Peter Shapinsky

Peter Shapinsky is a Professor of East Asian History at the University of Illinois, Springfield, specializing in maritime history of medieval and early modern Japan. His research spans Japanese piracy, maritime exchange systems, cartographic history, and gender studies in East Asian contexts.

Research Trends: His publications focus on maritime networks (64%), pirate-state dynamics (45%), cross-cultural interactions (38%), and cartographic analysis (31%). Key subfields include premodern trade, maritime governance, and historical identity formation.

Notable awards include the 2016 University of Illinois Scholar Award. He teaches courses on East Asian history, historical methods, and maritime studies, including the pirate-centric course 'From Vikings to Hackers: A Pirate’s World History.'

• Maritime history of East Asia
• Pirate-state relationships
• Cartographic analysis
• Gender studies in East Asian history
• Global exchange networks