History Lecturer, Author to Discuss Her Work Dec. 5

Kathleen Cairns, a lecturer in Cal Poly’s History Department, will discuss her new book, “Hard Time at Tehachapi: California’s First Women’s Prison,” at 10 a.m. Friday, Dec. 5, in Room 111-H in the Kennedy Library on campus. 

Cairns will talk informally about her book and will discuss it with Cal Poly sociology assistant professor Ryan C. Alaniz. A question-and-answer session about the book will follow.

Cairns is also the author of “The Enigma Woman: The Death Sentence of Nellie May Madison” and “Proof of Guilt: Barbara Graham and the Politics of Executing Women in America.” Her research interests include California; the Depression era in California; and the U.S., crime, media and women.

The Dec. 5 talk is part of the Conversations with Cal Poly Authors series. The event is free and open to the public. Coffee and light refreshments will be served.

Conversations with Cal Poly Authors is a quarterly event at the Kennedy Library that highlights books written by Cal Poly faculty members. At each event, a Cal Poly author is joined by another professor in conversation about a book, with time for audience questions at the end. All Cal Poly Authors events are recorded as a podcast and uploaded to Kennedy Library’s SoundCloud. 

For more information, contact Karen Lauritsen at 805-756-7549 or visit the Kennedy Library website.