Dr. Laurel Shire

Biography

Laurel Shire is an Associate Professor in the Department of History and Co-Director of the American Studies program at Western University. With a focus on social and cultural history, her research primarily centers on the nineteenth-century United States, exploring the intricate relationships between race, gender, and U.S. expansion. Professor Shire connects her scholarship to North American borderlands and Southern U.S. history, deeply engaging with topics in Native and African American studies as well as women’s and gender history. In her teaching, Shire emphasizes critical engagement with historical content and the inclusion of marginalized perspectives, aiming to make complex material accessible. She is dedicated to supervising graduate students, with interests in race, gender, sexuality, labor, and settler colonialism. Her major research projects include her published book, 'Threshold Manifest Destiny: Gender and National Expansion in Florida', which examines how gender norms influenced American policies in frontier regions. Shire’s contributions to the field have been recognized with awards such as the Mary Kelley Prize and the Rembert Patrick Award for her scholarly work on Florida history. She has also authored several peer-reviewed articles and chapters on various historical subjects, illuminating the roles of women in shaping early America and the complexities of settler colonialism.

Research Interests