Jane Shaw Explained

Jane Shaw
Office1:Principal of Harris Manchester College, Oxford
Term Start1:1 October 2018
Birth Place:Norwich, Norfolk, United Kingdom
Education:Norwich High School for Girls
Alma Mater:Regent's Park College, Oxford (BA)
Harvard University (MDiv)
U.C. Berkeley (PhD)
Occupation:Historian · Professor · Anglican priest · academic administration
Honorific Prefix:The Reverend

Jane Alison Shaw (born 1963) is a British historian of religion, Anglican priest and academic. She is principal of Harris Manchester College, Oxford, Professor of the History of Religion, and Pro-Vice-Chancellor at the University of Oxford.[1] Previously she was Professor of Religious Studies and Dean of Religious Life at Stanford University and Dean of Grace Cathedral in San Francisco.[2] [3]

Early life and education

Jane Shaw grew up in Norwich, England, on the grounds of the Great Hospital, a medieval hospital with its own chapel and cloisters where her father was master.[4] [5] She attended Norwich High School for Girls. She studied modern history at University of Oxford, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1985. She went on to study theology at Harvard University, graduating with a Master of Divinity (MDiv) degree in 1988.[6] She completed a PhD in history at the University of California, Berkeley in 1994.[7] She has received honorary doctorates from the Episcopal Divinity School and Colgate University.[7]

Career

Shaw taught history and theology at Oxford University for 16 years. She was a fellow of Regent's Park College, Oxford from 1994 to 2001 (dean, 1998–2001). Having trained in the St Albans and Oxford Ministry Course, she was ordained in the Church of England as a deacon in 1997 and as a priest in 1998. She served her curacy at University Church of St Mary the Virgin, Oxford, as a non-stipendiary minister between 1997 and 2001. Then, in 2001, she moved to New College, Oxford, where she became the first female Dean of Divinity, and was elected a Fellow.[8] She was made an honorary canon of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford in 2005, and served as canon theologian of Salisbury Cathedral from 2007 to 2012.

In 2010, Shaw left Oxford to take up the position of Dean of Grace Cathedral, San Francisco. In 2014, she moved to Stanford University to be Professor of Religious Studies and Dean for Religious Life.[9] [10] [11]

In February 2018, Shaw was announced as the next Principal of Harris Manchester College, Oxford.[12] She took up the appointment on 1 October 2018.[13] Under her leadership, the college achieved record-breaking academic standing at the University of Oxford, ranking 3rd among all colleges in the Norrington Table in 2022.[14] She is additionally Professor of the History of Religion in the Faculty of Theology and Religion,[15] and a pro-vice-chancellor without portfolio of the University of Oxford.[16]

Shaw took up the position of chair of the board of the Pitt Rivers Museum in 2022, and chair of the management board of the Rothermere American Institute in 2020. [17] [18] She has held appointments as an honorary chaplain and honorary canon of Christ Church, Oxford, director of the Oxford University Summer Programme in Theology, and canon theologian of Salisbury Cathedral.[19] She served as a governor of a British boys' public school, Winchester College.[20]

Writing

Shaw's academic writing focuses on modern religion, the arts, gender, and the impact of technology on society.[21] Her book "Gen Z, Explained" was an interdisciplinary study of Generation Z (18 - 25 year olds).[22] As an historian, she focuses on lived religion, which Robert Orsi describes as "the volatile and unpredictable nature of religious creation".[23] [24] "Miracles in Enlightenment England" showed how the experience of miracles in Enlightenment England challenged the elites.[25] [26] Her book Octavia Daughter of God won the 2012 San Francisco Book Festival History Prize, sponsored by JM Northern Media LLC.[26] [27] It unearthed the story of a female Messiah figure living in Bedford, England in the early twentieth century; Mabel "Octavia" Barltrop.[28] The book was praised for showing how, and under what circumstances, a religion grows.[29] [30] [31]

Shaw's work often appeals to doubt and the questioning of faith, saying, "If we think faith is about certainty then we can become arrogant and think we know God wholly and that is very limiting."[5] Themes of loss, doubt, and forgiveness are explored in A Practical Christianity. She also focusses on art and spirituality, and what she calls "the moral imagination", which she describes as "a deep responsiveness to that which is different from us".[32] [33] In The Mystical Turn, a series of five programmes on BBC Radio 3, Shaw explored the relationship between spirituality and mysticism in the works of Russian artist Kandinsky and his contemporaries.[34] [35]

She writes for the Financial Times and Prospect magazine.[36] [37]

Activism

Shaw has combined the work of a church historian with active participation in the life of the Anglican churches and campaigning for the ordination of women to the priesthood and the episcopate.[5] She served as vice-chair of WATCH Women and the Church.[38] She regularly writes for The Times[39] [40] [41] [42] [43] and the Guardian on issues pertaining to politics, religion, and the arts.[44] [45] [46] [47] [48] [49] Shaw was an original member of a thinktank, the Chicago Consultation, advocating for LGBT Christians, and she has worked with V-Day on behalf of women who are victims of violence.[50] [51] [52] In 2013, she joined the Board of the NGO Human Rights Watch in California.[53]

Selected publications

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Stanford's Jane Shaw to be the new Principal of Harris Manchester College, Oxford Harris Manchester College. www.hmc.ox.ac.uk. en-GB. 2018-02-28. 3 October 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181003010411/http://www.hmc.ox.ac.uk/news/principal-appointment/. dead.
  2. Web site: Jane Shaw, Department of Religious Studies. Stanford University. 5 October 2014.
  3. News: Dean of Grace Cathedral to become Stanford dean for religious life. 22 July 2014. Stanford Report. Stanford University. 22 July 2014.
  4. Web site: Masters of the Great Hospital.
  5. News: May. Meredith. Very Rev. Jane Shaw, Grace Cathedral Dean. San Francisco Chronicle. 30 March 2013.
  6. Web site: Slideshow:Jane Shaw, M.Div. '88, Speaks at HDS. Harvard Divinity School . 13 March 2012 . 20 August 2014.
  7. Web site: Jane Shaw, Department of History. University of California, Berkeley. 16 August 2014.
  8. Web site: Shaw, Prof. Jane Alison, (born 28 April 1963), Principal, Harris Manchester College, Oxford, since 2018; Pro Vice-Chancellor and Professor of the History of Religion, University of Oxford, since 2018 . . Oxford University Press . 16 November 2023 . en . 1 December 2022.
  9. News: Dusen . Lisa Van . First Person: A conversation with Jane Shaw, dean of religious life and professor of religious studies at Stanford University . 16 November 2023 . Palo Alto Weekly . 22 December 2014 . en.
  10. News: Carr . Jacqueline . Jane Shaw named new dean for religious life . 16 November 2023 . The Stanford Daily . 21 July 2014.
  11. Web site: Dean of Grace Cathedral to become Stanford dean for religious life . Stanford News . Stanford University . 16 November 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220929144317/https://news.stanford.edu/news/2014/july/dean-religious-life-072114.html . 29 September 2022 . en . 22 July 2014.
  12. Web site: Stanford's Jane Shaw to be the new Principal of Harris Manchester College, Oxford . Harris Manchester College . University of Oxford . 16 November 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210422142714/http://www.hmc.ox.ac.uk/news/principal-appointment/ . 22 April 2021 . February 2018.
  13. Web site: Stanford's Jane Shaw to be the new Principal of Harris Manchester College . www.ox.ac.uk . University of Oxford . 16 November 2023 . en . 28 February 2018.
  14. Web site: New Norrington table record for HMC . Harris Manchester College . University of Oxford . 28 December 2023.
  15. Web site: Professor Jane Shaw . Faculty of Theology and Religion . University of Oxford . 16 November 2023 . en.
  16. Web site: University Officers . www.ox.ac.uk . University of Oxford . 16 November 2023 . en.
  17. Web site: Pitt Rivers Museum Board of Visitors.
  18. Web site: Governance . 28 December 2023.
  19. Web site: Salisbury Cathedral's Canon Theologian . salisburycathedral.org.uk . 25 June 2010 . 20 August 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140826115057/http://www.salisburycathedral.org.uk/press-release-archive/salisbury-cathedrals-canon-theologian-revd-canon-dr-jane-alison-shaw-appointed . 26 August 2014 .
  20. Web site: Winchester College Annual Report.
  21. Web site: Professor Jane Shaw, FRHistS . 28 December 2023.
  22. Web site: Professor Jane Shaw, FRHistS . 28 December 2023.
  23. Web site: Back to the Garden: Jane Shaw's "Octavia Daughter of God" . Lindsay . Reckson . Los Angeles Review of Books . 12 January 2012 . 5 September 2014.
  24. Web site: Miracles in Enlightenment England . Robert G. . Ingram . Anglican and Episcopal History . December 2007 . 8 March 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160308235506/https://www.questia.com/library/journal/1P3-1403837591/miracles-in-enlightenment-england . dead .
  25. Jane Shaw 'Miracles in Enlightenment England' . Ellen . Jenkins . The Journal of British Studies . Cambridge Journals Online . October 2007 . 46 . 4 . 949–950 . 10.1086/522726 . 5 September 2014.
  26. Web site: Miracles in Enlightenment England . Yale University Press . 5 September 2014.
  27. Web site: Litquake Celebrating 15 Years . 5 September 2014.
  28. News: Jane Shaw. Octavia, Daughter of God . https://web.archive.org/web/20140121115234/http://ahr.oxfordjournals.org/content/118/1/260.extract . dead . 2014-01-21 . A.. Twells. . February 2013. oxfordjournals.org . 5 September 2014.
  29. News: Paradise in Bedford . Jane . Ridley . . 6 June 2011 . 5 September 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20111019102040/http://www.literaryreview.co.uk/ridley_06_11.html . 19 October 2011 .
  30. News: Octavia, Daughter of God: The Story of a Female Messiah and Her Followers by Jane Shaw – review. Peter. Stanford. . 3 June 2011. . London . 5 September 2014.
  31. News: Octavia, Daughter of God by Jane Shaw – review. https://web.archive.org/web/20150211174754/http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/culture/books/non_fiction/article634419.ece . dead . 11 February 2015 . John. Carey. . 29 May 2011 . . London . 5 September 2014.
  32. Web site: Ideas that make a difference at the Aspen Ideas Festival. Ariane. Zurcher. Huffington Post . 3 June 2012. 28 August 2014.
  33. Web site: Jane Shaw Reminds Us to Develop Moral Imaginations. Aspen Idea Blog . 1 November 2012. 28 August 2014.
  34. Web site: The Essay. BBC Radio 3 . 20 May 2011. 28 August 2014.
  35. Web site: The Mystical Turn. radiolistings.co.uk . 16 May 2011. 28 August 2014.
  36. Web site: Financial Times .
  37. Web site: Prospect Magazine .
  38. Web site: WATCH news and events . 5 September 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140911201609/http://oldsite.womenandthechurch.org/news.htm . 11 September 2014 .
  39. News: After 70 Years, it's high time for action on women priests. The Times. 5 September 2014. 1 February 2014.
  40. News: The Times. The shock of the new signaled a real spiritual revolution in art. 5 September 2014. 25 May 2013.
  41. Web site: The heart's antique urge to believe without belonging. The Times. 5 October 2014.
  42. Web site: After all the excitement it takes time for reality to sink in. The Times. 5 October 2014.
  43. Web site: Start the new year by committing to see the world anew. The Times. 5 October 2014.
  44. News: Face to faith. The Guardian. 5 October 2007 . 5 October 2014.
  45. News: God, love and the terrorists. The Guardian. 22 September 2001 . 5 October 2014.
  46. Web site: Men, women, and difference. Churchtimes.co.uk. 5 October 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141006113141/http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2013/26-april/comment/opinion/men,-women,-and-difference. 6 October 2014. dead.
  47. Web site: Thinking Anglicans: Men, women, and difference. 3 May 2013 . Thinkinganglicans.org.uk. 5 October 2014.
  48. Web site: When the C of E wanted to talk. Churchtimes.co.uk. 5 October 2014.
  49. Web site: Thinking Anglicans: General Convention revisited. August 2009 . Thinkinganglicans.org.uk. 5 October 2014.
  50. Web site: The Chicago Consultation / Context of BO33. https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211219/gQNyLAxvCqw . 2021-12-19 . live. YouTube. 2 July 2009 . 5 October 2014.
  51. Web site: Steering Committee " Chicago Consultation. Chicagoconsultation.org. 5 October 2014.
  52. Web site: "I Am Rising...": Jane Shaw, San Francisco. https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211219/936-YoC1Ja8 . 2021-12-19 . live. YouTube. 11 December 2012 . 5 October 2014.
  53. Web site: California Committee North – Human Rights Watch. Hrw.org. 5 October 2014.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Jane Shaw".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.