Tonight at the Portland Building, the Dill Pickle Club hosts a teach-in on Occupy Portland that aims to give an overview of the movement's goals and objectives, by way of short presentations from six speakers with various perspectives on the movement (including the Mercury's Denis Theriault, who along with Sarah and Alex did an amazing job with Occupy coverage all weekend).

Dr. Veronica Dujon (Professor of Sociology, Portland State University) will be speaking to the economic crisis as a consequence of systemic problems, national and global. She’ll also discuss social movements and the power of movements to transform societies.

Michael Moore (Organizer, Right2Survive) will talk about the similarities and differences between Occupy Portland and Right 2 Dream Too (a homeless encampment at 3rd and Burnside) — in terms of both the political and economic policies and problems that gave rise to each.

Nina Riereson (Info Booth Volunteer, Occupy Portland) will present a slideshow on Occupy Portland, its history since its beginning on October 6, and provide a window into what happens at the camp on a daily basis.

Denis Therialt (Journalist, Portland Mercury) will share his thoughts about the local media’s coverage of Occupy Portland, and how the media has been an agent for influencing the debate about the future of the movement.

John Coghlan (Filmmaker, Occupy Portland Video Collective) will speak to the collective’s collaborative approach to documenting the occupation, including recent changes in technology that has enabled the group to shoot, edit and broadcast video on a daily basis.

Dr. Randy Bluffstone (Professor of Economics, Portland State University) will focus on the economic factors that led to the global economic recession, and how current policies have affected Portland on the national, state and local levels.

If, like me, you've been following along from home, this is a pretty compelling reason to actually leave your house and investigate the movement in some more depth.

Tonight in the Portland Building Auditorium, 1120 SW 5th, 6 pm, free