Encyclopedia of Women in the American West
- Gordon Moris Bakken - California State University, Fullerton, USA
- Brenda Farrington - Long Beach City College
Click 'Additional Materials' for downloadable samples
"This is a sound purchase for college and university libraries with women's studies or American West programs as well as for large public libraries."
--BOOKLIST
"This is the first encyclopedia to focus on this neglected group. . . . There is a clear need for this encyclopedia . . . recommended for academic and public libraries and all libraries with a special interest in the western region and women's studies."
--LIBRARY JOURNAL
"A highly educational and enlightening resource, the Encyclopedia of Women in the American West is a core recommendation for academic and public library American Western History Studies and Women's Studies reference collections, as well as an invaluable resource for writers and non-specialist general readers with an interest in studying women's experiences and contributions to American society and culture."
--THE MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW
Unites the American West and Women's History
American women have followed their "manifest destiny" since the 1800's, moving West to homestead, found businesses, author novels and write poetry, practice medicine and law, preach and perform missionary work, become educators, artists, judges, civil rights activists, and many other important roles spurred on by their strength, spirit, and determination.
Encyclopedia of Women of the American West captures the lives of more than 150 women who made their mark from the mid-1800s to the present, contextualizing their experiences and contributions to American society.
Including many women profiled for the first time, the encyclopedia offers immense value and interest to practicing historians as well as students and the lay public.
Multidisciplinary and Multicultural
Cowgirls, ranchers, authors, poets, artists, judges, doctors, educators, and reformers--although these women took many different paths, they are united in their role in history, fighting not only for women's rights, but equal rights for all in this rich and promised land.
The Encyclopedia of Women in the American West chronicles the work of Native American activists such as Mildred Imach Cleghorn, and Sarah Winnemucca, the champion of rights of indigenous peoples who established Nevada's first school for Native Americans in 1884.
The encyclopedia also explores the stories of early ranchers. Among them is Freda Ehmann, who founded the California Ripe Olive Association where, according to her grandson, "science and chemical exactness failed, the experience and care of a skillful and conscientious housewife succeeded."
Women in the American West have long thrived in the arts. This is evidenced by the work of authors such as Pulitzer Prize winner Willa Cather, Amy Tan, and Linda Hasselstrom, poets such as Hildegarde Flanner, and journalist Molly Ivins. All are profiled in this comprehensive work.
The arts are used to address both aesthetic and serious societal issues such as Maxine Hong Kingston's The Woman Warrior, the story of a woman's struggle with identity as a minority in American culture. Academics will appreciate a study of Ruth Underhill's Autobiography of a Papago Woman, which deals with the role of feminist ideology in changing the discipline of anthropology during the first part of the twentieth century.
Women in the American West have also achieved many "firsts" such as Utah's Ivy Baker Priest, the first woman to hold the office of Treasurer of the United States, and Georgia Bullock, the first woman judge in the State of California.
The Many Roles of Women in the American West
The Encyclopedia of Women in the American West covers nine diverse topical categories:
- Agriculture/Ranching
- Arts and Letters
- Education
- Entrepreneurs
- Law
- Pioneers
- Public Performance
- Religion
- Women's organizations
The West is often portrayed as a rough and tumble man's world, but behind these men--and often independently--were women with the dreams, strength, and determination to make a difference. The Encyclopedia of Women in the American West is a tribute to their independence, intelligence, courage, spirit, perseverance, and daring.
Key Features
- Authoritative and in-depth articles on a wide range of salient issues in women's history
- Suggested readings and interpretive materials for every entry
- Bridges two perennially popular areas of academic and lay interest: the American West and women's history
- Developed and priced to appeal to high school and public libraries as well as academic libraries
Recommended Libraries
Public, school, academic, special, and private/corporate
“A highly educational and enlightening resource, the Encyclopedia of Women in the American West is a core recommendation for academic and public library American Western History Studies and Women’s Studies reference collections, as well as an invaluable resource for writers and non-specialist general readers with an interest in studying women’s experiences and contributions to American society and culture.”
“This is the first encyclopedia to focus on this neglected group. . . . There is a clear need for this encyclopedia . . . recommended for academic and public libraries and all libraries with a special interest in the western region and women’s studies.”
"This is a sound purchase for college and university libraries with women's studies or American West programs as well as for large public libraries."
"Few worlds are as male-dominated as the popularly imagined stereotype of the American West. Bakken, Farrington and a team of 58 academic contributors provide a fine corrective to the traditional rough-and-tumble view. . . . Although most of the entries are biographical, several extended essays examine regional experiences and such topics as the Air Force Academy and women, the conservation movement, jail matrons, Native-American protests, philanthropy and women in mining. Suggested readings are aimed at students, but this volume should earn a place on the shelf in high school, public and academic libraries."
