An encyclopedia highlighting the contributions of women in American history by Professors Peg Lamphier and Rosanne Welch from the Interdisciplinary General Education (IGE) department has been featured in the American Library Association’s 2018 Outstanding References Sources List and won the American Book Fest’s 2017 Best Book Award.

“Women in American History: A Social, Political, and Cultural Encyclopedia and Document Collection” covers a wide range of American women’s experience including women of various racial and social statuses, religious affiliations, political and ideological identifications, and sexualities.

“These awards remind us that our work matters, and that helping spread the word about the accomplishments of women matters,” Lamphier and Welch said in a joint statement. “We spent three years putting this encyclopedia together because it was important to us. We wanted the encyclopedia to be inclusive of all types of American women, and we wanted the entries to be honest about areas encyclopedias often omit, including sexuality and violence.”

The encyclopedia has been highly recommended by several journals and publishing companies. In a review by Choice Books, the publishing company said, “The work is corrective in bringing those who were ignored into the story and succeeds in representing a wide spectrum of North American womanhood.”

Another review by Booklist, a publication of the American Library Association, recognized the authors for giving special attention to LGBTQ women and women of color. They also applauded the authors for providing more than just biographical information on influential American women.

“This publication calls attention to the powerful curricular work these two professors are doing in our IGE program,” said CEIS Dean Jeff Passe. “Our students benefit from having exceptional scholars as their teachers.”

Lamphier and Welch have published a number of books on gender, politics and American culture. Lamphier joined the IGE department in 2003 after serving in the history department for two years. She graduated from Montana State University and earned her doctorate from Arizona State University. She has published seven books and co-founded a community library in Lytle Creek, which celebrated its 10th anniversary this year.

Welch has taught a variety of humanities courses in the IGE program for over eight years. She graduated from Cal State Northridge with honors and attended Claremont Graduate University, where she earned her doctorate degree. She currently serves as an editor for The Journal of Screenwriting, based in the U.K., and sits on the editorial board for Written By magazine, a Writers Guild publication. She has given over 20 university talks, including a TEDxCPP talk on “The Importance of Having a Female Voice in the Room.”

For more information about the encyclopedia, email plamphier@cpp.edu and rm welch@cpp.edu.