Susan Johnson, an assistant professor of history at the University of ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥ at Boulder, has won a 2001 Bancroft Prize - one of the most prestigious honors a scholarly work of American history can receive - for her first book "Roaring Camp: The Social World of the California Gold Rush."
The Bancroft Prize, established at Columbia University in 1948, is awarded annually to authors of works in the categories of American History and Diplomacy.
"The Bancroft Prize is one of the premier book awards - equal to the Pulitzer and National Book Award," said Professor Thomas Zeiler, chair of the history department at ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥-Boulder. "We are honored to have such an outstanding scholar in our department."
Johnson will receive the award during a ceremony at Columbia University on April 18.
"There are probably 1,100 books published on U.S. history a year, and for a first book to make it to the top of that heap is an immense achievement," said Professor Fred Anderson, also of ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥-Boulder's history department. "It's sort of like a rookie pitcher throwing a shutout in the World Series. It is certainly the mark of someone who's headed for the very top of the profession," he said.
Johnson's book "Roaring Camp: The Social World of the California Gold Rush" examines the social and cultural history of the gold rush focusing on gender, ethnic and racial issues. It is a story about how men, who made up 90 percent of the participants, thought about and dealt with gender issues in the absence of women.
The book also delves into the domestic lives of the miners and unfolds for the reader a fresh social perspective of the camps and how they operated with a mostly male population. Johnson also examines the interaction of the many people of various cultures and creeds who rushed to California to take part in one of the most demographically diverse events to occur in American history.
The Bancroft Prize typically is awarded to one or two authors a year for books published the previous year. Johnson shares this year's award with Michael A. Bellesiles and David Nasaw. Bellesiles, a professor of history at Emory University, won for his book "Arming America: The Origins of a National Gun Culture." Nasaw, the chair of the doctoral history program at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, won for his book "The Chief: The Life of William Randolph Hearst."
Johnson teaches 19th century and 20th century U.S. history, focusing on the history of the West, women's and gender history and the history of sexuality. She has been a faculty member at ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥-Boulder since 1996.
"Roaring Camp: The Social World of the California Gold Rush" was published in 2000 by W.W. Norton.
Johnson is currently working on her second book, which explores Kit Carson's love life, focusing on his relationships with American Indian and New Mexican women. The tentative title of the book is "Marrying Power: The Intimate World of Kit Carson."