Affiliated scholar biography - Diane Mockridge
Although the modern expression “to get medieval” means to experience pain (according, at least, to the movie Pulp Fiction), Diane Mockridge has found that “getting medieval” means quite the opposite. A native of New York City, Diane received her undergraduate degree in Medieval and Renaissance Studies from The City College of New York. While there, she studied all the objects in the museum known as the Cloisters—the only truly medieval building in America as it was brought over stone by stone from the ruins of various medieval monasteries in Europe. She developed a passion for medieval and Renaissance history, literature and art, and received a fellowship from Duke University to continue her interdisciplinary work toward a Ph.D. in cultural and intellectual history. While there, she taught for two years at North Carolina State University.
Currently, Diane is Professor of History and Chair of the History department at Ripon College. Given her training, her courses are interdisciplinary and cover many periods of time, from ancient Greece to Early Modern France. Using a wide variety of primary sources, both written and visual, she trains her students to be detectives who use various cultural artifacts to recreate lives lived long ago. Her classes are lively and interactive—her students are frequently seen dressed in medieval garb, defending their lives as they stand trial for crimes perceived as capital during the Middle Ages. To date, no student has been burned at the stake! Diane has received numerous teaching awards, including the James Underkofler Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching (2003), and the Senior Class Award (2009).
Having visited Florence with ACM ten years ago, Diane is eager to once again explore her passion for Renaissance politics, intellectual life, and art. As a New Yorker, she tends to walk and talk quickly, but can be persuaded to slow down to indulge in some gelato!