PhD Students
Phil Antilla
Name: Phillip Antilla
Thesis Title: Locating Spirituality: The Philosophy of Place and Space Within Contemporary Secular Spiritual Practice
Areas of Research: Philosophy of place and space, phenomenology, religious studies, spirituality, philosophy of religion, theology
Areas of Teaching: Theology and religious studies
Supervisors: Dr Joseph Rivera and Dr Miriam De Cock
Email: phillip.antilla2@mail.dcu.ie
Phillip’s research at Dublin City University explores the philosophy of place and space in contemporary secular spiritual practice. He has written and presented academic works on the phenomenology of place, the role of sacred space in emerging Christianity, the influence of space and place in historical Methodism, and the nature of place in the life and writings of Thomas Merton. He has also served as a consultant in spatial dynamics for developing inter-faith worship spaces. In addition to this current research, Phillip also has expertise in religious education and pastoral ministry. He holds a master’s degree in religion (M.Div) from Nazarene Theological Seminary (Kansas City, USA) and a graduate certificate in Christian spiritual formation. As an undergraduate, he received a bachelor’s degree in Christian theology with a minor focus in religious intercultural studies. Prior to joining DCU, Phillip was a minister for the Methodist church in the United States. When he’s not on campus, you can find him watching English football, writing in a local coffee shop, or at home cooking an overly complicated dinner for his wife and son.
Lina Andonovska
Name: Lina Andonovska
Areas of Research: Contemporary Western art music, classical music, artist entrepreneurship, practice-based research
Thesis Title (working title): The 21st Century Musician: entrepreneurship through the performance of contemporary Western art music
Supervisor: Dr Patricia Flynn
Curiosity, fearlessness and versatility carry Lina Andonovska’s artistry around the globe. Andonovska is a rare breed in the flute world; a Name that you’ll discover on both the pages of Rolling Stone and the Australian Chamber Orchestra roster. She has not only cultivated partnerships with leading artists including Louis Andriessen, Donnacha Dennehy, Claire Chase and Bryce Dessner, but also deep community ties from Timor Leste to Tokyo’s Wonder Site.
She has collaborated with Ensemble Modern, Crash Ensemble, Deutsches Kammerorchester, stargaze and eighth blackbird. Recent credits include performances at the Berlin Philharmonie, New Music Dublin, Musica Nova Helsinki and a solo show as part of the Melbourne International Arts Festival that was noted as “re-defining the act of going solo “ (The Age). Lina released her debut solo album with Diatribe Records label in early 2020, which was described as “brimming with energy and bold textures, though marked throughout by nuance. A Name to watch out for.” (All About Jazz). She will be joining the line-up of Grammy Award-winning ensemble ‘eighth blackbird’ when restrictions lift and will be commencing PhD studies at Dublin City University in late 2020.
Helena Connolly
Name: Helena Connolly
Areas of Research: Theopoetics, Process Theology, Biblical Reception, Creativity
Thesis Title: The New Illuminators: Women in Search of Spiritual Authority and Resilience (NISAR)
Supervisors: Dr Amanda Dillon and Dr Brad Anderson
Email: helena.connolly3@mail.dcu.ie
Helena Connolly is a PhD student focusing her research on women readers of sacred texts and their visual interpretations. Her work is centred on exploring the connection between theopoetics and the creative practice of Bible Journaling, a devotional activity where artworks are created by women within their Bibles in response to their understanding and personal appropriation of biblical texts. In particular, Helena is exploring how a process approach to theopoetics provides a framework with which to investigate Bible artwork. She holds a bachelor’s degree in music (BMus) from Queens University Belfast, a Post Graduate Certificate in Music Education (PGCE) from the University of Edinburgh and a master’s degree (MPhil) in Christian Theology from Trinity College, Dublin. Her professional experience spans education, pastoral ministry, adult faith formation and youth ministry. Alongside her academic work, Helena is an accomplished photographer, singer, musician and recording artist. www.helenaconnolly.com
Daniel Crean
Name: Daniel Crean
Areas of Research: Research integrity
Thesis title: Teaching research integrity. A systematic analysis of current approaches and recommendations for improvement
Supervisors: Prof Bert Gordijn and Dr Alan Kearns
Email: daniel.crean9@mail.dcu.ie
Danny is an assistant professor in Veterinary Medicine in University College Dublin, Ireland. He has a background in the biomedical sciences from undergraduate through to PhD degrees, and more recently completed an MA in Ethics from Dublin City University. Additionally, Danny is a group leader, and runs an active laboratory in the field of biomedical research. As an active researcher, he is aware of the environment and pressures which scientists face that can impact on scientific integrity, and has had a sustained interest in this dynamic throughout his career. Danny’s PhD focuses on comprehensively examining the ethics approaches employed in teaching research integrity, and whether the most promising approaches can be combined to maximise their strengths, while diminishing their weaknesses, without the inverse occurring. Ultimately, this work aims to advance the way in which research integrity teaching is done.
Caitríona Cunningham
Name: Caitríona Cunningham
Thesis title: Can Christian eco-theology within the Post Primary Education system encourage a new solidarity in relation to climate justice?
Area of Research: Environmental theology
Area of Teachings: Theology and religious studies
Supervisor: Dr. Joseph Rivera
My research focuses on eco-theology and its relevance to contemporary issues such as climate change, drawing on valuable insights from the work of Celia Deane-Drummond, a prominent scholar in the field of Eco-theology. My academic journey began at the National University of Ireland, Maynooth, where I earned a Baccalaureate in Theology and Arts in 2007. In 2009, I completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Education at Trinity College, Dublin. My commitment to leadership and pastoral care led me to All Hallows College (Dublin City University), where I received an MA in Leadership and Pastoral Care in 2011. In 2022, I furthered my studies by earning an MA in Theology and World Religions from DCU. I am dedicated to exploring the intersections of religious education, eco-justice, and ethical consumerism. As a mother of four young children and a full-time post-primary teacher, my passion for theology, climate care, and social justice informs my research agenda. I aim to raise awareness amongst my students about sustainability and ethical living by integrating these themes into my teaching. My thesis investigates the intrinsic value of nature through ethical theories whilst addressing the complexities of human existence in an age marked by ecological crisis.
Maria Douglas
Name: Maria Douglas
Areas of Research: Mariology, pneumatology [with a wider emphasis on trinitarian theology], Christian anthropology and soteriology, St. Pope John Paul II’s Man and Woman He Created Them: A Theology of the Body, the Marian and pneumatological writings of St. Maximilian Kolbe, development of doctrine, deposit of faith.
Thesis Title: Working thesis title in progress
Supervisor: Dr John Murray
Email: marie.douglas3@mail.dcu.ie
2020 - M.Phil. in Christian Theology, Trinity College Dublin; 2011 - M.A. in Religion and Education Post-Primary, Mater Dei Institute, Dublin; 2010 - Bachelor of Religious Education and English Post-Primary, Mater Dei Institute, Dublin.
Maria is a recent graduate of the Loyola Institute, Trinity College Dublin where she secured the 2018 M.Phil. in Christian Theology Spiritan Mission Scholarship. She is an alumni of Mater Dei Institute, DCU and has extensive experience working within the voluntary and charity sector.
Maria’s research is funded by the DCU Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences PhD Scholarship Programme. It is concerned with interpreting the Marian and pneumatological titles found in the writings of St. Maximilian Kolbe through an anthropological lens. Maria’s research critically analyses the key concepts of St. Kolbe’s theological synthesis, namely in his doctrine on the Blessed Virgin as a) the ‘created Immaculate Conception’, b) the ‘complement of the Trinity’, c) the ‘quasi incarnatus of the Holy Spirit’ and it utilises the theological anthropology advanced by St. John Paul II’s ‘Theology of the Body’ as a hermeneutical tool.
In her research, the key concepts of communion and conception, divine action and human reaction intrinsic to Kolbean thought are assessed in tandem with the paradigms of inter-subjectivity and union, freedom and reciprocal gift defined anthropologically by John Paul II’s ‘Theology of the Body’. Through this relational lens, the core facets of St. Kolbe’s pedagogy on the personhood of Mary, on her participation in the inner life and work of the Trinity, and on her interrelatedness with God are analysed, not solely in virtue of the Divine Maternity, but in light of her identity as a locusof the Spirit’s sanctifying and divinising operations in the order of salvation.
Gearoid Ferrick
Gearoid Ferrick
Dip. Soc. (Oxon);
B.A. Hons (PPE);
MA (Oxon); B.Ed.;
MBA;
M.A (DCU)
After Graduating with Undergraduate and Post-Graduate degrees from Oxford, in Philosophy Politics and Economics, Gearoid Ferrick pursued a successful 17 year career in International Banking and Finance, culminating as Managing Director of the Derivatives trading company, of Willis PLC.
A tenacious and innovative business director with a strong record of commercial achievement, this experience has convinced him of the need to be a committed advocate of change management. His experience is in developing strategies for change, analytical review and professional advocacy.
Following a career reappraisal he decided to realise a personal ambition to be involved in the ‘Not for Profit’ sector. Thus a second career of nearly 20 years saw him contribute to various projects that were designed to develop ‘Social Capital’ in disadvantaged regions across Ireland. In addition he returned to the teaching profession. He has been a senior career counsellor within the educational environment for the last ten years. He has recently completed a Masters in Theology in DCU, and is enrolled to continue his studies at a Ph.d level.
Hannah Garland
Name: Hannah Garland
Thesis Title: Towards Understanding Personhood: A Legal and Ethical Inquiry into Artificial Intelligence and Disability
Areas of Research: Disability Law, Human Rights, Ethics and Society, Artificial Intelligence
Supervisors: Dr Fiachra O’Brolcháin, Dr Aisling de Paor, and Dr Lorraine Boran
Email: hannah.garland2@mail.dcu.ie
Hannah’s research focuses on ethical concerns relating to Artificial Intelligence (AI) and disability through a lens of personhood. Hannah will explore areas such as ethical and legal personhood, legal and mental capacity and autonomy, and present and future applications of AI as assistive technology. The research will also explore existing legal frameworks such as the European Union Artificial Intelligence Act and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Hannah has a BS in Dance Performance and Choreography from Skidmore College. She received both her JD and an LLM (Sustainable International Development) from the University of Washington School of Law. She has published on the topic of forced psychiatric treatment and the insufficient legal and societal protections for persons experiencing behavioural health crisis. Hannah also served as the Editor-in-Chief of Washington Law Review, Washington state’s flagship legal publication. Hannah was awarded several awards while at the University of Washington, including: the Dean’s Medal, the Student Bar Association Award for Student Service, the Academic Excellence Award, the Harlan Hahn Award for Disability Studies, and a Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship.
Michael Mulkerrin
Name: Michael Mulkerrin
Research Interests: Theology, Christian Humanism, Metaphysics and Philosophy
Thesis Title: The Theological Metaphysics of Jacques Maritain
Supervisors: Dr Joseph Rivera
I earned my BA in Theology and Lifelong Learning in June 2019 and my MA in Theology and World Religions in March 2023 at Dublin City University. I was happy to return to study for my PhD in 2023. My doctoral thesis is tentatively titled The Theological Metaphysics of Jacques Maritain. Jacques Maritain (1882-1973) was a Christian philosopher, born in Paris. He was a prolific author and held academic posts at various universities including Columbia, Princeton and Notre Dame. He served as the French Ambassador to the Holy See (1945-48) and was a confidant of Pope Paul VI. Maritain’s philosophical work on human rights and the dignity of the person influenced the Vatican’s approach concerning these matters.
Tristin Hartley
Name: Tristin Hartley
Areas of Research: Biblical Studies, Feminism, Postcolonialism
Thesis Title: Crisis and Female Agency: A Re-examination of Gender and Power in the Hebrew Bible
Supervisor: Dr Brad Anderson
Email: tristin.hartley2@mail.dcu.ie
I am currently in my second year of the PhD programme at Dublin City University. My research focuses on answering the question: ‘how do we account for the fact that it is often in times of crisis that we see the agency of women come to the fore?’ My project is an interdisciplinary exploration, through a re-examination of theories of power and gender, the relationship between times of crisis or upheaval and female agency in the Hebrew Bible.
My passion for biblical studies informed my decision to study at the Faculty of Theology and Religion at the University of Pretoria where I obtained both my BA in Theology and BTh Hons in New Testament studies. My Bachelor of Arts in Theology and my two-year elective in Biblical Hebrew laid the foundation for my interest in Hebrew Bible studies. This trajector of biblical study with an emphasis upon ideological interpretations as a lens for reflection developed during my studies on the Master’s degree at Dublin City University.
While I miss the sunshine in my native South Africa, I am truly blessed to experience the beauty and magic of Ireland while continuing my love of research in Dublin. On a more personal note, I’m the kind of girl to cry in a movie when the dog dies and my Instagram account is a more of a shrine to my miniature pincher and three greyhounds than anything else.
Louise Hassan
Name: Louise Hassan
Areas of Interest: Game of Thrones! Literature, Creative writing, and Religious Studies
Working Thesis Title: Christology and Mythology in George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire.
Supervisors: Dr Peter Admirand and Marina Carr
Email: louise.hassan2@mail.dcu.ie
I am currently in the second year of a Research PhD with the School of Theology, Philosophy and Music at Dublin City University. I have spent the past five years as a student at DCU. I first completed a Joint Honours degree in Theology and English and then undertook a Master’s degree in Creative Writing, one of the first students to pass this new MA degree offered by the School of English.
My thesis examines how Martin reworks Christology and Mythology in his novel series A Song of Ice and Fireand its subsequent HBO television production A Game of Thrones. It is an interdisciplinary thesis with the Schools of Theology and English. I am incredibly fortunate to have Dr. Peter Admirand as my primary supervisor and the secondary supervisor is famous Irish playwright, Marina Carr.
I’m originally from the UK but have been living in Ireland for the past 19 years. I have a wonderful daughter and partner and we live on the Northside of Dublin. I enjoy hill walking and being out in nature. An avid reader of a variety of books including fiction, non-fiction, fantasy, and classic works I also enjoy trips to the cinema to see movies involving action, drama, fantasy and sci-fi.
Wanhui Hao
Name: Wanhui Hao
Areas of Research: Existentialism, Thomism, Anthropology
Thesis Title: Existential Loneliness—an incessant desire to Being
Supervisors: Dr Peter Admirand and Dr Joseph Rivera
Email: wanhui.hao3@mail.dcu.ie
My current research is in the realm of existentialism. After two long years of the Covid pandemic, isolation has become familiar to people. However, through availing of the use of modern technology, this kind of isolation could bring a spatial separation for people but need not impact and isolate their emotional or other kinds of connections from one another.
Except for being isolated from others or from parts of oneself, however, underlying these splits, a more basic and deep inner isolated feeling emerges unaware in the conscious sometimes. This experience is realized with the accompanying emptiness, sadness, and longing, despite the most gratifying engagement with family and friends and despite consummate self-knowledge and integration. It emerges without a reason and direction but persistently longs for something. It is neither for appearances nor for the fleeting and superficial; it is for something of substance, a deeper and inner satisfaction. It refers to an unbridgeable gulf between oneself and others. Although it is distinct from emotional loneliness, it motivates our moods and deeds to form who we are and what we do when this ‘feeling’ is emerging.
Loneliness, a melancholy theme, has a long history of dominance in the western world. It has been striking scholars’ attention from the ages of the Old Testament, the Homeric myths, the tragedies of Sophocles and the ensuing theological speculations of the Christian millennium. This present study, through the investigation of man’s solitary existential condition in the first part and the metaphysical understanding of human nature in the second part, is an attempt to offer a metaphysical explanation of existential loneliness.
Jeanne Magnetti
Name: Jeanne Magnetti
Thesis Title: Ethics and Carbon Pricing
Areas of Research: Ethics; justice; carbon price; carbon tax; climate policy
Areas of Teaching: politics; climate politics; law; international relations
Supervisors: Prof. Bert Gordijn and Dr. Goran Dominioni
Email: Jeanne.magnetti2@mail.dcu.ie
Jeanne has a background in policy research and nonprofit management. She received a BA in International Relations from the State University of New York at Geneseo and an MA in International Relations from University College Dublin. Her PhD focuses on ethical components in the design and implementation of carbon pricing instruments.
Mahon McCann
Name: Mahon McCann
Thesis Title: The Ethical Issues of Social Media Companies Commodification of User's Attention
Areas of Research: Ethics, Philosophy of Mind and Digital Technologies
Areas of Teaching: Philosophy and Ethics
Supervisors: Prof. Bert Gordijn and Dr Fiachra Ó Brolcháin
Email: mahon.mccann@dcu.ie
Mahon McCann is an Irish philosopher and writer living in Dublin. He holds a BA in Philosophy & Economics from University College Dublin and an MA in Creative Writing from Queen’s University, Belfast. He works as a PhD candidate on the ethics of Social Media company's attention-economy business model at Dublin City University Institute of Ethics. He is a part-time lecturer in Philosophy. He was awarded the DCU School of Theology, Philosophy, and Music Scholarship in 2022. His philosophy podcast has featured top-ten self-improvement and education in Ireland and top one hundred in Sweden, Spain, Italy, Denmark, Finland, Belgium, and Turkey. His work generally focuses on enhancing and protecting human agency, meaning and autonomy in the digital age.
Kirsten Overkamp
Name: Kirsten Overkamp
Research Areas: Religious Studies, Papacy, Church History and Sociolinguistics
Thesis Topic: Papal Names and Narratives
Provisional Title: The impact of chosen narratives: an analysis of papal Names in the context of Church history and identity politics.
Supervisors: Dr Brad Anderson and Dr Gabriel Flynn
I am from the Netherlands and I have lived in Dublin for about a year now. Besides terribly missing salty liquorice and Dutch apples, I enjoy life in Dublin.
I have studied Classics and Religious Studies. In my PhD I will focus on papal Names, exploring the characteristics and significance of the pope’s Name choice, and analyzing the use of the Name as a tool in papal politics and narratives.
I have been to Rome countless times and hope to return there, for leisure or research. At the moment, nevertheless, I will stick to nearby outings such as Bull island and the Botanic gardens.
Laura Sheils
Name: Laura Sheils
Thesis Title: The Choral Music of Rhona Clarke and Eoghan Desmond
Areas of Research: Choral Studies, Irish choral music, Contemporary composition, Music and Text Analysis
Areas of Teaching: Aural and Keyboard Skills, Harmony and Counterpoint, Musicianship, Music-Teaching Methodology, Research supervision
Supervisor: Dr Róisín Blunnie
Email: laura.sheils4@mail.dcu.ie
Laura is a choral composer, researcher, and music educator from Offaly. She completed her undergraduate studies at Mater Dei Institute of Education (Dublin City University), before undertaking an Advanced Diploma in Choral Conducting and Kodály Music Pedagogy at the Kodály Institute of the Liszt Academy in Hungary, and an MA in Choral Studies at DCU. She is an active choral singer with Laetare Vocal Ensemble. Her choral compositions have been published by Oxford University Press and Cailíno Music Publishers and have been performed by choral groups in Ireland and abroad. Laura’s research focuses on the choral works of contemporary Irish composers Rhona Clarke and Eoghan Desmond, analysing their approaches to text setting and their respective compositional styles.
Sukanya Shukla
Name: Sukanya Shukla
Title of Thesis: The Ethics of Green Nudging
Area of Research: Applied Ethics, Philosophy
Area of Teaching: Philosophy
Supervisors: Dr. Fiachra O’Brolchain (Primary Supervisor), Prof. Patrick Brereton, Dr. Padraig Murphy.
Email: sukanya.shukla2@mail.dcu.ie
Sukanya Shukla is a PhD student at the School of Theology, Philosophy, and Music. Her research focuses on the ethical implementation of behavioral interventions aimed at addressing climate change, with specific focus on the ethical issues surrounding green nudging. She received a fellowship from the Mercatus Centre at George Mason University during her PhD. Before pursuing her doctorate in ethics, Sukanya has a master's degree in the Philosophy of Science from the London School of Economics (LSE) and a bachelor's degree in Physics from BIT Mesra, India.
Abigail Sines
Name: Abigail Sines
Thesis title: Towards a Constructive Theology of Sanctuary
Areas of research: Theological underpinnings of welcome and hospitality towards refugees and international protection applicants by Christian faith communities
Supervisor: Dr Ethna Regan
Email: abigail.sines2@mail.dcu.ie
Originally hailing from Hampton, Virginia on the east coast of the USA, Abigail has lived and worked in China, Hawai`i, Belfast, Dublin and now finds herself living in Blarney in Co Cork. She is an ordained priest in the Church of Ireland and serving as Associate Minister in the Carrigrohane Union of Parishes while precariously balancing part-time study! She earned her BA in International Relations from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia; an MA in Asian Studies, from the University of Hawai`i; an MTh from Queen's University Belfast (Title: The Role of Interfaith Dialogue in the Practice of Christian Spirituality); and an MTh from TCD, the dissertation for which was subsequently published as part of the Church of Ireland Theological Institute's Braemor Studies Series under the title 'Let Us Celebrate The Feast – Holy Communion and Building the Community' in 2016. Abigail is a board member for Places of Sanctuary Ireland and is a member of the Church of Ireland Interfaith Working Group. She is keenly interested in how Christian faith is expressed and embodied in multi-cultural and multi-faith society.
Holly Woods
Name: Holly Woods
Thesis Title: Dusty Bluebells and Beyond: Cataloguing and Analysing Archival Sources of Irish Children's Songs
Area of Research: Children's musical play; children's folklore; playground games; music in childhood; Irish folklore; Irish folk music
Email: holly.woods4@mail.dcu.ie
Holly O’Grady is a doctoral researcher cataloguing and analysing archival records of Irish children's musical play at the School of Theology, Philosophy & Music at Dublin City University. She is a highly experienced soprano and currently holds the position of Lay Vicar Choral at Christ Cathedral Dublin. Holly was a Sarolta Kodály Scholar at the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music in Budapest, where she completed a Master's in Music Pedagogy, achieving distinction. As part of her studies, she researched the use of Kodály pedagogy within Ireland's Early Childhood Education Framework. She holds a Diploma in Vocal Pedagogy from the Academy's Kodály Institute, for which she was awarded the Institute's prestigious "Red Diploma" for outstanding musical and academic excellence. Holly is also a graduate of Trinity College Dublin and the Royal Irish Academy of Music, from which she holds an honours degree in Music Education.
Michael Young
Name: Michael Young
Areas of Research: Musicology, Musical Theatre Score Analysis, Soundtrack Analysis, Performance Practice
Thesis Title: A comparative Analysis of the Musical Theatre Works of Jason Robert Brown
Supervisor: Dr John O’Flynn
Email: michael.young26@mail.dcu.ie
Michael is a graduate of the CIT Cork School of Music, with a BMus in piano performance, piano accompaniment and chamber music, and a MA in piano and organ accompaniment. He also holds diplomas in piano performance (dipABRSM), piano teaching (DipLCM TD), organ performance (ALCM) and a licentiate diploma in vocal and instrumental accompaniment (LLCM). Michael works extensively as a recital accompanist in the Munster area and has been an official vocal accompanist with the Irish Youth Choir in 2019, Limerick Sings since 2017, Feis Maitiú since 2014 and with the Féile Luimní since 2011.
Michael is passionate about musical theatre and has musically directed many award-winning productions, including bare with the CIT Musical Society (where he won a national AIMS award for “Best Musical Director” and “Best Chorus”) and The Producers (AIMS award for “Best Chorus”) with The Cecilian Musical Society. He is particularly interested in contemporary musical theatre – musically directing the Irish premieres of Carrie and Bad Girls (CIT Musical Society) and forming his own theatre company, NMT Productions, in 2014, musically directing and producing the Irish Premieres of When Midnight Strikes, LIFT and Dogfight.
Michael’s interest in contemporary musical theatre, coupled with over a decade of experience playing in the pit for musical theatre societies around the country, has led him to his research topic. Jason Robert Brown is an award-winning American musical theatre composer whose output currently consists of six musicals, a short choral work, contributions to a Broadway musical and several solo albums. Through multi-modal analysis, Michael’s research will comprehensively explore Brown’s compositional style, while documenting how he references other styles of music and comparing his works to those of other musical theatre writers.
Rodrigo Almonte Zegarra
Name: Rodrigo Almonte Zegarra
Area of Research: Ethnomusicology - Rhythmic Studies - Improvisation
Thesis Title: Creating a natural cognitive approach to metric modulation and rhythmic variation in clave-influenced traditional music. A case study of rhythmic evolution in Andean Peruvian Music
Supervisors: Dr. John O' Flynn and Dr. Matthew Jacobson
Rodrigo Almonte is a musician, educator and PhD researcher in rhythmic studies and ethnomusicology. His current research involves an investigation into the Analysis of “Non Tempered" rhythms and swing percentages in Andean Peruvian traditional music in order to develop an alternative approach to Metric Modulation. Rodrigo graduated with a BA in Jazz Performance from Newpark Music Centre in 2017. In 2020 he received a Cum Laude Master in Jazz Performance from Prins Claus Conservatory in The Netherlands. For over 10 years, Rodrigo has performed, composed and recorded music with various ensembles as a leader and side man internationally. He is the co-founder fo The Peruvian Jazz Project, a project aiming to catalog and accurately transcribe traditional Peruvian music. Rodrigo released his debut album as a leader “Distancia” in 2021 which was described as: “a unique travelogue centered around Almonte's guitar and its shimmering sonic similarities to the music of guitarists such as Pat Metheny and Terje Rypdal, sometimes even Tal Farlow.”
Links:
Obumneke Anyanwu
Name: Obumneke Anyanwu
Thesis title: Exploring cultural heritage in Nollywood film music
Areas of research: Film music studies, cutural and heritage studies, music and multi-media.
Supervisor: Prof. John O'Flynn
Obumneke Anyanwu is a dedicated researcher and cultural enthusiast with a strong interest in African cinema, specifically, Nollywood film music. With a background in music and multi-media, she is currently completing her PhD at Dublin City University, Ireland where her research explores cultural heritage in Nollywood film music. Obumneke Anyanwu has been awarded the 2024 Government of Ireland postgraduate Scholarship. Her research interest includes music and multimedia, cultural and heritage studies and music education.
Hamidreza Golestanisani
Name: Hamidreza Golestanisani
Thesis title: Towards a Narrative Holy Minimalist Music
Areas of research: Music Composition, Musical Narrative Theory
Areas of teaching: Music Theory, Composition
Supervisor: Dr. Seán Doherty
Hamidreza Golestanisani, born in 1994, is an Iranian composer who has delved into both mathematics and Iranian music composition. With a Master's degree in composition from the London College of Music, he is doing his PhD in Music Composition at Dublin City University. Golestanisani's compositions have earned recognition worldwide, including the Second Prize in the Balsys International Composition Competition for his piece "The Angel of Darkness," performed by the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra. He has collaborated with renowned ensembles such as the Mifune Trio, Phacelea Ensemble, and Alda Dizdari, with his works performed across the UK, Europe, North America, and Iran. Golestanisani's academic achievements include winning the Mona Blackman Prize for academic excellence and securing the first prize in the flute category at the 4th Tehran Contemporary Music Festival's Emerging Composer Scheme. www.hamidrezagolestanisani.com
Frances Cooper
Name: Frances Cooper
Thesis title: The Ethics of the Emotive Body
Areas of research: phenomenology, embodiment, corporeality, the Body, movement analysis, principles of the enlightenment, European philosophy, world philosophies
Supervisor: Dr. Ian Leask
Email: frances.cooper2@mail.dcu.ie
I am a PhD student in Philosophy at Dublin City University (All Hallows), where I am a recipient of the DCU faculty scholarship. I completed my MA at New York University in Performance Studies and Theory, having been awarded the Tisch School of Arts Scholarship; and I received my BA from Central St Martins, London, England, the city where I was born. My doctoral research project proposes a return to the body and a reorientation of the founding principles of enlightenment. In my thesis, I explore a newer language of the body, the whole nature of the body, through phenomenology. The primary focus of my work is the physical-thinking body, the experiential qualities of the body, the most important site of worldly perception and giver of our wider experiences, to unfold the profound presence and determinable properties of the body and our existence. My research is supervised by Dr. Ian Leask, who enjoyed a formation in Scholastic Philosophy, at Queen's University, Belfast.
Recently completed PhDs:
Name: Mark Farrell
Thesis Title: Accountability, Human Rights and Social Justice: Developing an Ethical Framework for Enhancing Irish Public Sector Recordkeeping
Supervisors: Prof. Bert Gordijn, Dr. Alan Kearns, Dr. Mark Philbin
Name: Gugun Gumilar
Thesis Title: Pancasila and Interreligious Dialogue: Challenges and Opportunities
Supervisors: Dr. Peter Admirand and Dr. Jonathan Kearne
Name: Gugun Gumilar
Thesis Title: Pancasila and Interreligious Dialogue: Challenges and Opportunities
Supervisors: Dr. Peter Admirand and Dr. Jonathan Kearne
Name: Gugun Gumilar
Thesis Title: Pancasila and Interreligious Dialogue: Challenges and Opportunities
Supervisors: Dr. Peter Admirand and Dr. Jonathan Kearne
Name: Gugun Gumilar
Thesis Title: Pancasila and Interreligious Dialogue: Challenges and Opportunities
Supervisors: Dr. Peter Admirand and Dr. Jonathan Kearne
Name: Gugun Gumilar
Thesis Title: Pancasila and Interreligious Dialogue: Challenges and Opportunities
Supervisors: Dr. Peter Admirand and Dr. Jonathan Kearne
Name: David Mark Dunning
Thesis Title: Gendering and Queering Theological Anthropology: Historical Perspectives and Contemporary Challenges
Supervisors: Dr Ethna Regan and Dr Joseph Rivera
Name: Mohammad Hosseini
Thesis title: Ethics of contributor role ontologies and taxonomies
Supervisors: Professor Bert Gordijn and Dr Jonathan Lewis
Name: Áine Mulvey
Thesis Title: Song Literature in Ireland: The Influence of the Irish Cultural Revival (1891-1922)
Supervisor: Dr John O’Flynn
Name: Marcellinus Azukaoma Uche Osakwe
Thesis Title: Nigerian Postcolonial Thought and Peace Process In Northern Nigeria
Supervisor: Dr Peter Admirand
Name: Orla Shannon
Thesis Title: The Forgotten Female: Twentieth-Century Irish Art Music and the Cultural Politics of Revival
Supervisor: Dr. Seán Doherty
Name: Viji Varghese Eapen
Areas of Research: Subaltern Studies, Liberation Theology, Ecclesiology and Liturgical Theology
Thesis Title: Consulting the Subalterns: Developing a Subaltern Dialectical Boundary Discourse for a Borderless Church
Supervisor: Dr Ethna Regan
Name: Linda Adams
Area of Research: Music Cognition
Thesis Title: Investigating Harmonic Expectation
Supervisor: Dr. Patricia Flynn
Name: John Alderdice
Areas of Research: Part-time PhD researcher exploring the relationship between Ordained Ministry in the Methodist Church in Ireland and Servant Leadership Theory.
Working Thesis Title: Servant Leadership as a paradigm for Ordained Ministry in the contemporary Methodist Church in Ireland.
Supervisors: Dr Gabriel Flynn and Prof Patrick Flood (DCU Business School)
Name: Freya Dasgupta
Areas of Research: Jewish-Christian relations, Interfaith dialogue, Yiddish Literature, Jewish Studies
Thesis Title: In Pursuit of the Kingdom: Jewish-Christian Reconciliation in Sholem Asch's Fiction and Its Relevance to Interfaith Dialogue
Supervisors: Dr Peter Admirand and Dr Jonathan Kearney
Name: Tony Devlin
Areas of Research: Authority, Control and Dissent in post-Vatican II Catholicism, including the historical development of the concept of orthodoxy, Vatican II perspectives on doctrinal development, orthodoxy and control, Vatican II reception and the associated crises in magisterial authority, the attitudes to dissent evidenced in successive papacies, challenges and the nature of dissent in the 3rd millennium, the future for a pastoral magisterium
Thesis Title: Theological Dissent – From Vatican II to the New Millennium
Supervisor: Dr Ethna Regan
Name: Martin Della Vecchia
Research Area: Music Composition
Title: Portfolio of Original Compositions with Commentary
Supervisor: Dr Seán Doherty
Name: Angelos Mavropoulos
Areas of research: Theology, Religious Studies, Christian Ethics, and Bioethics
Thesis Title: The Ethical Consideration of Body Modification: A comparative case study of Tattooing and Body Piercing practices between Catholic and Orthodox perspectives
Supervisor: Dr. John Murray
Name: Padraig McBennett
Thesis Title: Empirical Exploration of the Religious Landscape and Spiritual Marketplace of a Post-Catholic Ireland: Perspectives of a Younger Demographic
Supervisor: Dr Joseph Rivera
Name: Hannah Millington
Thesis title: Beyond The Suffragette: Reclaiming Ethel Smyth’s Vocal Works for the Twenty-First Century
Supervisor: Dr Róisín Blunnie