PULLMAN, Wash. — Pamela Bettis, an assistant professor at Washington State University’s College of Education, will be signing copies of her book, “Cheerleader! An American Icon,” at the Bookie in Pullman on Nov. 15 and at BookPeople in Moscow, Idaho, on Dec. 6.
Bettis explained that her study of cheerleading originated in a research project exploring adolescent girls’ perspectives of school, leadership and peer groups. Bettis co-authored the book with an education professor from the University of Alabama, Natalie Guice Adams. Their book is an in-depth assessment of the history and significance of cheerleading, written to appeal to a lay audience.
“We wanted to know how adolescent girls understood leadership,” Bettis said. “We discovered that cheerleading was the highest status activity for girls, and girls named cheerleaders as leaders in the school–which surprised us. When we presented our findings at a national conference, we were approached by Macmillan to write this book. We have since published two scholarly pieces on cheerleading which investigate race and gender in cheerleading and its cultural significance.”
The book signing at the Bookie on the WSU campus at Pullman is scheduled for Nov. 15, the day of the WSU home football game against Arizona State. The signing is tentatively scheduled for 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., and the game is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. The game time may change, and if so, the signing will begin three hours before game time.
The Dec. 6 book signing at BookPeople in Moscow is scheduled from noon to 2 p.m. Bettis will include a slide show of photos and cheers used in her book at the signing.
