Rate My Professor gary Shaw

Gary Shaw is Professor of History and Professor of Medieval Studies at Wesleyan University, positions he has held since 2002 and throughout his tenure there since joining the faculty in 1990 as Assistant Professor. He advanced to Associate Professor in 1996 before becoming full Professor. Shaw has also served as Chair of the Department of History from 2003 to 2006 and from 2015 to 2017, and as Dean of the Social Sciences and Interdisciplinary Programs from 2010 to 2013. His academic background includes an Honours Bachelor of Arts in History and Philosophy from McGill University in 1986 and a Doctor of Philosophy from Oxford University in 1990, where he was a member of Balliol College and supported by a Commonwealth Scholarship.

Shaw's research specializes in medieval England and Britain, focusing on the social construction of the self, agency, actor-network theory applied to history, the history of animals, and the circulation of people, animals, things, and ideas. He is a prominent contributor to the theory and philosophy of history. Key publications include his monographs The Creation of a Community: The City of Wells in the Middle Ages (Oxford University Press, 1993) and Necessary Conjunctions: The Social Self in Medieval England (Palgrave Macmillan, 2005). He has edited influential theme issues for History and Theory, including Does History Need Animals? (2013), Religion and History (2006), Agency after Postmodernism (2001), and The Return of Science: Evolution, History, and Theory (co-edited with Philip Pomper, 2002). Selected articles feature “The Torturer’s Horse: Agency and Animals in History” (History and Theory, 2013), “Horses and Actor-Networks: Manufacturing Travel in Later Medieval England” (2015), and “Social Networks and the Foundations of Oligarchy in Medieval Towns” (Urban History, 2005). Since 1996, Shaw has been Associate Editor of History and Theory, shaping debates in historiography. His scholarly impact is evidenced by fellowships from the American Council of Learned Societies and National Endowment for the Humanities (both 2002-2003), among others such as the American Philosophical Society Research Grant (1997-1998) and earlier doctoral awards.