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Ezra Shales, Ph.D., is a Professor at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design, specializing in the study of craft, design history, and material culture. With a background spanning academia, curatorial work, and writing, his research explores the intersections of industry, labor, and aesthetics in craft and design.

Shales is the author of several books, including The Shape of Craft (Reaktion Books, 2017) and Made in Newark: Cultivating Industrial Arts and Civic Identity in the Progressive Era (Rutgers University Press, 2010), with A Pitcher I See Before Me: The Social Life of American Drinking Vessels forthcoming from Bloomsbury in 2024. He has also contributed extensively to scholarly journals such as the Journal of Design History, The Journal of Modern Craft, and Ceramics in America.

Beyond publishing, Shales has organized and contributed to major exhibitions, including O Pioneers! Women Ceramic Artists, 1925-1960 at Alfred Ceramic Art Museum and Pathmakers: Women in Modern Craft, Mid-Century and Today at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York. His expertise in material culture has led to keynote lectures and presentations at institutions like the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery in the UK and the College Art Association Annual Conference.

A recipient of prestigious fellowships—including a Fulbright Research Scholar grant in Sweden, an NEH Summer Seminar award, and funding from the Craft Research Fund—Shales continues to examine the evolving roles of craft and design in contemporary culture. He holds a Ph.D. from the Bard Graduate Center, an M.F.A. in painting from Hunter College, and a B.A. in Classical Languages and Letters from Wesleyan University.