J. H. Shennan FRHistS
Deputy Vice-Chancellor of theUniversity of Lancaster
In office 1993–1998
Personal details
Born	Joseph Hugh Shennan (1933-03-13)13 March 1933 Liverpool,Lancashire
Died	25 May 2015(2015-05-25) (aged 82)
Nationality	British
Profession	Historian
Academic background
Alma mater	University of Liverpool (BA) University of Cambridge (PhD)
Academic work
Discipline	History
Institutions	University of Liverpool University of Lancaster

Joseph Hugh ShennanFRHistS (13 March 1933 – 25 May 2015) was a British historian who wasProfessor ofEuropean Studies (1974–98) andDeputy Vice-Chancellor (1993–98) at theUniversity of Lancaster. One of the pioneers inEuropean Studies, his research focussed primarily on the history ofFrance during theAncien Régime as well as on the history ofearly modern Europe.

Shennan was born in 1933 to primary school teachers Hugh and Mary Shennan. He studiedHistory at theUniversity of Liverpool where he received aBachelor of Arts degree in 1955. From 1955 to 1957 he did hisNational Service. In 1957, he continued his studies atCorpus Christi College, Cambridge where he received hisdoctorate in 1960. He taught asAssistant Lecturer and later asLecturer inHistory at theUniversity of Liverpool.^[1]

From 1965, he was employed at theUniversity of Lancaster and played an important role in the establishment of the History Department. Over the years he taught as aSenior Lecturer andReader. In the 1970s he was one of the pioneers ofEuropean Studies. In 1971, he and like-minded people founded the journalEuropean Studies Review which he served as editor until 1979. The journal later became theEuropean History Quarterly.^[1][2][3]

In 1974, he was appointedProfessor ofEuropean Studies. As such, he worked on buildingLancaster's 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 theLancaster Pamphlets, edited by the History Department, to which he also contributed three titles,France before the Revolution (1983),Louis XIV (1986) andInternational Relations in Europe, 1689–1789 (1995). In 1985, he was appointed provisionalChancellor and in 1993 he was appointedDeputy Vice-Chancellor of the university. In 1998, he retired.^[1][2]

• Shennan, J. H. (1968).The Parlement of Paris. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press.ISBN 9780750918305.
• Shennan, J. H. (1969).Government and Society in France, 1461–1661. London: George Allen and Unwin Ltd.ISBN 9781000395808.
• Shennan, J. H. (1974).The Origins of the Modern European State, 1450–1725. London: Hutchinson.ISBN 9780091190309.
• Shennan, J. H. (1979).Philippe, Duke of Orléans, Regent of France, 1715–1723. London: Thames and Hudson.ISBN 978-0500870099.
• Shennan, J. H. (1983).France before the Revolution. Lancaster Pamphlets (Rev. 1995 ed.). London: Methuen.ISBN 9780415119450.
• Shennan, J. H. (1986).Liberty and Order in Early Modern Europe: The Subject and the State, 1650–1800. London: Longman.ISBN 9780582494640.
• Shennan, J. H. (1986).Louis XIV. Lancaster Pamphlets (Rev. 1993 ed.). London: Methuen.ISBN 9780415090681.
• Shennan, J. H. (1995).International Relations in Europe, 1689–1789. Lancaster Pamphlets. London: Routledge.ISBN 9780415077804.
• Shennan, J. H. (2007).The Bourbons: The History of a Dynasty. London: Hambledon Continuum.ISBN 9781852855239.

• 1933 births
• 2015 deaths
• British 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

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