Rate My Professor gary Shaw

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.