Hi there!
Welcome to my webpage. My name is Jake Shaw, and I am delighted you’re here.
I’m a Ph.D. Candidate in Political Science at the University of Missouri-St. Louis with plans to defend my dissertation, From Disaster to Decision: Spatial and Temporal Patterns in Disaster-Affected Voting, in Summer 2025.
This website is a portfolio of sorts meant to showcase my methodological training and extensive research and teaching experience. Throughout the pages on this site, you can see conference papers, research projects, and publications I’ve worked on. I also take a deep dive into my dissertation, including its theoretical and empirical contributions. While my time as a graduate student is wrapping up, my research ambitions are only growing. I’ve created a research agenda that knits my projects of the past and ideas for the future together.
Below, I talk a little about me. Feel free to explore this and the pages I’ve put together on this website.
Thank you for taking the time to visit this page. If you have any questions or want to get in contact, send me an email at shawpolisci@gmail.com.
Sincerely,
Jake Shaw
About me
I was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri. I was fascinated by teaching at a young age. Whether it was offering to stay in during recess to help my teachers prepare weekend packets, making a teacher’s ID at home for myself (and breaking my mom’s laminator in the process), or playing school with my grandma over summer break while my parents were at work, there was something about being a “teacher” that was so naturally exciting to me.
I also remember feeling exhilarated by politics. While I remember the 2004 Presidential Election, the 2008 match-up between Senators McCain and Obama was the first election that really caught my attention. Over the years, I attentively observed my grandpa and uncle engage in fiery political debates, which I was eager to join as I got older. Early on, I sensed the excitement around politics because of the prospect to bring about change.
My higher education career began at Saint Louis University, where I completed my Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, German Studies, and International Studies in 2019. Although I started as a pre-med student, I switched to Political Science in my sophomore year and finally felt at home. I was lucky to extend my love of the German language from high school into my college years. One of my fondest memories was spending five months of my junior year at Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg in Heidelberg, Germany.
I spent an extra year at SLU working on my M.A. in Political Science and Public Affairs in 2020 with a concentration in American Political Development. During this time, I fell in love with the research process as I focused on mass incarceration and comparative penal policy in the U.S. and Germany. I also rediscovered my love for teaching and set my sights on a Ph.D. in Political Science to prepare for a career where I could have both.
In 2020, I started my Ph.D. at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. I passed my comprehensive exams in American Politics with distinction in 2022. While at UMSL, my research agenda really began to take shape. My understanding of politics as the prospect of change morphed into questions, like:
- Change for who?
- Who’s involved in the decision-making process?
- When do voters want change?
I have worked on a several projects looking at gender and racial representation in local government, campaign contributions, access to voting, and how voters behave in the face of disasters, like COVID-19 or severe weather events. These projects have enabled me to refine my quantitative analysis skills, where I primarily rely on R. They’ve also encouraged me to develop new skills, like geospatial statistical analysis in ArcGIS Pro and R.
Teaching has been a center piece to my time working on my Ph.D. I began instructing courses on U.S. and Missouri Constitutions at Fontbonne University in 2021. After several semesters as a TA at UMSL, I began teaching my own courses, like Intro to American Politics, Intro to Urban Politics, and the American Presidency.
As I wrap up my Ph.D. this summer, I am excited as I turn toward a career with the opportunity to (1) ask important questions through research and (2) educate the next generation of world changers. Borrowing a phrase from a professor I hold in high esteem, education is the meeting of minds. What excites me about higher education is that research and teaching complement one another. I always tell my students, “I learn as much from you as you learn from me. In this course, we learn together.” I can’t wait to keep learning.
Most importantly, I’m a full-time cat data to Jordan and Mirela. I adopted both of them in 2018 at four years (Jordan) and 13 weeks (Mirela) old. Like me, they seem very interested in American politics. At least, I think that’s why they like to lie on my keyboard when I’m working.
During the spring and summer I’m an avid gardener. At the moment, I’m making the most of our apartment balcony. You’d be surprised how many pots will fit on a 6′ x 10′ space! I also enjoy going on hikes and exploring new coffee spots with my partner. I love to travel. Most recently, we’ve visited Montreal, New Orleans, and Las Vegas.
Jake Shaw 