Joseph Shack

Department of English

Assistant Professor

joseph.shack@ucf.edu

Campus Location

Trevor Colbourn Hall 252A

Biography

Joseph Shack is an Assistant Professor in the English Department at the University of Central Florida. He holds a PhD in English and Celtic Literature and Languages from Harvard University, an MA in Welsh and Celtic Studies from Cardiff University, and an MA in Medieval Studies from the University of York. His work considers connections between medieval culture and identity by examining linguistic and literary forms and their development in the medieval literatures of the British Isles and Scandinavia.

Research Interests

Old and Middle English language and literature, Celtic languages and literature, Old Norse/Viking language and literature, Cultures of the North Atlantic Sea Zone, Multilingualism in Britain, Celtic and Germanic philology, Poetic forms, Medievalism, Contemporary science fiction and fantasy literature.

Recent Research Activities

Journal Articles and Book Chapters

"Prophesying with Peredur: Fate, Cyfarwyddyd, and the Nine Witches of Caerloyw," with A. Joseph McMullen, in Imagination and Innovation in Medieval Celtic Literatures, eds. Helen Fulton and Georgia Henley (Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 2025).

"Modeling Recursive and Linear Temporalities in Old English Menologium," in the Journal of English and Germanic Philology 123 (2024): 157-184.

"Seasonality and the Gnomic Mode: Kalangaeaf and the Monthly Englynion," in Proceedings of the Harvard Celtic Colloquium 41 (2024): 308-325.

"'A matter to none save the men of the Island of Britain': Historical revisionism and the assertion of Brittonic primacy in Breudwyt Maxen Wledic," in North American Journal of Celtic Studies 7 (2023): 88-115.

"Introduction," with Hannah Weaver, in Recreating the Medieval Globe: Acts of Recycling, Revision, and Relocation. Leeds: Arc Humanities Press, 2020.

"Otherworld and Norman 'Other': Annwfn and its Colonial Implications in the First Branch of the Mabinogi," in Proceedings of the Harvard Celtic Colloquium 35 (2016): 172-186.

Edited Volumes

Recreating the Medieval Globe: Acts of Recycling, Revision, and Relocation (Leeds: Arc Humanities Press, 2020), co-editor with Hannah Weaver.

Course #	Course	Title	Mode	Days/Times	Syllabus
93532	ENG6074	Historical Movement Lct Theory	In Person (P)	Tu 6:00 PM - 8:50 PM	Unavailable
90667	LIN4105	History of English Language	Asynchronous Online (W)	12:00 AM - 12:00 AM	Unavailable
Beowulf, the oldest narrative poem in the English language, begins: Hwæt! We Gar-Dena in geardagum þeodcyninga þrym gefrunon, hu þa æþelingas ellen fremedon. There’s not much here that looks anything close to the language we speak today. How can this be called English!? But, upon closer inspection, there are certain recognizable words: weremains unchanged in Modern English as a plural pronoun; hwæt, though it uses a strange letter in the middle, becomes “what,” as spelling conventions switched around the “h” and “w”; the “g” in gear was pronounced with a “y”-sound, and when spelling caught up with pronunciation, became “year.” Though these lines look like a completely different language, there are hints of the English we speak today even within this excerpt. How did the English of Beowulf become the language that we use daily? How did its sounds, spellings, syntax, and vocabulary change so drastically over time? These are the key questions of this course, which introduces students to basic linguistic concepts while we explore the constantly changing English language from its earliest forms, stretching back around fourteen hundred years ago, to its variations and dialects spoken in the present. As we journey through this long history together, we’ll consider topics such as: why does Old English look like a foreign language? What are English’s closest linguistic relatives? How did contact with other languages and cultures shape English throughout its history? Is English more difficult than other languages? Why do people always complain about English spelling? Where does the idea of “proper” English come from? As with any language, English is constantly changing, and attention to the circumstances that brought about its changes can alert us to the ways that English may shift in the future. Our course will trace the historical route of English as it developed from a tongue spoken in only a small corner of the North Atlantic to the most widely spoken language in the world by means of readings from This Language, A River (Smith and Kim), in addition to a few supplementary readings posted as pdfs on the course website. Several assessments punctuate the course throughout the semester including semi-regular tests and problem sets, a midterm and final, as well as two projects (the expectations for which will be clearly communicated beforehand!). By the end of the course, you will understand where English came from, where it is presently, and where it might go, in addition to having a broader understanding of language change and the relationship between language and culture.

Course #	Course	Title	Mode	Days/Times	Syllabus

Course #	Course	Title	Mode	Days/Times	Syllabus
17429	ENL3451	Topics in British Literature	Asynchronous Online (W)	12:00 AM - 12:00 AM	Unavailable
"Tolkien’s Bookshelf". PRE-1865. As Gandalf, Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas approach Théoden’s hall in Rohan, Aragon begins to chant in a language unknown to the elf and dwarf and, as Legolas guesses it to be the language of the Rohirrim, the future king offers a translation: “Where now the horse and the rider? Where is the horn that was blowing? / Where is the helm and the hauberk, and the bright hair flowing? / Where is the hand on the harpstring, and the red fire glowing? / Where is the spring and the harvest and the tall corn growing?” As any good bit of worldbuilding, this poetic digression gives the audience some sense of the people of Rohan and their culture. It also tells us a bit about Tolkien the author. Tolkien’s day job was as a professor of medieval English literature at Oxford, and one of the early medieval poems he undoubtedly studied was one now called The Wanderer, which has a familiar ring to its middle section: “What has become of the horse? What has become of the warrior? What has become of the treasure-giver? / What has become of the banquet-seats? Where are the hall-revelries?” As is evident in this example, Tolkien developed a deep knowledge of early English and other literatures produced by the cultures of northwestern Europe, which influenced his work as a fantasy author. In this course, we will read translations of the works (mostly medieval) that inspired Tolkien: Old English poems, Norse mythology and poetry, and Finnish epic, among others. Though the focus of this class will largely be on the works that inspired Tolkien rather than his work, we will read some of his poetry, shorter fiction, as well as sections from The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.
17152	LIN4105	History of English Language	In Person (P)	Tu,Th 12:00 PM - 1:15 PM	Unavailable
Beowulf, the oldest narrative poem in the English language, begins: Hwæt! We Gar-Dena in geardagum þeodcyninga þrym gefrunon, hu þa æþelingas ellen fremedon. There’s not much here that looks anything close to the language we speak today. How can this be called English!? But, upon closer inspection, there are certain recognizable words: weremains unchanged in Modern English as a plural pronoun; hwæt, though it uses a strange letter in the middle, becomes “what,” as spelling conventions switched around the “h” and “w”; the “g” in gear was pronounced with a “y”-sound, and when spelling caught up with pronunciation, became “year.” Though these lines look like a completely different language, there are hints of the English we speak today even within this excerpt. How did the English of Beowulf become the language that we use daily? How did its sounds, spellings, syntax, and vocabulary change so drastically over time? These are the key questions of this course, which introduces students to basic linguistic concepts while we explore the constantly changing English language from its earliest forms, stretching back around fourteen hundred years ago, to its variations and dialects spoken in the present. As we journey through this long history together, we’ll consider topics such as: why does Old English look like a foreign language? What are English’s closest linguistic relatives? How did contact with other languages and cultures shape English throughout its history? Is English more difficult than other languages? Why do people always complain about English spelling? Where does the idea of “proper” English come from?