Dr Rebecca Shaw
- Position: Lecturer in Law
- Areas of expertise: Narrative Theory; Legal Narratology; Roman Law; Narratives of Domestic Abuse Victims and Perpetrators; Female Narratives and the Law.
- Email: R.A.Shaw@leeds.ac.uk
- Location: 2.10 Liberty Building
- Website: Twitter
Profile
I joined the School of Law as a Lecturer in Law in October 2021, having completed my PhD in Law and Classics at the University of Bristol. This was an AHRC Funded project, via the South West and Wales Doctoral Training Partnership, and consisted of a legal-narratological study of the Augustan Marriage Legislation (18BC).
Responsibilities
- Deputy Director, Centre for Criminal Justice Studies
- Academic Personal Tutor Lead
Research interests
My research lies at the nexus of law and narrative, with particular research interests in the story scripts, dynamics and characterisations of socio-legal, historical and cultural narratives which frame and underpin legislation. Specifically, I focus on the power of legal storytelling, and how narrative theory can be used to examine and understand the development of master and counter narratives regarding both victims and perpetrators of domestic abuse.
I have just completed an ESRC funded project, awarded by the Vulnerability and Policing Futures Research Centre’s ECR Development Fund, in partnership with domestic abuse service providers in Leeds, West Yorkshire and York. The project aimed to invesigate the power and persistence of dominant narratives in relation to domestic abuse, as witnessed by front line specialist workers who support both victims and perpetrators. A key ambition of this project was not only to identify and analyse these narratives, but to consider how we might improve future policy and practice to change them. Find out more about the project, its outputs and the final report here. I have subsequently secured funding from the ESRC Impact Acceleration Account to support follow-on work, including the creation of a ‘Changing the Narrative of Domestic Abuse’ working group and the production of an educational resource for secondary school children, in partnership with Leeds City Council, West Yorkshire Combined Authority, West Yorkshire Violence Reduction Partnership, West Yorkshire Police, Behind Closed Doors and Foundations +Choices.
I am Stream Convenor for the Law, Literature and Humanities Stream of the Socio-Legal Studies Association, and a Research Affiliate with the Vulnerability and Policing Futures Research Centre.
I am also Deputy Lead for the newly established Feminist Research into Violence and Abuse at the University of Leeds.
<h4>Research projects</h4> <p>Some research projects I'm currently working on, or have worked on, will be listed below. Our list of all <a href="https://essl.leeds.ac.uk/dir/research-projects">research projects</a> allows you to view and search the full list of projects in the faculty.</p>Qualifications
- PhD Law and Classics
- Bachelors of Law (Hons)
- MA (Hons) Classical Studies and Ancient History
Professional memberships
- Fellowship of the HEA
- British and Irish Association for Narrative Studies
- International Society for the Study of Narrative
- Society of Legal Scholars
- Socio-Legal Studies Association
- British Society of Criminology
Student education
I teach a number of modules across the undergraduate LLB, including Criminal Law, Foundations of Law, Gender and the Law, and Evidence. I also supervise both undergraduate and postgraduate dissertations, and currently I am the Module Lead for the LLB Long Dissertation Module. I am also Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
Research groups and institutes
- Centre for Criminal Justice Studies
- Centre for Law and Social Justice