Joshua Shaw
@joshuashaw.bsky.social
Assistant Professor, #USask College of Law | Legal theory and history | Medical law, ownership and use of bodies and biomaterials | He/him
https://linktr.ee/jdmshaw
https://linktr.ee/jdmshaw
Pinned
The legal somatics of body bequests before the Anatomy Act 1832
Without the authority of legislation in the United Kingdom, some bequeathed their bodies to physicians, surgeons and apothecaries to dissect and create anatomical specimens in the eighteenth and ea...
doi.org
My latest article, “The Legal Somatics of Body Bequests Before the Anatomy Act 1832”, is published in Mortality, an interdisciplinary journal on death and dying. In the article, I analyze the medico-legal history of 18th- and 19th-century body bequests in England and Ireland. doi.org/10.1080/1357...
Reposted by Joshua Shaw
My latest article, “The Legal Somatics of Body Bequests Before the Anatomy Act 1832”, is published in Mortality, an interdisciplinary journal on death and dying. In the article, I analyze the medico-legal history of 18th- and 19th-century body bequests in England and Ireland. doi.org/10.1080/1357...
The legal somatics of body bequests before the Anatomy Act 1832
Without the authority of legislation in the United Kingdom, some bequeathed their bodies to physicians, surgeons and apothecaries to dissect and create anatomical specimens in the eighteenth and ea...
doi.org
November 25, 2025 at 12:18 AM
My latest article, “The Legal Somatics of Body Bequests Before the Anatomy Act 1832”, is published in Mortality, an interdisciplinary journal on death and dying. In the article, I analyze the medico-legal history of 18th- and 19th-century body bequests in England and Ireland. doi.org/10.1080/1357...
Reposted by Joshua Shaw
one of the coolest things about ChatGPT is how you can actually just never use it. you can fill your whole entire life with simply not once using it. it's incredible.
November 25, 2025 at 4:15 PM
one of the coolest things about ChatGPT is how you can actually just never use it. you can fill your whole entire life with simply not once using it. it's incredible.
Reposted by Joshua Shaw
Oh coooool look @joshuashaw.bsky.social has published his piece on body bequests prior to the Anatomy Act of 1832 and I know from when he presented it at KLS that this is absolutely fascinating stuff www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
November 25, 2025 at 1:53 PM
Oh coooool look @joshuashaw.bsky.social has published his piece on body bequests prior to the Anatomy Act of 1832 and I know from when he presented it at KLS that this is absolutely fascinating stuff www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Reposted by Joshua Shaw
1/9 I LOVE the intro chapter of this book on close reading. We do close reading in law, too. It shows concretely how close reading is done, in 5 steps: scene setting, noticing, local claiming, regional argumentation and global theorizing.
Am I the first law professor wanting to assign parts of this book to law students, esp. the Introduction by @johannawinant.bsky.social and @dan-sinnamon.bsky.social
November 25, 2025 at 12:01 PM
1/9 I LOVE the intro chapter of this book on close reading. We do close reading in law, too. It shows concretely how close reading is done, in 5 steps: scene setting, noticing, local claiming, regional argumentation and global theorizing.
Reposted by Joshua Shaw
The full final cover is in and I would just like to draw your attention to that slim elegant spine - you will be able to get through this bad boy over the course of a medium-length train journey and arrive at your destination freshly conscious of the alien lifeform that battens on our biosphere
November 25, 2025 at 1:36 PM
The full final cover is in and I would just like to draw your attention to that slim elegant spine - you will be able to get through this bad boy over the course of a medium-length train journey and arrive at your destination freshly conscious of the alien lifeform that battens on our biosphere
My latest article, “The Legal Somatics of Body Bequests Before the Anatomy Act 1832”, is published in Mortality, an interdisciplinary journal on death and dying. In the article, I analyze the medico-legal history of 18th- and 19th-century body bequests in England and Ireland. doi.org/10.1080/1357...
The legal somatics of body bequests before the Anatomy Act 1832
Without the authority of legislation in the United Kingdom, some bequeathed their bodies to physicians, surgeons and apothecaries to dissect and create anatomical specimens in the eighteenth and ea...
doi.org
November 25, 2025 at 12:18 AM
My latest article, “The Legal Somatics of Body Bequests Before the Anatomy Act 1832”, is published in Mortality, an interdisciplinary journal on death and dying. In the article, I analyze the medico-legal history of 18th- and 19th-century body bequests in England and Ireland. doi.org/10.1080/1357...
Reposted by Joshua Shaw
Oooh I should add that it has attracted this very helpful endorsement quote:
November 24, 2025 at 10:57 AM
Oooh I should add that it has attracted this very helpful endorsement quote:
Reposted by Joshua Shaw
I don't understand how anyone can watch how blatantly Grok is manipulated to answer the way ownership desires it to and then act like the other LLM chatbots couldn't possibly be similarly but less obviously compromised to produce responses in whatever way corporate interests and priorities dictate.
November 23, 2025 at 7:13 PM
I don't understand how anyone can watch how blatantly Grok is manipulated to answer the way ownership desires it to and then act like the other LLM chatbots couldn't possibly be similarly but less obviously compromised to produce responses in whatever way corporate interests and priorities dictate.
Reposted by Joshua Shaw
“The voices that matter most – trans young people, their families, the clinicians who work with them and trans health experts in Aotearoa – have been clear: access to puberty blockers is crucial.”
Young trans people need access to transition healthcare. We must listen to them, not to transphobes.
Young trans people need access to transition healthcare. We must listen to them, not to transphobes.
Puberty blockers: why politicians overriding doctors sets a dangerous precedent
The government’s ban on puberty blockers undermines clinical expertise and targets trans youth with a policy that lacks evidence, consistency and fairness.
theconversation.com
November 23, 2025 at 11:25 AM
“The voices that matter most – trans young people, their families, the clinicians who work with them and trans health experts in Aotearoa – have been clear: access to puberty blockers is crucial.”
Young trans people need access to transition healthcare. We must listen to them, not to transphobes.
Young trans people need access to transition healthcare. We must listen to them, not to transphobes.
For a panel at the Canadian Law and Society Association’s (CLSA) annual meeting (10-12 June 2026), I invite papers from socio-legal scholars who research any aspect of medical law (panel to be called “Socio-legal topics in medical law”).
Call for papers:
The Canadian Law and Society Association is holding its annual meeting on 10-12 June 2026 at Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. Abstracts (along with a 1-page CV) should be submitted by 30 January 2026.
Details in English and French: www.acds-clsa.ca/uploads/1/2/...
The Canadian Law and Society Association is holding its annual meeting on 10-12 June 2026 at Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. Abstracts (along with a 1-page CV) should be submitted by 30 January 2026.
Details in English and French: www.acds-clsa.ca/uploads/1/2/...
www.acds-clsa.ca
November 23, 2025 at 4:57 PM
For a panel at the Canadian Law and Society Association’s (CLSA) annual meeting (10-12 June 2026), I invite papers from socio-legal scholars who research any aspect of medical law (panel to be called “Socio-legal topics in medical law”).
Call for papers:
The Canadian Law and Society Association is holding its annual meeting on 10-12 June 2026 at Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. Abstracts (along with a 1-page CV) should be submitted by 30 January 2026.
Details in English and French: www.acds-clsa.ca/uploads/1/2/...
The Canadian Law and Society Association is holding its annual meeting on 10-12 June 2026 at Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. Abstracts (along with a 1-page CV) should be submitted by 30 January 2026.
Details in English and French: www.acds-clsa.ca/uploads/1/2/...
www.acds-clsa.ca
November 23, 2025 at 3:19 PM
Call for papers:
The Canadian Law and Society Association is holding its annual meeting on 10-12 June 2026 at Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. Abstracts (along with a 1-page CV) should be submitted by 30 January 2026.
Details in English and French: www.acds-clsa.ca/uploads/1/2/...
The Canadian Law and Society Association is holding its annual meeting on 10-12 June 2026 at Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. Abstracts (along with a 1-page CV) should be submitted by 30 January 2026.
Details in English and French: www.acds-clsa.ca/uploads/1/2/...
Reposted by Joshua Shaw
📔: “The spirit and gist of a gathering of people who worked closely with Drucilla…”
Thrilled to announce the publication of our new special issue, “Limit, Transformation, Imagination — Honouring the Legacy of Drucilla Cornell” edited by Karin van Marle.
Read here: link.springer.com/journal/1069...
Thrilled to announce the publication of our new special issue, “Limit, Transformation, Imagination — Honouring the Legacy of Drucilla Cornell” edited by Karin van Marle.
Read here: link.springer.com/journal/1069...
November 23, 2025 at 2:55 PM
📔: “The spirit and gist of a gathering of people who worked closely with Drucilla…”
Thrilled to announce the publication of our new special issue, “Limit, Transformation, Imagination — Honouring the Legacy of Drucilla Cornell” edited by Karin van Marle.
Read here: link.springer.com/journal/1069...
Thrilled to announce the publication of our new special issue, “Limit, Transformation, Imagination — Honouring the Legacy of Drucilla Cornell” edited by Karin van Marle.
Read here: link.springer.com/journal/1069...
Reposted by Joshua Shaw
The Alberta government is invoking the Notwithstanding Clause to protect its three anti-trans laws from being challenged in the courts
The lies Danielle Smith is telling to overturn trans kids’ rights | Xtra Magazine
The Alberta government is invoking the Notwithstanding Clause to protect its three anti-trans laws from being challenged in the courts
xtramagazine.com
November 21, 2025 at 9:06 PM
The Alberta government is invoking the Notwithstanding Clause to protect its three anti-trans laws from being challenged in the courts
Reposted by Joshua Shaw
Food for thought: students don’t want ‘cheap AI’ instruction (anyone with half a brain cell knows this already). But worth telegraphing to a sector being tapped for AI investment: www.theguardian.com/education/20...
‘We could have asked ChatGPT’: students fight back over course taught by AI
Staffordshire students say signs material was AI-generated included suspicious file names and rogue voiceover accent
www.theguardian.com
November 21, 2025 at 12:58 AM
Food for thought: students don’t want ‘cheap AI’ instruction (anyone with half a brain cell knows this already). But worth telegraphing to a sector being tapped for AI investment: www.theguardian.com/education/20...
Reposted by Joshua Shaw
I've said it before and I will say it again many times, people using "AI" to design and deliver 'teaching' to students, to mark their work, and in this case to (!) generate literal voice overs are risking their jobs, and frankly they *should* be at risk if they do this sort of thing:
‘We could have asked ChatGPT’: students fight back over course taught by AI
Staffordshire students say signs material was AI-generated included suspicious file names and rogue voiceover accent
www.theguardian.com
November 20, 2025 at 12:11 PM
I've said it before and I will say it again many times, people using "AI" to design and deliver 'teaching' to students, to mark their work, and in this case to (!) generate literal voice overs are risking their jobs, and frankly they *should* be at risk if they do this sort of thing:
Reposted by Joshua Shaw
if I was advising AI-curious junior folks it'd 100% just don't use it at all, stay out of it, let the whole thing just pass you by. It's much safer (as well as frankly better for one's teaching).
November 20, 2025 at 12:52 PM
if I was advising AI-curious junior folks it'd 100% just don't use it at all, stay out of it, let the whole thing just pass you by. It's much safer (as well as frankly better for one's teaching).
Reposted by Joshua Shaw
This post details what's at stake in the UCP's invocation of the Charter's notwithstanding clause to override the rights of trans and gender diverse youth. The government had other options, and to use the nuclear option of s 33 calls into question its confidence in its ability to justify its laws.
New Post: The Nuclear Option: An Update on Alberta’s Legislation Targeting Trans and Gender Diverse Youth
ablawg.ca/2025/11/19...…er-diverse-youth/
ablawg.ca/2025/11/19...…er-diverse-youth/
The Nuclear Option: An Update on Alberta’s Legislation Targeting Trans and Gender Diverse Youth
By: Jennifer Koshan Case and Bill Commented On: Egale Canada v Alberta, 2025 ABKB 394 (CanLII); Bill 9, Protecting Alberta’s Children Statutes Amendment Act, 2025, 2nd Session, 31st Legislature PD…
ablawg.ca
November 19, 2025 at 5:21 PM
This post details what's at stake in the UCP's invocation of the Charter's notwithstanding clause to override the rights of trans and gender diverse youth. The government had other options, and to use the nuclear option of s 33 calls into question its confidence in its ability to justify its laws.
Reposted by Joshua Shaw
It ought to be illegal to include the bibliography in the word-count...
November 19, 2025 at 4:44 PM
It ought to be illegal to include the bibliography in the word-count...
Reposted by Joshua Shaw
I think law professors should get together to convince courts that the tort of “pushing AI bullshit down our throats” has always existed. There’s a few companies I want to sue.
November 18, 2025 at 8:26 PM
I think law professors should get together to convince courts that the tort of “pushing AI bullshit down our throats” has always existed. There’s a few companies I want to sue.
Reposted by Joshua Shaw
“This is one of the most consequential actions our government will take during our time in office,” says the woman who just suspended kids’ right to life, liberty, and security of the person.
Doing this two days before TDoR is particularly vile.
Alberta invokes notwithstanding clause on trio of transgender laws
The Alberta government has invoked the Charter’s notwithstanding clause for the second time in less than a month in this case to protect from legal challenge a trio of laws affecting transgender youth...
www.ctvnews.ca
November 18, 2025 at 10:37 PM
“This is one of the most consequential actions our government will take during our time in office,” says the woman who just suspended kids’ right to life, liberty, and security of the person.
Reposted by Joshua Shaw
STILL TRUE
November 18, 2025 at 11:02 AM
STILL TRUE
Reposted by Joshua Shaw
Doing this two days before TDoR is particularly vile.
Alberta invokes notwithstanding clause on trio of transgender laws
The Alberta government has invoked the Charter’s notwithstanding clause for the second time in less than a month in this case to protect from legal challenge a trio of laws affecting transgender youth...
www.ctvnews.ca
November 18, 2025 at 10:36 PM
Doing this two days before TDoR is particularly vile.
Reposted by Joshua Shaw
In our latest post @mariethogersen.bsky.social meticulously unpacks what *exactly* is ideological about international law. Against those who locate this merely in international law's content, she directs us to international law's fetishistic character.
legalform.blog/2025/11/17/i...
legalform.blog/2025/11/17/i...
International Law as Ideology: A Commodity Form Approach — Marie Thøgersen
‘Doctrinal international legal scholars contribute to the reproduction of [a] fantasy: They reproduce and give legitimacy to particular ideas as autonomous forces, reifying the dynamics of so…
legalform.blog
November 17, 2025 at 3:25 PM
In our latest post @mariethogersen.bsky.social meticulously unpacks what *exactly* is ideological about international law. Against those who locate this merely in international law's content, she directs us to international law's fetishistic character.
legalform.blog/2025/11/17/i...
legalform.blog/2025/11/17/i...
Reposted by Joshua Shaw
The Humanities matter, and will always matter, regardless of what your vice-chancellor, the government, or anyone else thinks. Solidarity with all colleagues in our vital fields 💜
November 18, 2025 at 4:03 PM
The Humanities matter, and will always matter, regardless of what your vice-chancellor, the government, or anyone else thinks. Solidarity with all colleagues in our vital fields 💜
Reposted by Joshua Shaw
The university is not a factory.
November 18, 2025 at 3:06 AM
The university is not a factory.