WHC Advisory Board Member

Dr. Karen Blair

Central Washington University, Ellensburg

Dr. Blair is a Professor of History and Department Chair at Central Washington University. Ms. Blair grew up on Long Island, NY and attended Mt. Holyoke College in Massachusetts and SUNY/Buffalo for her M. A. and Ph.D. in History. She has taught at CWU since 1987, balancing teaching with travel and research to explore the history of Pacific Northwest women and the history of women's voluntary associations in America. She devotes her spare time to playing classical piano, including ensemble performance with other pianists and other musicians.

Publications

• Editor, Women in Pacific Northwest History: Essays. Seattle: University of Washington Press, (1989; revised edition 2001).
• The History of Women's Voluntary Associations in America: A Guide to Sources. Boston: G. K. Hall, (1989).
• "Women's Musical Clubs in America, 1900-1930," in Experiences in a Promised Land: Essays in Pacific Northwest History, edited by Thomas G. Edwards and Carlos Schwantes. Seattle: University of Washington Press, (1986), 124-138.
• "The Limits of Sisterhood: The Woman's Building in Seattle, 1907-1921". Frontiers 8, (Spring, 1985), 45-52.
• The Clubwoman as Feminist: True Womanhood Redefined, 1868-1914. New York: Holmes and Meier, (1980).
• Northwest Women: An Annotated Bibliography of Sources on the History of Oregon and Washington Women, 1787-1970. Pullman: Washington State University Press, (1977).
• The Torchbearers: the History of Women's Amateur Arts Associations in America, 1890-1930. Bloomington: Indiana University Pres, (1994).
• Joining In: Exploring the History of Voluntary Organizations. Melbourne, FL: Krieger, (2006).