programs is to help the public expand its horizons about needed changes, and hence reduce fear and increase support as changes are planned.

The show will be aired on KBOO fm radio (90.7 Portland, 91.9 in the Columbia Gorge, and 100.7 in the Willamette Valley) from 10 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Mondays. The program is hosted by Roberta Hall, co-leader of the Corvallis Archimedes chapter and produced by her and Joe Magner of Anabyte Recording and Electronics, Corvallis.   

If you enjoy the show, let Kathleen Stephenson know; she is KBOO morning news editor (amnews@kboo.org). The show is also available to community radio stations in other parts of Oregon, who can contact Hall for information (rhall@oregonstate.edu). 

Inaugural Membership Conference
Saturday, June 14, 2008

» Register & Pay Now

John Kitzhaber invites you to join him at our 1st Annual Membership Conference. You can see Gov. Kitzhaber's invitation in his blog.

Agenda
9:30 am - Pre-conference workshops (optional, but pre-registration is required)
12:00 pm - Registration and lunch, and bumper sticker contest
1:30 - Plenary Session and Member Convention with John Kitzhaber and the Interim Steering Committee (see grassroots structure document here)
2:45 - Concurrent workshops
4:30 - Looking Forward: Our Next Steps, John Kitzhaber
5:30 - 7:00 pm - Members-only Reception with John Kitzhaber: Appetizers, no-host bar and live music by the Bobby Torres Ensemble - Fun!

» Workshop details (tentative)

Location

Accommodations
Lewis and Clark is making dorm rooms available for those who wish to spend the night Friday and/or Saturday evenings. The lodging must be pre-arranged and costs between $22-$27 per person.

Cost
$30 - Conference sessions, materials and lunch
$35 - The above, plus the Members-only Reception and 1-year membership

A limited number of scholarships are available. You may also inquire about a travel stipend.

For more information or to reserve a room or to arrange to pay onsite, please contact Matt Webber at 503-860-5854 or matt@wecandobetter.org.

To register and pay for the Conference, please use our secure online process. To reserve a place now, but register and pay on-site, or to request a scholarship. Please contact Matt.<!-- (c) 2006. Authorize.Net is a registered trademark of Lightbridge, Inc. -->