Trish Morgan

Dr.

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Trish Morgan is an assistant professor in the School of Communications at Dublin City University. Her research is concerned with the systemic aspects of environmental crisis, and the communication of these multiple environmental issues. She approaches the communication of environmental issues through an interdisciplinary perspective from the domains of geography and communications, and through theory and practice-based approaches.  

Her key research interest is in analysing the nature/society relationship through political economy, (urban) political ecology, human geography and environmental geography perspectives. This research takes a systemic approach by acknowledging environmental crisis as connected to nine planetary boundaries, and safe operating limits for society. She is interested in the urgency of communicating transition towards sustainability through novel communication approaches, doing this through traditional research, along with a multimedia practice that uses sound, photography, video and augmented reality.

She has completed (as PI) two EPA-funded research projects concerning the communication of environmental matters and the role of communications in behaviour change towards sustainability. She has most recently completed the project Sensing our world: How digital media cultural practices can contribute to changing social norms around consumption (2020). This project focused on the role of novel forms of communicating environmental data. This follows on from a previous EPA-funded research project, titled Going Green Digitally? Environmental Crisis, Consumption Patterns and the Evolving Role of Media (2017). This project centred on mainstream media and their role in fostering discourse and behaviour change around consumption practices and ecological sustainability. 

Her recent creative works include 
5km from home, stereo ORTF sound art work in response to COVID-19 in Ireland (available at https://soundcloud.com/eco-sound-art/5km-from-home) and The Miracle of the One Thing, a 12-track ecological sound art work with accompanying video (available at https://soundcloud.com/eco-sound-art/sets/the-miracle-of-the-one-thing).




Peer Reviewed Journal

Year Publication
2022 Morgan, Trish (2022) 'Environmental Communication at a Time of Planetary Crisis: Five Theoretical and Analytical Resources for Academic Research and Practice'. International Journal of Communication, 16 .
2019 Morgan, Trish (2019) 'Sounding the Unheard River: Reflections on an Ecological Sound Art Praxis as a Response to Ecosystem Distress'. Irish University Review, 49 (1). [DOI]
2019 (2019) 'The techno-finance fix: A critical analysis of international and regional environmental policy documents and their implications for planning'. Progress in Planning, . [Link] [DOI]
2018 Morgan, Trish (2018) 'The techno-finance fix: A critical analysis of international and regional environmental policy documents and their implications for planning'. Progress in Planning, 119 . [DOI]
2017 (2017) 'Alienated Nature, Reified Culture: Understanding the Limits to Climate Change Responses under Existing Socio-ecological Formations'. Political Economy of Communication, .
2015 Morgan, Trish (2015) 'Growing Ourselves to Death? Economic and Ecological crises, the Growth of Waste, and the Role of the Media and Cultural Industries'. 8 (1):68-81.
2015 (2015) 'Growing Ourselves to Death? Economic and Ecological crises, the Growth of Waste, and the Role of the Media and Cultural Industries'. Human Geography, .
2014 Morgan, Trish (2014) 'Adorno and the political economy of communication'. 1 (2).
2014 (2014) 'Adorno and the political economy of communication'. The Political Economy of Communication, .
2013 Morgan, T. (2013) 'Sharing, hacking, helping: Towards an understanding of digital aesthetics through a survey of digital art practices in Ireland'. Journal of Media Practice, 14 . [Link] [DOI]

Book Chapter

Year Publication
2020 Trish Morgan (2020) 'Challenges and Potentials for Socio-Ecological Transformation: Considering Structural Aspects of Change' In: Ireland and the Climate Crisis. Cham : Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-47587-1_9

Conference Contribution

Year Publication
2023 (2023) IAMCR 2023 Political Economies of media and communications, the climate crisis, and insights from Greta Thunberg Lyon, France, .
2023 (2023) Conference of Irish Geographers Urban political ecology for resilience in Ireland: a tale of two rivers Wexford, Ireland, .
2022 Trish Morgan (2022) Conference of Irish Geographers Topophilia in a woodland geography of the midlands: reflections on mixed-media practice to communicate ‘ordinary’ nature Limerick, .
2021 Trish Morgan (2021) International Association for Media and Communications Research Digital natures and cultures: communicating environmental issues in novel ways using digital practices Online, .
2020 Trish Morgan (2020) Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) Debordering policy: strengthening linkages between environmental and cultural policy for communication of environmental data to publics Online, 28/08/2020-31/08/2020.
2019 Trish Morgan (2019) Royal Geographical Society (with IBG Creative sensing, critical making: crafting a geography of hope to engage publics towards sustainable consumption London, .
2019 Trish Morgan & Paschal Preston (2019) International Association for Media and Communications Research Economic inequality and ecological crises: pressing and dynamically interlinked threats to the prevailing political and media order Madrid, .
2019 Trish Morgan (2019) International Association for Media and Communications Research New media, new practices? The potential to bridge gaps in public understanding of environmental issues through critical digital practices Madrid, .
2019 Trish Morgan (2019) Conference of Irish Geographers / EUGEO Sensing our world: how digital cultural practices can contribute to changing social norms around consumption NUI Galway, .
2018 Trish Morgan (2018) Building City Dashboards Workshop Sensing our world: Art, data and meaning-making Maynooth University, 30/03/2018-04/05/2018.
2018 Trish Morgan (2018) Royal Geographical Society (with IBG): advancing geography and geographical learning Space and praxis: ecological sound art towards an understanding of sustainability Cardiff, 28/08/2018-31/08/2018.
2018 Trish Morgan (2018) Conference of Irish Geographers Dredging the river: Exploring ecosystem crisis through sound art Maynooth University, 10/05/2018-12/05/2018.

Published Report

Year Publication
2020 Trish Morgan (2020) Sensing Our World: How Digital Cultural Practices Can Contribute to Changing Social Norms Around Consumption. Environmental Protection Agency of Ireland, . [Link]
2017 Trish Morgan (2017) Going Green Digitally? Environmental crisis, consumption patterns, and the evolving role of media. Environmental Protection Agency of Ireland, . [Link]

Book Review

Year Publication
2023 Trish Morgan (2023) At Home In The Anthropocene.
Certain data included herein are derived from the © Web of Science (2024) of Clarivate. All rights reserved.

Professional Associations

Association Function From / To
Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society Fellow -

Research Interests

Trish’s principal research interests are strongly interdisciplinary. Her key research interest is in analysing the nature/society relationship through political economy, (urban) political ecology, human geography and environmental geography perspectives. This research takes a systemic approach by acknowledging environmental crisis as connected to nine planetary boundaries, and safe operating limits for society. She is interested in the urgency of communicating transition towards sustainability through novel communication approaches, doing this through traditional research and multimedia practice-based research.

Trish would welcome enquiries from postgraduate students interested in pursuing traditional or practice-based research in the above areas. 


Research Projects

Title Role Description Start date End date
Sensing our world: How digital media cultural practices can contribute to changing social norms around consumption DCU PI 01/01/2019 31/12/2019
Going Green Digitally? Environmental crisis, consumption patterns, and the evolving role of media PI 02/12/2013 31/08/2015
A Critical Analysis of the Protest Signs and Placards of the Fridays for Future Environmental Movement - Lughan Odlum Deane DCU PI 01/09/2022 31/08/2024

Current Postgraduate Students

Student Name Degree Supervision
Odlum Deane ,Lughan PhD Supervisor
Fox ,Erica PhD Supervisor

Modules Coordinated

Term Title Subject
2022 CM2009
2023 CM5995