Jacob Shaw (Yale '26)

Jacob Shaw is a philosophy major at Yale University and human rights scholar. His research interests currently lie in the ways that technology has transformed modern slavery and how it can be used in pursuit of emancipation. He was the only undergraduate selected to be a research assistant in the Working Group on the Future of Slavery and Emancipation of the Gilder Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition (a part of MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies). In the summer of 2023, he interned at the NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights, researching human rights issues in cobalt artisanal mining in the Congo and preparing memos for meetings with representatives from multinational corporations and The White House.

In addition to his scholarly pursuits, Jacob is an accomplished classically and jazz-trained music composer. Since 2020, he has worked with independent playwrights, directors, screenwriters, and filmmakers, composing scores in genres ranging from rock and pop to jazz and classical. Jacob has received several honors in music composition, including the Emerging Composer Award, a Silver Medal from the Global Music Awards, second place in the IYCC Instrumental Concert Music Composer category, and a win in the NFMC String Composition competition. On campus, he founded and is the President of the Yale Composers’ Guild, where he helps to connect and support undergraduate composers and songwriters, organizing social events and managing communications with independent artists and the wider Yale community.

Outside of his educational and musical interests, Jacob is a published author, amateur bread baker, and a bleeding-heart bibliophile. He is proficient in multiple languages, including English, Latin, and Spanish.