Duncan Shaw

Professor Duncan Richard Shaw Dr. Duncan Richard Shaw (born 1961 in Sheffield, England) is an English historian and writer based in Madrid, Spain. He is the Senior Professor of History and Political Science at Schiller International University Madrid Campus, Spain. He is considered to be an expert in the history and political manipulation of sport - particularly in Francoist Spain, Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany - and has published extensively in this area. He is additionally a specialist on he manipulation of public opinion in different political systems, and also on the social history of popular music and literature. Shaw was educated at Tupton Hall School in north Derbyshire, England. He was an accomplished amateur cricketer and footballer, and now plays tennis regularly at the Federación de Tenis de Madrid. He obtained a Joint Honours Degree in History and Politics from the University of Leicester in 1983, then embarked upon a doctorate in Spanish history at the University of London with Paul Preston as his supervisor. The title of Shaw's doctoral thesis was The Political Instrumentalization of Professional Football in Francoist Spain, 1939 to 1975; he was awarded his doctorate in 1988. Out of Shaw's thesis came his successful book, in Spanish in 1987, Fútbol y Franquismo, plus well-received articles in History Today and World Soccer magazines. Shaw was correspondent in Spain for World Soccer magazine from 1984 to 1988, whilst living in Madrid and undertaking research for his doctoral thesis. He then spent a year walking across South America, which is one of the themes of his 2013 novel The Year of Finding and Losing. Shaw then taught history at several schools and universities in South America; he was Head of History at Belgrano Day School from 1989 to 1991 and at Northlands School from 1992 to 1995, both in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Whilst teaching in Argentina, Shaw was a regular contributor to the Buenos Aires Herald . He returned to Spain in 1995, to take up an appointment as Senior Professor of History at Suffolk University Madrid Campus; he has also taught at the George Washington University and the Universidad de Alcalá de Henares. Shaw was Head of Studies at Schiller International University Madrid Campus from 2007 to 2013, and is now the Senior Professor of History and Political Science there. He teaches a wide range of history, international relations and politics courses at Schiller’s Madrid Campus, and has designed and taught courses by video conferencing and in online format to students at Schiller's additional Campuses. In 2015 Shaw published, together with former Schiller student Morgan Littleton, The World As We See It, a lengthy dialogue about the contemporary global situation.Shaw brought out in 2016, along with old friend and former television colleague Carlos Castellanos, The Mountainside Dialogues, an in-depth debate about the present-day political and economic situation. Some of Shaw’s books can be found at https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Duncan-R-Shaw-ebook/dp/B01AYDJTTK/ref=sr_1_2?crid=7K45EQA0LPVW&keywords=duncan+r+shaw&qid=1654261316&sprefix=duncan+r+sha%2Caps%2C199&sr=8-2. Shaw is married and has one daughter. He divides his time between Madrid and Gandía, on the Spanish Mediterranean coast; he can be contacted at duncanrshaw@hotmail.com

TO THE ASTONISHMENT OF THE MARTIANS…

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TO THE ASTONISHMENT OF THE MARTIANS… By Professor Duncan Richard Shaw Madrid, 11 July 2022 In the 1970s one of the most inventive (and amusing) television adverts in Britain was for Smash powdered mashed potato, an American-inspired initiative from the legendary Cadbury chocolate house. The ruling oligarchy of Mars has sent a reconnaissance mission to …

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THE MISSED OPPORTUNITY OF 1991 – AND THE DECLINE OF THE WEST

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THE MISSED OPPORTUNITY OF 1991 – AND THE DECLINE OF THE WEST By Dr Duncan Richard Shaw Madrid, 9 July 2022 A hundred years ago, with Europe in ruins after World War One, the most influential book of the decade was Oswald Spengler’s (dystopian, prophetic, depressing) The Decline of the West. Spengler believed that the …

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VERY MIDSUMMER MADNESS: THE IDIOCIES OF BRITAIN’S UNWRITTEN CONSTITUTION

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VERY MIDSUMMER MADNESS: THE IDIOCIES OF BRITAIN’S UNWRITTEN CONSTITUTION By Professor Duncan Richard Shaw, PhD Madrid, 7 July 2022 Have you ever heard this expression: if you don’t know where you going, you’re likely to end up somewhere else? Or this one? Maps are essential; planning a journey without a map is like building a …

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IS DEMOCRACY REALLY POSSIBLE UNDER CAPITALISM? 

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IS DEMOCRACY REALLY POSSIBLE UNDER CAPITALISM? By Professor Duncan Richard Shaw Madrid, 6 July 2022 Back in 1985, Ken Livingstone was the embattled left-wing leader of the Greater London Council, a sharp thorn in the side of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. At exactly the same time as Thatcher was privatizing almost all of Britain’s …

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TO APPEASE OR NOT TO APPEASE? THAT IS THE QUESTION…

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TO APPEASE OR NOT TO APPEASE? THAT IS THE QUESTION… By Professor Duncan R Shaw Madrid, 29 June 2022 To appease Vladimir Putin or not to appease Vladimir Putin – that is the question facing the NATO alliance, at its summit this week here in Madrid. Indeed, that was the big question at last week’s …

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WELCOME, MERE MORTALS, TO PLANET MURDOCH

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WELCOME, MERE MORTALS, TO PLANET MURDOCH By Dr Duncan Richard Shaw Madrid, 23 June 2022 While 99 per cent of the world’s population struggles with Putin’s war, with the cost of living crisis, the ongoing Covid tragedy and soaring early summer temperatures, the ‘top one per cent’ are ordering their underlings to prepare their polluting …

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VLADIMIR PUTIN AND JOHN LENNON: FIFTY YEARS AFTER IMAGINE

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VLADIMIR PUTIN AND JOHN LENNON: FIFTY YEARS AFTER IMAGINE By Professor Duncan Richard Shaw Madrid, 18 June 2022 Fifty years ago, John Lennon added his massive moral weight to the worldwide global campaign to end the appalling Vietnam War, which President Nixon had cynically extended to hapless Cambodia. Although Yoko Ono was not everyone’s cup …

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CRY, THE BELOVED COUNTRY

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CRY, THE BELOVED COUNTRY By Professor Duncan R Shaw Madrid, 11 June 2022 In 1948, Alan Paton denounced South Africa’s degradation towards the frightful apartheid system by writing Cry, The Beloved Country. The award-winning novel depicted a country torn apart by racist injustice, international isolation and political corruption. Instead of writing a complete novel about …

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