Elinor Burkett
Encyclopedia
Dr. Elinor Burkett is a producer, director, journalist and author.
A film produced by her, Music by Prudence
, won the 2009 Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject) on March 7, 2010.
for 13 years. In a dramatic turn, she gave up her tenure to get a Masters at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
. She was a staff writer for the Miami Herald and she has been published by leading publications such as The New York Times Magazine
, Rolling Stone
and Harper's Bazaar
. She has held Fulbright professorships in both Kyrgyzstan and Zimbabwe and received numerous awards and grants for her work as a historian and writer. She also chaired the Department of Journalism of the University of Alaska-Fairbanks. She divides her time between New York and her home in Bulawayo
, Zimbabwe
where she trains journalists, writes and makes films.
She authored her first book in 1993, written with Frank Bruni
. In A Gospel of Shame : Children, Sexual abuse and the Catholic Church the pair explored the incidences of Catholic sex abuse cases. Two years later she wrote The Gravest Show on Earth : America in the Age of AIDS . Burkett offerd a scorching criticism of the 'AIDS industry' for greed, self-promotion and putting politics over prevention.
In 1997, she again collaborated with Bruni on Consumer Terrorism : How to Get Satisfaction When You're Being Ripped Off. A year later she collaborated with Susan Molinari
on Representative Mom: Balancing Budgets, Bill, and Baby in the U.S. Congress. In the same year she challenged her own liberal feminist beliefs by interviewing conservative women for The Right Women : a Journey through the Heart of Conservative America.
In 2000's The Baby Boon : How Family-Friendly America Cheats the Childless, she attacked the US government and industry for pro-family initiatives that leaves the nation's childless paying the price. A year later she released her study of an American High School, Another Planet : a Year in the Life of a Suburban High School.
In 2004 she wrote So Many Enemies, So Little Time. An American Woman in All the Wrong Places... She related to her time in Kyrgyzstan
where she moved in 2001 as a Fulbright Professor teaching journalism at the Kyrgyz-Russo Slavonic University. That same year, in the wake of 9-11, she travelled across all the -stans, as well as Iran, Iraq, Russia, China, Mongolia, and IndoChina.
In 2004 Burkett also co-directed Is It True What They Say About Ann, a documentary about the right-wing commentator Ann Coulter
.
Four years later she wrote her first biography, about the late Israel
i Prime Minister, Golda Meir
. In the book Burkett vindicated Meir for her role in the Yom Kippur War
, stressing that far greater responsibility lay with the Israeli Defense Minister, Moshe Dayan
.
A film produced by her, Music by Prudence
Music by Prudence
Music by Prudence is a 2010 short documentary film directed and produced by Roger Ross Williams. It tells the uplifting story of the now 24-year-old Zimbabwean singer-songwriter Prudence Mabhena, and follows her remarkable transcendence from a world of hatred and superstition into one of music,...
, won the 2009 Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject) on March 7, 2010.
Background
Burkett holds a doctorate in history and was professor in the subject at Frostburg State UniversityFrostburg State University
Frostburg State University is a four-year university located on a campus in Frostburg, Maryland, in Western Maryland, and is part of the University System of Maryland. FSU is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.-History:...
for 13 years. In a dramatic turn, she gave up her tenure to get a Masters at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism is one of Columbia's graduate and professional schools. It offers three degree programs: Master of Science in journalism , Master of Arts in journalism and a Ph.D. in communications...
. She was a staff writer for the Miami Herald and she has been published by leading publications such as The New York Times Magazine
The New York Times Magazine
The New York Times Magazine is a Sunday magazine supplement included with the Sunday edition of The New York Times. It is host to feature articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors...
, Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
and Harper's Bazaar
Harper's Bazaar
Harper’s Bazaar is an American fashion magazine, first published in 1867. Harper’s Bazaar is published by Hearst and, as a magazine, considers itself to be the style resource for “women who are the first to buy the best, from casual to couture.”...
. She has held Fulbright professorships in both Kyrgyzstan and Zimbabwe and received numerous awards and grants for her work as a historian and writer. She also chaired the Department of Journalism of the University of Alaska-Fairbanks. She divides her time between New York and her home in Bulawayo
Bulawayo
Bulawayo is the second largest city in Zimbabwe after the capital Harare, with an estimated population in 2010 of 2,000,000. It is located in Matabeleland, 439 km southwest of Harare, and is now treated as a separate provincial area from Matabeleland...
, Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
where she trains journalists, writes and makes films.
She authored her first book in 1993, written with Frank Bruni
Frank Bruni
Frank Anthony Bruni is an American journalist. He was the chief restaurant critic of The New York Times, a position he held from 2004 to 2009. In May 2011, he became the first openly gay Op-Ed columnist of The New York Times....
. In A Gospel of Shame : Children, Sexual abuse and the Catholic Church the pair explored the incidences of Catholic sex abuse cases. Two years later she wrote The Gravest Show on Earth : America in the Age of AIDS . Burkett offerd a scorching criticism of the 'AIDS industry' for greed, self-promotion and putting politics over prevention.
In 1997, she again collaborated with Bruni on Consumer Terrorism : How to Get Satisfaction When You're Being Ripped Off. A year later she collaborated with Susan Molinari
Susan Molinari
Susan Molinari is a politician, journalist, and lobbyist from New York. She was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for three terms.-Early life and family:...
on Representative Mom: Balancing Budgets, Bill, and Baby in the U.S. Congress. In the same year she challenged her own liberal feminist beliefs by interviewing conservative women for The Right Women : a Journey through the Heart of Conservative America.
In 2000's The Baby Boon : How Family-Friendly America Cheats the Childless, she attacked the US government and industry for pro-family initiatives that leaves the nation's childless paying the price. A year later she released her study of an American High School, Another Planet : a Year in the Life of a Suburban High School.
In 2004 she wrote So Many Enemies, So Little Time. An American Woman in All the Wrong Places... She related to her time in Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan , officially the Kyrgyz Republic is one of the world's six independent Turkic states . Located in Central Asia, landlocked and mountainous, Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the southwest and China to the east...
where she moved in 2001 as a Fulbright Professor teaching journalism at the Kyrgyz-Russo Slavonic University. That same year, in the wake of 9-11, she travelled across all the -stans, as well as Iran, Iraq, Russia, China, Mongolia, and IndoChina.
In 2004 Burkett also co-directed Is It True What They Say About Ann, a documentary about the right-wing commentator Ann Coulter
Ann Coulter
Ann Hart Coulter is an American lawyer, conservative social and political commentator, author, and syndicated columnist. She frequently appears on television, radio, and as a speaker at public events and private events...
.
Four years later she wrote her first biography, about the late Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i Prime Minister, Golda Meir
Golda Meir
Golda Meir ; May 3, 1898 – December 8, 1978) was a teacher, kibbutznik and politician who became the fourth Prime Minister of the State of Israel....
. In the book Burkett vindicated Meir for her role in the Yom Kippur War
Yom Kippur War
The Yom Kippur War, Ramadan War or October War , also known as the 1973 Arab-Israeli War and the Fourth Arab-Israeli War, was fought from October 6 to 25, 1973, between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria...
, stressing that far greater responsibility lay with the Israeli Defense Minister, Moshe Dayan
Moshe Dayan
Moshe Dayan was an Israeli military leader and politician. The fourth Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces , he became a fighting symbol to the world of the new State of Israel...
.