COLUMBIA, Tenn. - March 8, 2018) - - - Anna Duch, Columbia State Community College assistant professor of history, recently published her first essay titled "Bodies in Constant Motion: The Burials and Reburials of the Plantagenet Dynasty, C. 1272-1399."

"We are extremely proud to have a medieval scholar among our Columbia State faculty," said Victoria Gay, Columbia State dean of the Humanities and Social Sciences Division. "In addition to her exemplary research skills and well-earned recognition among her peers, Dr. Duch is highly-regarded by her students, and many have voiced to me how much they enjoy her classes because she integrates her research into the curriculum."

Duch's essay, "Bodies in Constant Motion: The Burials and Reburials of the Plantagenet Dynasty, C. 1272-1399" in Boydell and Brewer's Fourteenth Century England X Collection is an offshoot of her doctoral research on the royal funerals of kings.

"The chapter discusses how Richard II of England is depicted as "deranged" or "macabre" in his interactions with the dead by medieval chronicler Thomas Walsingham," Duch said. "I essentially dissect not only Richard's actions, but also those of his predecessors: his grandfather Edward III and his great-great-grandfather, Edward I. I suggest that perhaps Walsingham was influenced by the new Lancastrian regime; Richard II was overthrown by his cousin, Henry (later Henry IV of England). Rather than Richard being weird, he was following the example of his predecessors, and his activity was not strange at all. We only think that because Walsingham was working to please Henry IV."

Duch is a member of the Medieval Academy of America, the Renaissance Society of America and the Royal Studies Network. She is affiliated with the Society of Fourteenth Century Studies and the Society of the White Hart.

During the upcoming summer, Duch will present at the International Congress of Medieval Studies in Kalamazoo, Michigan. She will also attend the 2018 Leeds International Medieval Congress in Leeds, UK and the Kings and Queens 7 conference in Winchester, UK.

Duch earned a bachelor's degree from Arcadia University, a master's degree from the University of North Texas and a Ph.D. in history from the University of York in the United Kingdom. Before coming to Columbia State, Duch worked at the University of North Texas as an adjunct faculty member teaching upper level medieval courses.


Photo Caption: Anna Duch

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