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Shearer West

Shearer West was formerly Professor of Art History at the University of Birmingham and was seconded from 2008-11 to be Director of Research at the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), part of Research Councils UK.
She has published nine authored and edited books on eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth century European art, and many peer-reviewed essays and articles, including prize-winning publications. Her specialist area is the history of portraiture.
She has held two visiting Fellowships at Yale University, served on the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise sub-panel for History of Art, Architecture and Design, and has acted as a teaching assessor for the QAA, in addition to numerous external consultancies. She went to the AHRC after four years as Head of the School of Historical Studies, then Acting Head of the College of Arts and Law, at the University of Birmingham. Her AHRC role included overseeing the strategic direction of arts and humanities research programmes, including knowledge transfer, and she has held a number of international leadership roles, including chairing the Joint Research Programmes for the European Humanities network (HERA). While at AHRC, she was also appointed chair of the RCUK Research Group, which consists of Research and Science Directors across all seven of the Research Councils.

Series featuring Shearer West

  • Alumni Weekend
  • Humanitas - Visiting Professorships at the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge
  • Cultural Heritage Forum
  • TORCH | The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities
# Episode Title Description People Date
8 Cultural Frontier: Early 20th Century Vienna Re-visiting the time of Freud, Klimt and Schönberg, the Alumni Weekend panel surveys and analyse this unique period in Vienna’s history and in Western culture. Bethany Bell, Shearer West, Ritchie Robertson, Jonathan Cross 28 Apr 2015
7 Creative Commons In Everyone's Interests - the highlights Panel discussion on what it means to invest in the humanities Andrew Hamilton, Earl Lewis, Hermione Lee, Charlotte Higgins 04 Feb 2014
6 Creative Commons In Everyone's Interests Panel discussion on what it means to invest in the humanities Andrew Hamilton, Earl Lewis, Hermione Lee, Charlotte Higgins 04 Feb 2014
5 Creative Commons Humanities Graduates and the British Economy Humanities Graduates and the British Economy. Shearer West, Sir Adam Roberts, Philip Kreager, Stephen Tuck 01 Aug 2013
4 Creative Commons TORCH Launch The highlights of the launch event for The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities (TORCH). Jonathan Bate, Clare Copeland, Andrew Hamilton, Marcus du Sautoy 29 May 2013
3 Creative Commons Pictures and Texts A symposium with William Kentridge, Ivo Mesquita and Estrella de Diego Otero, chaired by Shearer West on Thursday 9 May 2013 in the Grove Auditorium, Magdalen College, Oxford. William Kentridge, Ivo Mesquita, Estrella de Diego Otero, Shearer West 28 May 2013
2 Creative Commons 1.2 Humanities at Oxford University and How Important Cultural Heritage as a Theme Is Professor Shearer West (Head of the Humanities Division) delivers part 2/6 of the lecture "What can the University contribute and how can it benefit?". Shearer West 18 Feb 2013
1 Global Humanities Showcase Shearer West, Rana Mitter, Helen Wanatabe-O'Kelly and Eugene Rogan give presentations showcasing the research being done in the Oxford Humanities Division. Shearer West, Rana Mitter, Helen Wanatabe-O'Kelly, Eugene Rogan 05 Oct 2011