Brett L. Shadle

Brett L. Shadle is a Professor in the Department of History within Virginia Tech's College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences. He serves as associate director of the Virginia Tech Center for Refugee, Migrant, and Displacement Studies, where he pursues research and teaching around issues of displacement while working with displaced individuals locally and internationally.

Dr. Shadle's research spans multiple areas of African historical studies. His early work focused on colonialism, law, marriage, and gender in southwest Kenya, resulting in his 2006 book 'Girl Cases': Marriage and Colonialism in Gusiiland, Kenya, 1890-1970. He later explored race and settler colonialism in The Souls of White Folk: White Settlers in Kenya, 1900–1920s. His most recent research examines refugee history, including a state of the field essay in A Companion to African History and an ongoing book project on Ethiopians who fled after Italy's 1935 invasion.

His scholarly output demonstrates a clear trajectory from colonial legal history toward contemporary displacement issues. The articles reflect deep engagement with African historical experiences, particularly regarding colonialism's impact on gender relations, legal systems, and identity formation. His recent shift toward refugee studies represents both an expansion of his historical expertise and a response to urgent contemporary humanitarian concerns.

Dr. Shadle actively engages with students through meaningful projects like the African American Fourth of July website, where undergraduate students analyzed historical African American newspapers to trace changing perspectives on Independence Day. He emphasizes critical examination of power dynamics, race, and paternalism in service learning, humanitarianism, and development work.

His research contributes significantly to understanding the historical roots of contemporary displacement issues while maintaining rigorous scholarly engagement with Africa's colonial past. As associate director of Virginia Tech's Center for Refugee, Migrant, and Displacement Studies, he bridges historical scholarship with contemporary humanitarian concerns.