November 4, 2003

New Book Edited By Boise State Prof Examines Lives Of Western Women

Western Women’s Lives: Continuity and Change in the Twentieth Century, a collection of 16 essays, examines how women in the West experienced the past century. Published by the University of New Mexico Press (448 pages, $22.95, hardback), Western Women’s Lives provides a deeper understanding of women and the distribution of power. It is edited by Sandra K. Schackel, author of several studies on the social history of the 20th-century West and a history professor at Boise State University. The writings in Western Women’s Lives go beyond the standard categories of gender, class, race and ethnicity to deeper issues, such as family, career, political preference, sexuality and geography. The book is arranged around five themes: politics and power; women and mobility; staying on the land; uncovering women’s voices; and reshaping cultural images and ideas. In addition to Schackel, contributors are Karen Anderson, University of Arizona; Antonia Castañeda, St. Mary’s University, San Antonio; Virginia Scharff, University of New Mexico; Paul R. Spickard, University of California-Santa Barbara; Xiaojian Zhao, UC-Santa Barbara; Norma Chinchilla, UC-Long Beach; Nora Hamilton, University of Southern California; Sherry L. Smith, Southern Methodist University; Carol Wolfe Konek, Wichita State University; Emily Honig, UC- Santa Cruz; Dolores Delgado Bernal; Debra A. Castillo, Cornell University; Maria Gudelia Rangel Gomez, Bonnie Delgado, Cornell University; Mary Murphy, Laura Jane Moore, Valerie Matsumoto and Judy Tzu-Chun Wu, Ohio State University. -30- Contact                               Sandra Schackel                         Department of history               208 426-4035                       Kathleen Craven Public Information Officer 208 426-3275 kcraven@boisestate.edu