Joseph Hugh Shennan (13 March 1933 – 25 May 2015) was a British historian who was

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

European Studies European studies is a field of study offered by many academic colleges and universities that focuses on current developments in European integration. Some programmes offer a social science or public administration curriculum focusing on develop ...

(1974–98) and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (1993–98) at the

University of Lancaster , mottoeng = Truth lies open to all , established = , endowment = £13.9 million , budget = £317.9 million , type = Public , city = Bailrigg, City of Lancaster , country = England , coor = , campus = Bailrigg , faculty = 1 ...

. One of the pioneers in

, his research focussed primarily on the history of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

during the

Ancien Régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for "ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France {{disambig ...

as well as on the history of

early modern Europe Early modern Europe, also referred to as the post-medieval period, is the period of European history between the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, roughly the late 15th century to the late 18th century. Histori ...

Life

Shennan was born in 1933 to primary school teachers Hugh and Mary Shennan. He studied

History History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

at the

University of Liverpool , mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning , established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...

where he received a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree in 1955. From 1955 to 1957 he did his

National Service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The l ...

. In 1957, he continued his studies at

Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Corpus Christi College (full name: "The College of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary", often shortened to "Corpus"), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. From the late 14th century through to the early 19th century ...

where he received his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

in 1960. He taught as

Assistant Lecturer Lecturer is an academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. They may also conduct res ...

and later as

Lecturer Lecturer is an List of academic ranks, academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. T ...

at the

. From 1965, he was employed at the

and played an important role in the establishment of the History Department. Over the years he taught as a

Senior Lecturer Senior lecturer is an academic rank. In the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia, Switzerland, and Israel senior lecturer is a faculty position at a university or similar institution. The position is tenured (in systems with this concep ...

and

Reader A reader is a person who reads. It may also refer to: Computing and technology * Adobe Reader (now Adobe Acrobat), a PDF reader * Bible Reader for Palm, a discontinued PDA application * A card reader, for extracting data from various forms of ...

. In the 1970s he was one of the pioneers of

. In 1971, he and like-minded people founded the journal '' European Studies Review'' which he served as editor until 1979. The journal later became the ''

European History Quarterly ''European History Quarterly'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal that publishes articles in the field of history. The journal was established in 1971 as the ''European Studies Review'' and obtained its current title in 1984. It covers ...

''. In 1974, he was appointed

. As such, he worked on building

Lancaster's Treacher Collins syndrome (TCS) is a genetic disorder characterized by deformities of the ears, eyes, cheekbones, and chin. The degree to which a person is affected, however, may vary from mild to severe. Complications may include breathing prob ...

interdisciplinary School of European Studies and was its first director. From 1979 to 1984, he was Head of the History Department. During this time, he founded the ''Lancaster Pamphlets'', edited by the History Department, to which he also contributed three titles, ''France before the Revolution'' (1983), ''Louis XIV'' (1986) and ''International Relations in Europe, 1689–1789'' (1995). In 1985, he was appointed provisional

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

and in 1993 he was appointed Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the university. In 1998, he retired.

Publications

* * * * * * * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shennan, J. H. 1933 births 2015 deaths Academic journal editors Alumni of the University of Liverpool Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge 20th-century British historians 21st-century British historians Academics of the University of Liverpool Academics of Lancaster University Fellows of the Royal Historical Society Historians of France Historians of Europe Writers from Liverpool