Life after war and marriage are two upcoming topics for “Lunch & Learn Conversations” at Mt. Hood Community, 26000 S.E. Stark St.

The community is welcome to attend these free events from noon-1:30 p.m. Thursdays in the Student Union Lounge.

The conversations series engages students and community members in discussions about ideas critical to their daily lives and Oregon’s future.

Life after war

Freelance photographer Jim Lommasson will lead a Jan. 16 discussion called “Life After War: Photography and Oral Histories of Coming Home.”

The conversation will address questions such as, “When does war end or does it ever end?” Many returning soldiers tend to bring wars back with them, and these wars can reach beyond the battlefield or firefight, infiltrating their homes.

Lommasson received the Dorothea Lange-Paul Taylor Prize for his first book, “Shadow Boxers: Sweat, Sacrifice and the Will to Survive in American Boxing Gyms.” His second book is “Pentimento: Portland’s Lost and Found Carousel.”

He is now working on a book and traveling exhibition, “Exit Wounds: Soldiers’ Stories — Life after Iraq and Afghanistan.”

The state of marriage

The Jan. 30 conversation topic will be “Something Old, Something New: Exploring the State of Marriage,” led by Leslie Dunlap, assistant professor of history at Willamette University.

The program will focus on the institution of marriage and how it has undergone significant change, especially in the past decade. For example, in Oregon, citizens remain in a debate about how to define marriage.

The conversation will bring up the following questions: What do the debates about marriage reveal about the institution as a whole? Why is a private relationship so publicly significant and contested? With so many people avoiding marriage or divorcing, why do others wish to marry?

For more information, contact Melinda Bullen at 503-491-7171 or melinda.bullen@mhcc.edu.