It has been over a month since I began making the trip to the Burke Library Archives at Union Theological Seminary twice a week for my archival internship. Under the guidance of Brigette Kamsler I have learned an immense amount about the art of archiving. My fears from the first day (see 1st Day – […]
Tag: MRL12
Surprises in the Archives: Reflecting on My First Month at the Burke
A month has passed since I started at Burke as a summer intern, and I now find myself reflecting upon the last four weeks. While I came into this internship with previous processing experience, I have found that I am constantly learning something new at Burke, whether it’s learning how to wrap a book in […]
The Worst and Most Dangerous Attack: Laymen’s Foreign Missions Inquiry
Since I began as the Project Archivist at the Burke Library in August 2011, I have heard about various collections deemed “controversial.” Many of the collections I process have not seen the light of day for a decade or more due to the water damage suffered as well as general library backlog. Some of the […]
World Missionary Conference Records: The Sequel
World Missionary Conference, Edinburgh, 1910. Credit to: WAB: World Council of Churches Records, series 4, box 103, The Burke Library Archives, Columbia University Libraries at Union Theological Seminary, New York. In terms of the Missionary Research Library, the World Missionary Conference of 1910 literally “started it all.” History The 1910 World Missionary Conference (WMC) was […]
The Gripsholm Exchange and Repatriation Voyages
The Shanghai Evening Post American Edition, Dec. 3, 1943, page 1. Credit to MRL 12: Foreign Missions Conference of North America Records, Series 2B, Box 33, Folder 9, The Burke Library Archives (Columbia University Libraries) at Union Theological Seminary, New York. The Committee on East Asia comprises a large part of the Area Committees […]
Foreign Missions Conference of North America (FMCNA) Records – Now Available
Little Boxes in the Archives – Completed FMCNA The records for the Foreign Missions Conference of North America (FMCNA), covering the years 1894-1968, are now available! This large MRL12 collection totaling 68 boxes (30.50 linear feet) comprise materials documenting inception and institutional proceedings of the organization. Established to create dialogue between missions-based action committees confronting […]
The Messy Truth about Foreign Missions
Foreign missions. It's a pretty unpopular concept these days. Missionaries are associated with all the damage wrought by the project of subjugation, exploitation, displacement, and genocide of native peoples and cultures across the world. The criticisms are well-founded. Retrospect is a tricky thing though. History is often tainted by a touch of arrogance and a […]
Luce + Archives
While processing the materials in MRL and WAB, we try to keep a special eye out for any collection which includes materials related to Henry Winters Luce. Henry W. Luce and his wife Elizabeth Root Luce were Presbyterian missionaries and educators in China during the early party of the twentieth century. Henry R. Luce, who […]