Jan Shaw

Associate Professor Jan Shaw serves as Associate Dean (Education) in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at the University of Sydney, specializing in Middle English literature with emphases on women's narratives in medieval romance and intersections with leadership theory. Her scholarly profile integrates research, teaching, and administrative leadership within the university's academic ecosystem.

Education

• BSc
• Dip Arts
• PhD

Shaw's research investigates how gendered identities in fifteenth-century romance inform models of leadership and female agency, particularly through borderland communities in medieval Britain. She explores narrative identity formation, spatial resistance in architectural contexts, and feminist reinterpretations of texts like Melusine and King Ponthus, bridging medieval literary studies with contemporary leadership frameworks and gender theory.

Her recent publications (2020-2024) reveal a concentrated focus on border geographies, Melusine scholarship, and colonial narratives, evolving toward interdisciplinary connections between medieval literature and modern leadership discourse. This trajectory demonstrates increasing methodological sophistication in analyzing place-making, translation, and gendered power dynamics within romance traditions.

Scientific Awards

No scientific awards or fellowships are documented in the provided materials.

Advising and Grants

Shaw supervises postgraduate research in Middle English literature, currently guiding Alessandra Michalandos on 'Gay and Grotesque: Unmasking the Queer Monster in Medieval Literature.' Her past students have explored feminist Arthurian readings, eco-feminist approaches to Victorian literature, and medieval themes in contemporary texts.

• 2016: Gendered space and narrative control in King Ponthus (Faculty Research Support Scheme)
• 2016: West meets east meets west in Middle English romance (Kerkyasharian and Kayikian Fund)
• 2015: Laughter and the horizon of identity (ARC Centre of Excellence)
• 2015: Cultures of Modernities (SSSHARC Collaborative Projects)
• 2015: Space, Gender and Memory in Middle English Romance (Faculty Research Support Scheme)

Shaw co-leads the 'Border Geographies' project with the University of Bristol and is an active member of the Medieval and Early Modern Centre, Global Middle Ages research group, and Early Modern Literature and Culture Research Group (EMLAC), fostering international scholarly collaboration in medieval studies.