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Professor Sean O'Connell

School of History, Anthropology, Philosophy and Politics
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Professor Sean O'Connell

School of History, Anthropology, Philosophy and Politics

O'Connell is a social historian of modern Britain and Ireland. Teaching specialisms include working-class communities, contemporary Britain, and oral history. He edits Oral History and founded QUOTE Hub, Queen's oral history collective. Current projects include a monograph on the history of joyriding and an international project on Deindustrialisation and the Politics of Our Time. He recently co-authored the report mother and baby homes and Magdalene laundries for the Department of Health, which seems to have paved the way for a public inquiry.

Contact info

  • View Academic Profile
  • s.oconnell@qub.ac.uk
  • +44 (0)28 9097 1417, +44 (0)28 9097 3153
  • @seanoconnellQUB

Research Interests

Open to PhD applications in the field of

  • Oral history
  • Working class community
  • Deindustrialisation
  • Gender history
  • Twentieth century Belfast/Northern Ireland's social history

 

Make a PhD enquiry


Public outreach & key achievements

  • Founder of Quote Hub (collective of Queen’s based oral historians) with a remit for public outreach and engagement. For me see - https://quote.qub.ac.uk/
  • Involved in a variety of public history partnerships. These include membership of academic
    advisory panels that revamped the Ulster Museum’s History Gallery and its Troubles Gallery.
    See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkEn9CkfMfo
  • In January 2021 Sean co-authored the report on Mother and baby homes and Magdalene laundries in Northern Ireland. Commissioned by the Department of Health, the report led to a major set piece debate at Stormont and dominated the media for several days after its publication. As a consequence, a public inquiry on the issue is now in the offing with recommendations on its format submitted in October 2021.

Research students

PhD Title  'The original Derry Girls: the women of the shirt factories of Derry'
   
PhD Title  'Women in the workplace, Belfast 1945-1998: an oral history'
   
PhD Title  'Gender identities and family dynamics in post-industrial communities: a comparative study of Northern Ireland and West-Central Scotland'

 


Alumni: Where are they now

PhD Title 'Ethnic minority communities in twentieth century Belfast' 
Current Position Post-doctoral research fellow at University of Manchester
   
PhD Title  'Memory, conflict and class: the experience and legacy of deindustrialisation in Belfast and North East England since 1970 
Current Position Irish Research Council Post-doctoral researcher at Trinity College Dublin.

Discover More

  • Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Science

  • School of History, Anthropology, Philosophy and Politics
  • Quote Hub Centre for Public History.

Postgraduate research
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School Of History, Anthropology,
Philosophy and Politics
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Belfast BT7 1NN


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+44(0)28 9097 5028
happ@qub.ac.uk

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