Papers of a University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee English professor. The majority of the
collection focuses on Burke's involvement in professional organizations, and her
writing.
The collection consists of routine professional correspondence, personal correspondence,
copies of published works, copies of papers submitted for publication, copies of published
works, newspaper clippings, and notes.
Most of the correspondence documents Burke's activities with a number of professional
organizations. The personal correspondence primarily deals with vacations, holidays, or
Burke's personal fight against heart disease.
The collection also documents the activities and goals of the Wisconsin Council of Teachers
of English, for the years 1958-1964. Included are copies (1958-1963) of the Wisconsin
Council of Teachers of English (WCTE) Newsletter titledEnglish
Language Arts in Wisconsin.
Materials from Burke's research project on Fred Newton Scott, a University of Michigan
English professor who specialized in rhetoric, are included in the collection. The project
was started in 1964, and appears to have been discontinued in 1965. The type of materials
present are grant proposals, financial statements, and routine correspondence.
Burke was interested in the civil rights movement, and that interest is reflected in the
collection. Many of her writings address problems of inequality between blacks and whites,
and she was particularly concerned with the lack of black professors at UWM in the 1960s and
1970s. Her views on these subjects are scattered throughout the collection.
Burke published a number of papers, and when possible, a printed copy of the published work
has been included in the collection. When a printed copy was not located, the most recent
draft of the work was retained. Drafts of published books were not retained, as the books
are available at the UWM Libraries.
