Wikipedia

Jane Shaw

For other people named Jane Shaw, see Jane Shaw (disambiguation).

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]

The Reverend
Jane Shaw
Principal of Harris Manchester College, Oxford
Assumed office
1 October 2018
Personal details
Born1963 (age 60–61)
Norwich, Norfolk, United Kingdom
EducationNorwich High School for Girls
Alma materRegent's Park College, Oxford (BA)
Harvard University (MDiv)
U.C. Berkeley (PhD)
OccupationHistorian · Professor · Anglican priest · academic administration

Early life and education edit

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.[6][7] She went on to study theology at Harvard University, graduating with a Master of Divinity (MDiv) degree in 1988.[8] She completed a PhD in history at the University of California, Berkeley in 1994.[9] She has received honorary doctorates from the Episcopal Divinity School and Colgate University.[9]

Career edit

Shaw taught history and theology at Oxford University for 16 years.[5] She was a fellow of Regent's Park College, Oxford from 1994 to 2001 (dean, 1998–2001).[10] 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.[10] She served her curacy at University Church of St Mary the Virgin, Oxford, as a non-stipendiary minister between 1997 and 2001.[7] Then, in 2001, she moved to New College, Oxford, where she became the first female Dean of Divinity, and was elected a Fellow.[11] 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.[7] In 2014, she moved to Stanford University to be Professor of Religious Studies and Dean for Religious Life.[12][13][14]

In February 2018, Shaw was announced as the next Principal of Harris Manchester College, Oxford.[15] She took up the appointment on 1 October 2018.[16] 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.[17] She is additionally Professor of the History of Religion in the Faculty of Theology and Religion,[11][18] and a pro-vice-chancellor without portfolio of the University of Oxford.[11][19]

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. [20][21] 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.[10][22] She served as a governor of a British boys' public school, Winchester College.[23]

Writing edit

Shaw's academic writing focuses on modern religion, the arts, gender, and the impact of technology on society.[24] Her book "Gen Z, Explained" was an interdisciplinary study of Generation Z (18 - 25 year olds).[25] As an historian, she focuses on lived religion, which Robert Orsi describes as "the volatile and unpredictable nature of religious creation".[26][27] "Miracles in Enlightenment England" showed how the experience of miracles in Enlightenment England challenged the elites.[28][29] Her book Octavia Daughter of God won the 2012 San Francisco Book Festival History Prize, sponsored by JM Northern Media LLC.[29][30] It unearthed the story of a female Messiah figure living in Bedford, England in the early twentieth century; Mabel "Octavia" Barltrop.[31] The book was praised for showing how, and under what circumstances, a religion grows.[32][33][34]

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".[35][36] 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.[37][38]

She writes for the Financial Times and Prospect magazine.[39][40]

Activism edit

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.[41] She regularly writes for The Times[42][43][44][45][46] and the Guardian on issues pertaining to politics, religion, and the arts.[47][48][49][50][51][52] 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.[53][54][55] In 2013, she joined the Board of the NGO Human Rights Watch in California.[56]

Selected publications edit

  • Roberta Katz; Sarah Ogilvie; Jane Shaw; Linda Woodhead (2022). Gen Z, Explained. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0226823966.
  • Jane Shaw (2006). Miracles in Enlightenment England. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300112726.
  • Jane Shaw (2011). Octavia, Daughter of God: the story of a female messiah and her followers. London: Jonathan Cape. ISBN 9780224075008.
  • Jane Shaw (2012). A Practical Christianity. London: SPCK. ISBN 9780281068166.
  • Jane Shaw (2018). Pioneers of Modern Spirituality. London: DLT. ISBN 9780232532869.


References edit

  1. ^ "Stanford's Jane Shaw to be the new Principal of Harris Manchester College, Oxford | Harris Manchester College". www.hmc.ox.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 3 October 2018. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  2. ^ "Jane Shaw, Department of Religious Studies". Stanford University. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
  3. ^ "Dean of Grace Cathedral to become Stanford dean for religious life". Stanford Report. Stanford University. 22 July 2014. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
  4. ^ "Masters of the Great Hospital" (PDF).
  5. ^ a b c d May, Meredith (30 March 2013). "Very Rev. Jane Shaw, Grace Cathedral Dean". San Francisco Chronicle.
  6. ^ "Jane Alison Shaw". Crockford's Clerical Directory (online ed.). Church House Publishing. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  7. ^ a b c "Jane Alison Shaw". Crockford's Clerical Directory (online ed.). Church House Publishing. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  8. ^ "Slideshow:Jane Shaw, M.Div. '88, Speaks at HDS". Harvard Divinity School. 13 March 2012. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
  9. ^ a b "Jane Shaw, Department of History". University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
  10. ^ a b c "Jane Alison Shaw". Crockford's Clerical Directory (online ed.). Church House Publishing. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  11. ^ a b c "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". Who's Who 2023. Oxford University Press. 1 December 2022. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  12. ^ Dusen, Lisa Van (22 December 2014). "First Person: A conversation with Jane Shaw, dean of religious life and professor of religious studies at Stanford University". Palo Alto Weekly. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  13. ^ Carr, Jacqueline (21 July 2014). "Jane Shaw named new dean for religious life". The Stanford Daily. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  14. ^ "Dean of Grace Cathedral to become Stanford dean for religious life". Stanford News. Stanford University. 22 July 2014. Archived from the original on 29 September 2022. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  15. ^ "Stanford's Jane Shaw to be the new Principal of Harris Manchester College, Oxford". Harris Manchester College. University of Oxford. February 2018. Archived from the original on 22 April 2021. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  16. ^ "Stanford's Jane Shaw to be the new Principal of Harris Manchester College". www.ox.ac.uk. University of Oxford. 28 February 2018. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  17. ^ "New Norrington table record for HMC". Harris Manchester College. University of Oxford. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
  18. ^ "Professor Jane Shaw". Faculty of Theology and Religion. University of Oxford. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  19. ^ "University Officers". www.ox.ac.uk. University of Oxford. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  20. ^ "Pitt Rivers Museum Board of Visitors".
  21. ^ "Governance". Retrieved 28 December 2023.
  22. ^ "Salisbury Cathedral's Canon Theologian". salisburycathedral.org.uk. 25 June 2010. Archived from the original on 26 August 2014. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
  23. ^ "Winchester College Annual Report" (PDF).
  24. ^ "Professor Jane Shaw, FRHistS". Retrieved 28 December 2023.
  25. ^ "Professor Jane Shaw, FRHistS". Retrieved 28 December 2023.
  26. ^ Reckson, Lindsay (12 January 2012). "Back to the Garden: Jane Shaw's "Octavia Daughter of God"". Los Angeles Review of Books. Retrieved 5 September 2014.
  27. ^ Ingram, Robert G. (December 2007). "Miracles in Enlightenment England". Anglican and Episcopal History. Archived from the original on 8 March 2016.
  28. ^ Jenkins, Ellen (October 2007). "Jane Shaw 'Miracles in Enlightenment England'". The Journal of British Studies. Cambridge Journals Online. Retrieved 5 September 2014.
  29. ^ a b "Miracles in Enlightenment England". Yale University Press. Retrieved 5 September 2014.
  30. ^ "Litquake Celebrating 15 Years". Retrieved 5 September 2014.
  31. ^ Twells, A. (February 2013). "Jane Shaw. Octavia, Daughter of God". The American Historical Review. oxfordjournals.org. Archived from the original on 21 January 2014. Retrieved 5 September 2014.
  32. ^ Ridley, Jane (6 June 2011). "Paradise in Bedford". Literary Review. Archived from the original on 19 October 2011. Retrieved 5 September 2014.
  33. ^ Stanford, Peter (3 June 2011). "Octavia, Daughter of God: The Story of a Female Messiah and Her Followers by Jane Shaw – review". The Observer. London: Guardian News and Media Limited. Retrieved 5 September 2014.
  34. ^ Carey, John (29 May 2011). "Octavia, Daughter of God by Jane Shaw – review". Sunday Times. London: Times Newspapers Limited. Archived from the original on 11 February 2015. Retrieved 5 September 2014.
  35. ^ Zurcher, Ariane (3 June 2012). "Ideas that make a difference at the Aspen Ideas Festival". Huffington Post. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
  36. ^ "Jane Shaw Reminds Us to Develop Moral Imaginations". Aspen Idea Blog. 1 November 2012. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
  37. ^ "The Essay". BBC Radio 3. 20 May 2011. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
  38. ^ "The Mystical Turn". radiolistings.co.uk. 16 May 2011. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
  39. ^ "Financial Times".
  40. ^ "Prospect Magazine".
  41. ^ "WATCH news and events". Archived from the original on 11 September 2014. Retrieved 5 September 2014.
  42. ^ "After 70 Years, it's high time for action on women priests". The Times. 1 February 2014. Retrieved 5 September 2014.
  43. ^ The Times (25 May 2013). "The shock of the new signaled a real spiritual revolution in art". Retrieved 5 September 2014.
  44. ^ "The heart's antique urge to believe without belonging". The Times. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
  45. ^ "After all the excitement it takes time for reality to sink in". The Times. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
  46. ^ "Start the new year by committing to see the world anew". The Times. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
  47. ^ "Face to faith". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
  48. ^ "God, love and the terrorists". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
  49. ^ "Men, women, and difference". Churchtimes.co.uk. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
  50. ^ "Thinking Anglicans: Men, women, and difference". Thinkinganglicans.org.uk. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
  51. ^ "When the C of E wanted to talk". Churchtimes.co.uk. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
  52. ^ "Thinking Anglicans: General Convention revisited". Thinkinganglicans.org.uk. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
  53. ^ "The Chicago Consultation / Context of BO33". YouTube. Archived from the original on 19 December 2021. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
  54. ^ "Steering Committee " Chicago Consultation". Chicagoconsultation.org. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
  55. ^ ""I Am Rising...": Jane Shaw, San Francisco". YouTube. Archived from the original on 19 December 2021. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
  56. ^ "California Committee North – Human Rights Watch". Hrw.org. Retrieved 5 October 2014.

External links edit

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