Claire S. Schen

Claire S. Schen is an Associate Professor in the Department of History at the University at Buffalo (SUNY), serving concurrently as Associate Dean for Undergraduate Research and Scholarship in the Undergraduate Education & University Honors College. She holds a PhD from Brandeis University (1995) and an AB from Brown University (1987).

Her research focuses on early modern European history with specializations in British piracy networks, religious conversion studies, and digital humanities applications. Current projects include mapping Mediterranean piracy's impact on English communities and visualizing transnational networks of captivity and redemption. She also explores bicycle culture in 1890s Buffalo through public history projects.

Key research interests span transnational religious interactions, social tolerance/intolerance, and digital mapping methodologies. Her work bridges traditional historiography with innovative digital tools like StoryMaps and GIS mapping.

Teaching emphasizes digital research methods, with courses on global pandemics, British history, and renaissance topics. She has received grants from The Folger Institute supporting her work on religious experience and toleration in early modern contexts.

Publications include her monograph on Reformation-era London charity (Ashgate, 2002) and articles published in Albion, Oxford Bibliographies, and collaborative digital history projects. She contributes to the Map of Early Modern London (MoEML) project.