ProfessorBryan Fanning

I am UCD's Professor of Migration and Social Policy. My research interests also include the modernisation of Irish society, with a focus on the history of ideas and debates that have shaped its development and the intellectual history of social policy. I have written several books on these topics. Examples include Histories of the Irish Future (2014), an intellectual history of the predicaments facing Ireland as understood by key writers since 1650, Migration and the Making of Ireland (2018), a history of immigration since 1600 which also addresses migration to and from Ireland, and Three Roads to the Welfare State: Liberalism, Social Democracy and Christian Democracy. My current research is focused upon how different understandings of moral issues and public morality influence thinking about social policy.
I welcome expressions of interest to undertake doctoral research in these and related areas. In particular, I think there are opportunities for research on understanding Ireland's experiences of immigration in comparative contexts, for research on social policy issues relating to diversity in Ireland and for research on the experiences of marginalised groups or communities. I also welcome proposals for doctoral research on ideological conflicts about public morality which influence how we think about social problems.