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Transnationalising the Humanities

The UCD Humanities Institute led research strand in partnership with the College of Arts & Humanities

Launched in 2019, Transnationalising the Humanities (TNH) is a flagship research strand under the auspices of the UCD Humanities Institute which aligns with the College of Arts and Humanities and the UCD Strategy Rising to the Future. 

We live in a transnational world. The multi-directional movement of people, languages, ideas, knowledges and religions has created an entangled world that gives rise to opportunities while also challenging the container notion of the nation state and conventional models of citizenship. Transnationalism has not only changed people’s relation to place  by creating new translocalities; it has also given rise to  new transnational identities and modes of decentred attachment. The shift from the international to the transnational implies a shift away from the nation state as an actor on the global stage.  In recent years, however,  there has been pushback against the effects of  globalisation and the  perceived erosion of  national identity and agency.   The  concept of the transnational also captures transnational styles and modes  in literature,  film, art, food and fashion, transnational modes of production, marketing and reception.

In this context, the TNH strand engages with the opportunities and challenges of the transnational turn for the humanities : the strand seeks to explore, test and clarify the meanings and applications of the concept of the transnational and to identify areas in which it can be particularly useful.  The strand specifically aims to a) explore the history of transnationalism  and its precursors; b) develop innovative methodologies, c) produce transnational case studies across a wide spectrum of humanities disciplines; d) contribute to the development of new  transnational pedagogies that decolonise the curriculum.

Report on recent and ongoing project activities available HERE.

Project News
  • Research Lead – Transnationalising the Humanities (TNH) Project |Temporary 36 month post 

The HI has made a strategic appointment of a 3-year Research Lead to drive the implementation of theTNH research strand. (opens in a new window)Dr Bianca Cataldi  is a scholar in Italian Studies; she is a published author of works of fiction, a professional translator  and has strong transdisciplinary research interests. She will liaise with  the Director of the HI, colleagues in the School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics, and members of the TNH strand to develop collaborative research on TNH. 

  • Expressions of Interest (Funding application round 2023 is now closed)

UCD TNH Research Strand and HI Members are invited to propose new research activities under the umbrella of this strand; competitive funding up to €4000, subject to terms and conditions, is available under this call.
Applications are invited from anyone wishing to run a TNH workshop, symposium, conference, produce podcasts or invite a visiting fellow in the period between April 2023 and July 2024.

Projects awarded funding on this round:

  1. Prof. Jane Grogan: ‘Early Modern Italians in Ireland’ 
  2. Dr Jennifer Keating: ‘Eurasian Zones of Contact'
  3. Dr Stephen Lucek: ‘Multilingualism in Ireland workshop’
  4. Dr Valeria Taddei & Dr Mara Josi: ‘Diaries in the 20th Century: Testimony, Memory, and Self-Construction’
  5. Dr Joe Twist & Dr Maria Roca-Lizarazu: ‘The Cultural and Political Implications of Artistic Residency’




Project Leader Partner Institution
Professor Anne Fuchs The Institute of Languages, Cultures and Societies (formerly The IMLR)
Director, UCD Humanities Institute School of Advanced Study
+353 1 716 4684 University of London
(opens in a new window)anne.fuchs@ucd.ie  

(opens in a new window)Diana Battaglia School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics

(opens in a new window)Martin Brady School of Classics

(opens in a new window)Manu Braganca School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics

(opens in a new window)Marc Caball School of History

(opens in a new window)Katherine Calvert School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics

Bianca Rita Cataldi School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics

(opens in a new window)Danielle Clarke School of English, Drama and Film

(opens in a new window)Derval Conroy School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics

(opens in a new window)Maeve Cooke School of Philosophy

(opens in a new window)Treasa de Loughry School of English, Drama and Film

(opens in a new window)Sharae Deckard School of English, Drama and Film

(opens in a new window)Helen Dixon School of Classics

(opens in a new window)Siobhan Donovan School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics

(opens in a new window)Victoria Durrer School of Art History and Cultural Policy

(opens in a new window)Ursula Fanning School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics

(opens in a new window)Christopher Farrell School of Classics

(opens in a new window)Kelly Fitzgerald School of Irish, Celtic Studies and Folklore

(opens in a new window)Anne Fogarty School of English, Drama and Film

(opens in a new window)Anne Fuchs Director, Humanities Institute [TNH Research Theme Lead]

(opens in a new window)Alexsandra Gajowy School of Art History and Cultural Policy

(opens in a new window)Mary Gallagher School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics

(opens in a new window)Jane Grogan School of English, Drama and Film

Vanessa Iacocca School of English, Drama and Film & HI Resident Scholar

(opens in a new window)Kathleen James-Chakraborty School of Art History and Cultural Policy

(opens in a new window)Mark Jones School of History

(opens in a new window)Jennifer Keating School of History

(opens in a new window)Roisin Kennedy School of Art History and Cultural Policy

(opens in a new window)Stephen Lucek School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics

(opens in a new window)Conor Lucey School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics

(opens in a new window)Samantha Martin-Mcauliffe School of Architecture, Planning and Environmental Policy

(opens in a new window)Ivar McGrath School of History

(opens in a new window)Bettina Migge School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics

(opens in a new window)William Mulligan School of History

Mike Norris School of Classics & HI Resident Scholar

(opens in a new window)Tadhg O hAnnrachain School of History

(opens in a new window)Cormac O'Brien School of English, Drama and Film

(opens in a new window)Brian O'Connor School of Philosophy

(opens in a new window)Katherine O'Donnell School of Philosophy

(opens in a new window)Finola O'Kane Crimmins School of Architecture, Planning and Environmental Policy

(opens in a new window)Gillian Pye School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics

(opens in a new window)Douglas Smith School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics

Justin Synnott UCD Research

(opens in a new window)Valeria Taddei School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics

(opens in a new window)Erika Teichert School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics

(opens in a new window)Alexander Thein School of Classics

(opens in a new window)Joseph Twist School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics

(opens in a new window)Regina Uí Chollatáin College Principal, College of Arts & Humanities

(opens in a new window)Aoife Whelan School of Irish, Celtic Studies and Folklore

UCD Humanities Institute

University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland.
T: +353 1 716 4690 | E: humanities@ucd.ie |