Sophie Cooper
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sophcocooper.bsky.social
Sophie Cooper
@sophcocooper.bsky.social
2.3K followers 1.4K following 470 posts
Social historian of gender, migration & public space | Nuns | Ireland & its diaspora | Senior Lecturer @QUBLiberalArts | Forging Identities in the Irish World @EdinburghUP 2022 | She/her.
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sophcocooper.bsky.social
Sophie Cooper @sophcocooper.bsky.social · Oct 24
Very happy that 'Blue Sunglasses and New Habits: Female Correspondence Networks and the Irish Religious Diaspora' is now out as part of a great double issue
@iehs.bsky.social Journal of American Ethnic History ed. by Cian McMahon & Darragh Gannon
scholarlypublishingcollective.org/uip/jaeh/iss...
Abstract. During the nineteenth century female Irish religious orders established missions across the Irish diaspora which were designed with flexibility and adaptation in mind. The Sisters of Mercy’s personal letter networks allowed these women, who were often very young, to continue their religious and technical “apprenticeship” while abroad. These letters enabled women in the diaspora to maintain a sense of consistency and belonging across the oceans: with their sisters in Ireland and elsewhere in the world on an ethnic and institutional level. Engaging with these letters as both intimate conversations and professional reflections presents opportunities for investigating how long-distance institutional memory was developed and a continuing connection to Ireland and Irishness maintained. This article moves the focus of ethnic culture brokers from the priest and bishop to the formal and informal networks of women religious who worked within a system designed for men. In doing so, it demonstrates that these letters provided an important extra layer to public global Irish networks, a layer which acted as both a whisper network and an opportunity for reflection on efficient methods for varied work in large, fluctuating, and cross-class ethnic communities
Reposted by Sophie Cooper
mostlybree.kitrocha.com
I know we're all seeing 87 unhinged things per day, but "guys if our multi billion dollar product doesn't start being useful for something, literally anything, the people might not appreciate us wrecking the planet over it anymore" is a truly bananapants thing to say out loud
mrsdrsyd.bsky.social Mrs Dr Syd @mrsdrsyd.bsky.social · 2d
Delicious to me
January 22, 2026 at 6:29 AM
Reposted by Sophie Cooper
margaret.bsky.social
I have been actively involved in protest movements for 24 years. I have never seen anything approaching this scale. Minneapolis is not accepting what's happening here. ICE fucking murdered a woman for participating in this, and all that did is bring out more people, from more walks of life.
January 22, 2026 at 3:58 AM
Reposted by Sophie Cooper
royalhistsoc.org
PhD funding for early career historians completing a doctorate.

Applications are invited for the Society's Centenary PhD Fellowships for the academic year 2026-27 bit.ly/49MzqmT.

Two awards of £8500 per student, held jointly with @ihr.bsky.social. Closing date: 31 January 2026 #Skystorians
Call for Royal Historical Society PhD funding with text: The Royal Historical Society offers two annual PhD Fellowships for postgraduate historians in their third year of research at a university in the UK or overseas in order to complete a doctorate. The Fellowships comprise: Two RHS Centenary Fellowships: each Centenary Fellowship runs for 6-months and is worth £8,500 for final-year PhD students to complete their dissertations and to develop their research career. All Fellowships are open to candidates without regard to nationality or academic affiliation. They are jointly held with the Institute of Historical Research (IHR), University of London, where Fellows are based.
January 22, 2026 at 8:47 AM
Reposted by Sophie Cooper
tmartinwalsh.bsky.social
I am still looking for the public's help as I complete this project. I am particularly interested in finding diaries and letters written at the time of the fire. Even if they don't directly reference the fire, they are still of use. It's likely that these letters still exists in drawers, boxes etc
Memorial Cross for the victims of the 1926 Dromcollogher Cinema fire.
January 22, 2026 at 11:12 AM
sophcocooper.bsky.social
Really looking forward to chairing Catriona's lecture on Women and Irish politics in the age of revolution tonight!
ssnci.bsky.social Society for the Study of Nineteenth Century Ireland @ssnci.bsky.social · 17d
We are delighted that Catriona Kennedy will give the @ssnci.bsky.social annual lecture on 'Women & Irish politics in the age of revolution'!! It will be held @nlireland.bsky.social on 22 January. For more see
www.nli.ie/exhibitions-...
Amazon, aristocrat or democrat?
Women and Irish politics in the age of revolution
www.nli.ie
January 22, 2026 at 10:10 AM
Reposted by Sophie Cooper
onslies.bsky.social
ALSO: googling the 'Werkers-Lockefeer' lace factory gave me this picture supposedly of some of the women in Kieldrecht working for that factory which I didn't know existed.

I adore them.

From this webpage: www.blog.seniorennet.be/kantklossen/...
picture of an old picture. The original picture shows three ladies outside in a courtyard, two of them are seated and have some intricate construction on their knees that holds a lot of bobbins which they are making lace with. The third one is standing and also producing some textile with her hands.
January 21, 2026 at 9:00 PM
Reposted by Sophie Cooper
paulecohen.bsky.social
perhaps the most important moment in this morning's lunatic rant
gtconway.bsky.social George Conway ⚖️🇺🇸 @gtconway.bsky.social · 1d
"Usually they say, 'He's a horrible dictator-type person.' But sometimes you need a dictator."

As I have always said, he is at his most honest when he is at his most malevolent and depraved.
January 21, 2026 at 6:13 PM
Reposted by Sophie Cooper
adamkeiper.com
Trump repeatedly said "Iceland" when he meant Greenland in his Davos rant. But his press secretary is just blatantly lying about it.
Screenshot of a tweet from @PressSec dated 21 Jan 2026, reading as follows: No he didn’t, Libby. His written remarks referred to Greenland as a “piece of ice” because that’s what it is. You’re the only one mixing anything up here.
January 21, 2026 at 5:58 PM
Reposted by Sophie Cooper
lauraewebster.bsky.social
Read the full story

www.thenational.scot/news/2578067...
Plan for massive AI-generated mural in Glasgow given green light
AN AI-generated mural has been approved by a Scottish council, despite it including an American bald eagle.
www.thenational.scot
January 20, 2026 at 1:22 PM
Reposted by Sophie Cooper
melissagiragrant.com
waking up to the Belgian PM quoting Gramsci at Davos re: Trump www.theguardian.com/world/live/2...
He says he will meet with Trump on Wednesday, accompanied by the Belgian monarch Philippe: "But it will have a different character than we had planned. It will probably be the message that we have to send: you're crossing red lines here. We either stand together or we will stand divided, and if we are divided, there is the end of an era, of 80 years of atlanticism, really drawing to a close. And you know, as Gramsci said, 'if the old is dying and the new is not yet born, you live in a time of monsters, and it's up to him to decide if he wants to be a monster - yes or no."
January 20, 2026 at 1:09 PM
Reposted by Sophie Cooper
politicanimal.bsky.social
OMG, he actually did the ‘I can’t be sexist, my wife is a woman’ line.
January 19, 2026 at 5:45 PM
Reposted by Sophie Cooper
localnotail.bsky.social
"switch party, stand again" automatic by-election petition is spreading out nicely - past 30K now

petition.parliament.uk/petitions/73...
Petition reaching 30,003 signatures By-elections to be called automatically when MPs defect to another party When an MP decides they want to defect to another party a by-election should be automatically triggered to allow the constituents the opportunity have their democratic right to agree or not with their elected official. More details Sign this petition 30,003 signatures Show on a map
January 19, 2026 at 6:11 PM
Reposted by Sophie Cooper
imems.bsky.social
- James Kelly, 'Women’s Agency, Discernment, and Choice in the English Convents in Exile, 1600–1800', The Historical Journal. Read here: 👉 doi.org/10.1017/S001...
Women’s Agency, Discernment, and Choice in the English Convents in Exile, 1600–1800 | The Historical Journal | Cambridge Core
Women’s Agency, Discernment, and Choice in the English Convents in Exile, 1600–1800 - Volume 68 Issue 5
doi.org
January 14, 2026 at 10:01 AM
Reposted by Sophie Cooper
phillewis.bsky.social
Dr. Gladys West, the pioneering mathematician whose work laid the foundation for modern GPS technology, has died. She was 95.
Dr. Gladys West, Mathematician Whose Work Made GPS Possible, Dies at 95
ALEXANDRIA, VA — Dr. Gladys West, the pioneering mathematician whose work laid the foundation for modern GPS technology, has died. She passed away
thezebra.org
January 19, 2026 at 6:00 PM
Reposted by Sophie Cooper
davidho.bsky.social
It was inevitable.
Amazon's Ring to partner with Flock, a network of AI cameras used by ICE, feds, and police | TechCrunch
Agencies that use Flock can request that Ring doorbell users share footage to help with "evidence collection and investigative work."
techcrunch.com
January 19, 2026 at 8:02 AM
Reposted by Sophie Cooper
leftywilbury1.bsky.social
So WHERE THE F*CK DOES ICE BELIEVE NATIVE AMERICANS SHOULD BE DEPORTED TO????? GEEZUZ Christ. We're STILL punishing them for owning this nation's land FIRST!🤦‍♀️
January 17, 2026 at 6:34 PM
Reposted by Sophie Cooper
rachelbynoth.bsky.social
My area! History of Emotions is such a fruitful area for historical enquiry + one which really engages people. In an age where we are grappling to understand people, identity and relationships, I would highly recommend this online session on 26th April www.history.ac.uk/news-events/...
Researching the History of Emotions
www.history.ac.uk
January 18, 2026 at 9:46 PM
Reposted by Sophie Cooper
gelliottmorris.com
he is dressed like that on purpose
bunnibytz.bsky.social jen sometimes aph 🌻 @bunnibytz.bsky.social · 5d
Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino marches through Minneapolis surrounded by federal agents, shouting at American citizens.

This isn’t about deporting “the worst of the worst.” It’s about deliberately sowing fear and chaos in cities that oppose the Trump regime

ht: @rpsagainsttrump.bsky.social
January 18, 2026 at 9:24 PM
Reposted by Sophie Cooper
hetanshah.bsky.social
I know attention is on the US/Greenland, and it’s hard to get proper news from Iran, but this from @christinalamb.bsky.social estimates at least 16,000 people have been killed and over 300,000 injured. Many (most?) victims are thought to be under the age of 30
www.thetimes.com/article/01ba...
Iran report says 16,500 dead in ‘genocide under digital darkness’
Witnesses tell of the brutality inflicted on those taking part in anti-regime protests
www.thetimes.com
January 18, 2026 at 10:09 PM
Reposted by Sophie Cooper
antongerashchenko.bsky.social
Ukrainian players are creating a universe in Minecraft where they recreate Ukrainian cities using memory, satellite images,&Google Street View

Valerii,one of the creators,rebuilt his destroyed home in Mariupol in meticulous detail: the grapevine, flowers, a fir tree nearby, and even a cat and a dog
January 18, 2026 at 7:32 PM
Reposted by Sophie Cooper
bladeofthes.bsky.social
Palantir is working with ICE.

Why the hell are we giving Palantir our NHS information.

Palantir need to be banned from UK Goverment, just like the Swiss banned them from theirs.
January 18, 2026 at 5:04 PM
Reposted by Sophie Cooper
ashleyrattner.bsky.social
Look for the helpers
Alaska Art Student Arrested for Eating Another Student’s AI-Generated Art in Protest
A University of Alaska student was charged with a misdemeanor for eating another student's AI-generated art in protest.
www.artnews.com
January 18, 2026 at 3:50 PM
Reposted by Sophie Cooper
mrsbettybowers.bsky.social
Pew Research Institute (2023):

• Red State Texas has about 2.1 million undocumented immigrants

• Red State Florida has 1.6 M undocumented immigrants

• Blue State Minnesota has 130,000.

And yet only Minnesota is being occupied by masked thugs over "immigration."

It's *not* about immigration.
January 18, 2026 at 9:03 PM
Reposted by Sophie Cooper
workshops4gaza.bsky.social
Priti Gulati Cox is an artist who has worked in mixed media since she moved to the so-called u.s. in 2000 from India. In 2018, during the Great March of Return protests in Occupied Palestine, she started working on documenting "Israel's" atrocities via embroidery, inspired by Tatreez.
Embroidery of "If I must die" by Refaat Alareer If I must die, you must live to tell my story to sell my things to buy a piece of cloth and some strings, (make it white with a long tail) so that a child, somewhere in Gaza while looking heaven in the eye awaiting his dad who left in a blaze- and bid no one Farewell not event his flesh not even to himself- sees the kite, my kite you made, flying up above, and thinks for a moment, an angel is there bringing back love If I must die let it bring hope
January 8, 2026 at 7:29 PM
Reposted by Sophie Cooper
gwillow.me
Here we see him in the middle of his famous 5-point cut, which influenced fashion for decades, popularized by icons like Twiggy. Today it might just look like a haircut, but at the time it was considered mildly scandalous for a woman to sport a haircut this short and geometrical.
workingclasshistory.com Working Class History @workingclasshistory.com · 6d
#OtD 17 Jan 1928 Vidal Sassoon, anti-fascist hairdresser born. Aged 17 he joined the 43 Group, formed by Jewish ex-servicemen, which smashed Oswald Mosley's fascists off the streets of London. Sassoon's weapon of choice? A pair of scissors. Learn more: workingclasshistory.com/2020/02/17/e...
January 17, 2026 at 5:28 PM