Diane Shaw Bio

Diane Shaw received her Ph.D. in architectural history from the University of California at Berkeley in 1998, and holds a master’s degree in American studies from George Washington University and a baccalaureate in history from Smith College. Shaw’s work emphasizes the social aspects of urban and architectural landscapes. Always asking “why did they do that?,” her history courses in American architecture, Central American architecture, urban design, and historic preservation all inquire into the cultural meaning of the built environment. Shaw’s research focuses on the vernacular architecture and urbanism of the U.S. Her book City Building on the Eastern Frontier: Sorting the New 19th Century City (2004) shows the creative depth to which the business leaders were able to sort urban space. Shaw’s articles and reviews have appeared in Perspectives in Vernacular Architecture, the Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, the Journal of Medieval and Early Modern Studies, the Journal of Urban History, The Public Historian, and the Journal of Urban History. A member of the advisory board to the Bureau of Historic Preservation within the Pennsylvania History and Museum Commission, Shaw was appointed chair in 2004.

	*Diane Shaw, Associate Professor of Architecture*
	Diane Shaw received her Ph.D. in architectural history from the University of California at Berkeley in 1998, and holds a master’s degree in American studies from George Washington University and a baccalaureate in history from Smith College. Shaw’s work emphasizes the social aspects of urban and architectural landscapes. Always asking “why did they do that?,” her history courses in American architecture, Central American architecture, urban design, and historic preservation all inquire into the cultural meaning of the built environment. Shaw’s research focuses on the vernacular architecture and urbanism of the U.S. Her book City Building on the Eastern Frontier: Sorting the New 19th Century City (2004) shows the creative depth to which the business leaders were able to sort urban space. Shaw’s articles and reviews have appeared in Perspectives in Vernacular Architecture, the Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, the Journal of Medieval and Early Modern Studies, the Journal of Urban History, The Public Historian, and the Journal of Urban History. A member of the advisory board to the Bureau of Historic Preservation within the Pennsylvania History and Museum Commission, Shaw was appointed chair in 2004.