Sophie Cooper
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sophcocooper.bsky.social
Sophie Cooper
@sophcocooper.bsky.social
2.3K followers 1.4K following 430 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
mattknight.bsky.social
me when i have no institutional bias
BBC headline: Paul Doyle: The 'nice' neighbour who carried out 'calculated violence' at Liverpool parade, and a photo of Doyle (a white man) smiling. BBC headline: 'Evil' Southport killer jailed for minimum 52 years, and a grim looking court illustration of the killer (a black man) frowning.
November 27, 2025 at 10:09 AM
Reposted by Sophie Cooper
bairishstudies.bsky.social
The 2025 BAIS Essay Prize winner, written by Mikelyn Rochford @mikelyn.bsky.social is now available to read on Irish Studies Review!
doi.org/10.1080/0967...
“I took the left turn for eternity”: otherworlds, afterlives, and discursive storytelling traditions in Flann O’Brien’s The Third Policeman and Máirtín Ó Cadhain’s Graveyard Clay
This essay explores Flann O’Brien’s posthumously published The Third Policeman (1967) and Máirtín Ó Cadhain’s 1949 Irish language novel Cré na Cille (Graveyard Clay) through their use of literary o...
doi.org
September 29, 2025 at 9:27 AM
Reposted by Sophie Cooper
britishfuture.bsky.social
"What is the best-kept secret in British politics? It must be falling immigration. Almost everyone knows that immigration hit record highs... Few realise the last couple of years have seen some of the biggest ever reductions too." @sundersays.bsky.social
www.easterneye.biz/uk-immigrati...
November 27, 2025 at 10:35 AM
Reposted by Sophie Cooper
mcslaven.bsky.social
The easiest thing the Labour government could've done on immigration: Just take credit for numbers that are falling anyway! You don't need to change anything!

Instead, the way they've talked about migration has allowed the public to think immigration is going *up*.

Utter political incompetence.
sundersays.bsky.social Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 17h
Most of the public think net migration increased last year, when in fact numbers halved.

New findings from the Ipsos/British Future Immigration Attitudes Tracker show that 56% of the public thinks immigration increased last year. Just 1 in 6 realise it was down
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
November 27, 2025 at 10:44 AM
sophcocooper.bsky.social
Kerby Miller joins Olwen Fouéré and Margo Harkin in turning down an honorary doctorate from Galway due to links with Israeli institutions 👏

www.rte.ie/news/connach...
Third person refuses doctorate from University of Galway
A third person has turned down an honorary doctorate that was due to be conferred by the University of Galway, at a ceremony tomorrow.
www.rte.ie
November 27, 2025 at 10:51 AM
Reposted by Sophie Cooper
finucanecentre.bsky.social
Not the ‘UK’ folks. The right to a jury trial was abolished here in the north of Ireland years ago. The imperial boomerang at work
November 26, 2025 at 5:54 PM
Reposted by Sophie Cooper
netpol.org
It's important to emphasise this isn't a ruling, but an indicator of the prejudices of a judge deciding on the judicial review. However, it's a reminder of the difficulties of trying NOT to break the law whilst opposing the draconian nature of the ban. Here's our advice netpol.org/2025/06/26/p...
caatuk.bsky.social caatuk.bsky.social @caatuk.bsky.social · 1d
BREAKING: Judge in judicial review over proscription of Palestine Action claims the statement "Palestine Action are not terrorists" would be deemed support for the group.
November 26, 2025 at 6:06 PM
Reposted by Sophie Cooper
djrgrey.bsky.social
Wonderful to see latest in Special Issue of @genderandhistory.bsky.social edited @writinghelena.bsky.social, Lisa Hellman, Rachel Jean-Baptiste and me out! Christina Thomas on educator Geraldine Wilson: "A Black Girl's Coming of Age in Jim Crow Philadelphia, Pennsylvania" 🌟 doi.org/10.1111/1468...
A Black Girl's Coming of Age in Jim Crow Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
In the late twentieth century, Geraldine L. Wilson emerged as one of the leading voices in early Black childhood education, grounding her pedagogy in Black history and culture. This article traces th...
doi.org
November 26, 2025 at 10:09 AM
Reposted by Sophie Cooper
mellymeldubs.bsky.social
Are you a grad student working on post-1945 culture? Could your research benefit from incorporating some data, even minimally? Want feedback from journal editors?

This Post45 Data Collective virtual workshop may be for you!

Applications are due DECEMBER 1: data.post45.org/news/grad-wo...
pricelab.bsky.social The Price Lab @pricelab.bsky.social · 15d
The Post45 Data Collective invites graduate students in the humanities or adjacent fields to explore cultural data reflexively and collaboratively in a mini-workshop hosted virtually on Friday, March 13. Details here: data.post45.org/news/grad-wo...
November 26, 2025 at 6:09 PM
Reposted by Sophie Cooper
jfmresearch.bsky.social
JFMR Statement Regarding a Significant Error in Testimony Documentary

jfmresearch.com/testimony/jf...
JFMR Statement Regarding a Significant Error in Testimony Documentary
On Sunday 23rd November, Justice for Magdalenes Research (JFMR) became aware that recent screenings of the Testimony documentary in the UK and Ireland are missing an onscreen caption providing esse…
jfmresearch.com
November 26, 2025 at 5:55 PM
Reposted by Sophie Cooper
lollardfish.bsky.social
A reminder: For the Holidays, your friends and families want books. Buy them books. If you aren't sure which book to get them, buy them more books. People want books!
angienashville.bsky.social Angie E. Henderson @angienashville.bsky.social · 1d
My family has been calling me a luddite for years, & I’ve never felt better about that moniker than I do now, after a cities conference highlighting AI data centers & a new push for more surveillance downtown. We don’t have to participate. This year, shop in local stores, buy actual books. 📚🎄🕎
parismarx.com Paris Marx @parismarx.com · 2d
Christmas is coming, and the Black Friday sales signal we’re in peak gift-buying season.

When you’re picking out gifts for friends and family this year, there’s a whole slew of tech products that are better to avoid. I put together a guide to help you through it.
November 26, 2025 at 6:13 PM
Reposted by Sophie Cooper
roisinmoriarty.com
The Kneecap effect - gatekeepers of minority languages need to loosen their grip and let language live.

Yesterday I learnt that the first Irish-Irish dictionary (monolingual) was published THIS year!

#GaelicRevival #AthbheochannaGaeilge

www.irishcentral.com/no-english-a...
‘We’re a bit jealous of Kneecap’: how Europe’s minority tongues are facing the digital future | Stephen Burgen
What does it mean to lose a language, and what does it take to save it? Those were the big questions being asked in Barcelona recently, says freelance writer Stephen Burgen
www.theguardian.com
November 26, 2025 at 7:22 AM
Reposted by Sophie Cooper
hagenilda.bsky.social
As I recall Roy and Hayley were seen as pretty iconic national treasures.
tilly.bsky.social 🏳️‍⚧️ Leah 🏳️‍⚧️ @tilly.bsky.social · 1d
Pinched from another source...
Text. For 16 years, until 2014, Julie Hesmondhalgh played a trans woman called Hayley Cropper in Coronation Street. There was a distinct lack of national outrage. During that time Helen Joyce worked at The Economist, Maya Forstater was a tax advisor & JK Rowling just wrote books. Image of a smiling woman.
November 26, 2025 at 9:06 AM
Reposted by Sophie Cooper
desfitzgerald.bsky.social
If you're in ireland and have kids in primary school or soon to be, please fill out this survey on preferences re religious involvement in schools, and whether people prefer single-sex or co-ed. It takes < 1 minute and will inform future provision. #speirgorm www.gov.ie/en/departmen...
Primary School Survey
This survey is for parents and guardians of children in primary school or who will enter primary school in the coming years
www.gov.ie
November 24, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Reposted by Sophie Cooper
jjaron.bsky.social
"Would you support or oppose taxing Not You, without any explanation or understanding of the inherent trade-offs involved?"
yougov.co.uk YouGov @yougov.co.uk · 3d
With Rachel Reeves reportedly set to apply a new tax on tuition fees paid by overseas students, most Britons support such a move at the previously mooted level of 6%

Support: 57%
Oppose: 18%

yougov.co.uk/topics/socie...
November 24, 2025 at 5:20 PM
Reposted by Sophie Cooper
lottelydia.bsky.social
Of course. And it’s also local jobs for a lot of people who aren’t academics — there’s a tendency in Labour I think to assume that it’s just pretentious middle class people losing privileged positions, but my uni employs about 6,000 people and the vast majority of them aren’t lecturers.
November 24, 2025 at 12:10 AM
Reposted by Sophie Cooper
lottelydia.bsky.social
*pinches bridge of nose* Rachel explain to me again how the university funding model works
sgfmann.bsky.social George Mann @sgfmann.bsky.social · 3d
i: Reeves to unveil £600m raid on foreign student
university fees #TomorrowsPapersToday
November 23, 2025 at 10:59 PM
Reposted by Sophie Cooper
fotwl.bsky.social
You'd be working with some excellent material and with our wonderful Chair, Anne Summers.
historyworkshop.org.uk History Workshop @historyworkshop.org.uk · 3d
New publishing opportunity!

The London Record Society are looking for someone to edit a volume based on the archive of the Working Ladies' Guild, which supported impoverished women in late nineteenth-century Britain.

Further information and contact details in the text below.
A call for editors for a new edited volume on the Working Ladies Guild. The volume is expected to focus on the late-Victorian period, with the case-histories of women based in London who approached the Guild for relief providing the bulk of the material. The records of the Guild’s Chelsea group, covering the period 1884 to 1897, will provide the core of the material to be transcribed and edited. Readers who are interested in potentially taking on this task should contact Dr Anne Summers (chair@friendsofthewomenslibrary.org.uk) or Prof Jerry White, Honorary General Editor (Modern Records) of the LRS (jerry.white@bbk.ac.uk) to discuss the project further.
November 24, 2025 at 12:23 PM
Reposted by Sophie Cooper
stephencollins.bsky.social
[Scene is JESUS sat behind a boss’s desk in his office on a cloud in HEAVEN] 1 JESUS [speaking into intercom] Hi can you send in Saint Nicholas please 2 SANTA [entering in full Santa garb]: Hi boss JESUS: Hi Nick 3 JESUS: Listen - about this ‘my birthday’ thing... SANTA: Ohh not this again boss 4 JESUS: Nick, it’s out of hand. *You’ve* got out of hand. 5 JESUS: I mean when I hired you, you was all humble, hiding under windows, lobbing in dowries… And now you’re like… 6 JESUS [gesturing disdainfully at Santa’s clothing]: I mean - what’s this. 7 SANTA: This is my get up! I’ve had this since the Coca Cola deal in the 30s JESUS: *That’s what I mean.* 8 JESUS: You’ve just gone too - SANTA: Oh no, oh no - 9 SANTA: Sorry boss but waaay back in the Reformation, right, Martin Luther said: “why don’t we have Jesus delivering the presents?”. And when he prayed to ask you, do you remember what you said? Eh? 10 SANTA: You said: “I ain’t going back there” 11 SANTA: If you wanna take over - JESUS: Oh yeah! Kids coming downstairs to find me resurrected in their living room going "I got you an Xbox"... 12 SANTA: You’re just feeling threatened cos I’m doing a bloody good - JESUS: *WATCH IT NICK*. [ends]
November 24, 2025 at 12:56 PM
sophcocooper.bsky.social
Nice Irish diaspora sports history story here!

BBC News - No All Blacks without Donegal man who died at Passchendaele
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Dave Gallaher: The Donegal-born captain of New Zealand's All Blacks Originals
The legacy of Dave Gallaher, the Irish-born All Blacks captain, has been remembered in County Donegal.
www.bbc.com
November 23, 2025 at 8:01 PM
Reposted by Sophie Cooper
greenparty.org.uk
“If you go back a million minutes, you reach 2023. Go back a billion minutes, you reach the Roman Empire — that’s the scale of inequality we’re living with.”

Zack Polanski on #BBCLauraK discussing inequality and why a wealth tax should be in the budget
November 23, 2025 at 10:31 AM
Reposted by Sophie Cooper
whaireland.bsky.social
Delighted to have our next book review up online this morning. Thanks to Berni Dwan for taking the time to review it for us.
womenshistoryassociation.com/book-reviews...
Finding Mary. The untold story of an Inishowen murder, 1944. (Maynooth Studies in Local History: Number 172) (Four Courts Press, 2025)
Hands up if you sometimes skip the preface of a book. Well please don’t do that when you read Finding Mary. The untold story of an Inishowen murder, 1844. The preface to Finding Mary is a fine piec…
womenshistoryassociation.com
November 23, 2025 at 10:44 AM
Reposted by Sophie Cooper
clodaghtait.bsky.social
The reflections on today's @sundaymiscellany.bsky.social about Bloody Sunday 1920 are all powerful, but as usual Anne Dolan's contribution on the reverberations of violence is an unmissable exemplar of the historian's art. Listen on RTÉ radio Player if you missed it.
November 23, 2025 at 9:55 AM
Reposted by Sophie Cooper
dieworkwear.bsky.social
when I was young, i used to wonder how people like this would fare in life, as they didn't seem suited for gainful employment. it turns out, the internet allowed them to accumulate a massive audience of similar idiots, enriching them and turning them into a presidential advisor
Polymarket tweets: "BREAKING: Zohran Mamdani to require all New York elementary school students to learn Arabic numerals." Laura Loomer replies: "You know things are bad when you can't tell if this is real or a joke. Dear God. It's real. Isn't it?"
November 20, 2025 at 12:58 AM