I am a historian and archaeologist interested in marginalised peoples and places, particularly rural areas of north-west Europe. Having earned a BA at UCC and an MA at University of Sheffield, I completed a PhD in 2016 at NUI Galway funded by Irish Research Council and Hardiman scholarships. Since then, I have held a National Endowment for the Humanities fellowship at University of Notre Dame and a postdoctoral fellowship in environmental humanities at Stockholm University. I have taught at both Galway and Stockholm, and continue this at UCC (see below). I have published widely, including the book Transhumance and the Making of Ireland’s Uplands, 1550-1900 (35% off at checkout with code BB135).
As NUI Postdoctoral Fellow in Humanities, I am using documentary, archaeological and environmental evidence to develop a radical periphery-centred perspective on the emergence of capitalism in late medieval and early modern Europe. Focusing on ‘marginal’ upland communities in Ireland and Sweden, I ask how farmers adapted to growing market demands for meat and dairy and determine their role, as food suppliers, in the development of commercial urban centres. This project will help the humanities to start contributing to the debate on rural sustainability by highlighting the agency of rural people and also the long-term consequences of commercial livestock production for community and landscape alike. At the same time, I am forging new international links for UCC in Sweden, particularly Stockholm and Uppsala.
Leading new 5 ECTS case study for second-year History students, i.e. ‘Ireland in a New World: Climate Change and Atlantic Capitalism, c.1250-1750’ (HI2105: Case Studies in Research Skills)
Co-ordination of 5 ECTS second-year module in Heritage Management (AR2044, with Dr Colin Rynne)
Co-supervision of MPhil student, Katherine Dezsofi (with Dr Benjamin Gearey). Thesis title: Exploring Late Holocene Landscape Change in the south Kerry Uplands
I have extensive experience of teaching undergraduates and postgraduates, ranging from lectures to seminars and research supervision. At UCC, I am teaching and assessing second-year students in heritage management, and co-supervising MPhil student, Katherine Dezsofi, in the environmental history of south Kerry (with Dr Benjamin Gearey). I am also giving guest lectures in geoarchaeology in UCC and in early modern history at University of Limerick. In the past, during my postdoctoral fellowship in environmental humanities at Stockholm University (2018-20), I taught on a first-year Medieval and Historical Archaeology module and held seminars with Masters students on human-animal relations. I also taught gender history for the interdisciplinary module, Spaces and Identities, as part of Stockholm University’s Doctoral School in Humanities. In the more distant past, I have served as lecturer and tutor in the School of Geography, Archaeology and Irish Studies in NUI Galway, and as a supervisor for a University of Notre Dame field school in anthropology.
Moreover, through Stockholm University’s Centre for the Advancement of University Teaching, I have completed two courses totalling 15 ECTS aimed at Professional Development in Teaching.
Awards
GRANTS, AWARDS & DISTINCTIONS (€1,069,925)
· Swedish Research Council Grant in Humanities & Social Sciences, 2021-25 (SEK4,360,000)
· Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Individual Fellowship, 2021-23 (€191,852)
· NUI Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Humanities, 2020-22 (€109,840, declined 1 year, €54,920)
· Teach@Tübingen Fellowship, Apr. 2021 – Apr. 2022 (€29,236, declined due to above)
· Society for Post-Medieval Archaeology Research Grant 2021 (£812)
· ACIS Donald Murphy Prize for Distinguished First Book 2020 ($500)
· Albert & Maria Bergström Foundation fieldwork scholarship 2019 (SEK 31,700)
· Postdoctoral Fellowship in Environmental Humanities 2018-20, Stockholm Uni (SEK935,000)
