Rate My Professor Lynn Mollenauer

Lynn Mollenauer is an Associate Professor in the Department of History at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. She teaches courses in European history from the Renaissance to the French Revolution. Mollenauer holds a Ph.D. in History from Northwestern University, an M.A. in History from the University of Chicago, and a B.A. in History and Fine Arts from Amherst College. As a cultural historian, her research examines the interconnections between science, magic, and religion. She is the author of Strange Revelations: Magic, Poison, and Sacrilege in Louis XIV’s France (Penn State University Press, 2007), which details the Affair of the Poisons, the greatest court scandal of the seventeenth century involving accusations of sorcery, poisoning, and sacrilege at the court of Louis XIV. Mollenauer has published articles on magic, folk medicine, and Conjure, contributing to scholarly understanding of cultural practices in early modern Europe.

Mollenauer has spearheaded initiatives at UNCW examining the 1898 Wilmington massacre and coup and its lasting impact on the greater Wilmington community. She is Co-Director of UNCW’s 1898 Legacies and Futures Research Collective, which aims to nurture constructive dialogue, innovative pedagogies, and new partnerships that contribute to ongoing remembrance and restoration efforts throughout the Cape Fear region. She is co-editing the volume The 1898 Wilmington Massacre: Critical Explorations on Insurrection, Black Resilience, and Black Futures, forthcoming from Louisiana State University Press. In recognition of her teaching, Mollenauer received the Chancellor’s Teaching Excellence Award in 2016. She also serves as co-project director for a National Endowment for the Humanities grant funding a two-week residential institute for K-12 educators titled Wilmington 1898: Geographies of Rage, Resistance, and Resilience, awarded $177,639. Through her scholarship and leadership, Mollenauer bridges European cultural history with local historical reckoning, influencing both academic research and public engagement.