Claire Ihlendorf Burke holds a B.S. in Mathematics and Spanish from Virginia Tech, a M.A. in History and Latin American Studies also from Virginia Tech and a Ph.D. in Hispanic Languages and Literature from the University of California, Santa Barbara. She taught Spanish and Latin American literature courses in both the Languages and Cultures Department and the English Department at California Lutheran University for seven years and is currently a lecturer at UCSB. Her research interests include 20th century Mexican Literature and  U.S. Latinx literature.