Stephanie Rains

My main research interests are in Irish media and cultural history.  My own PhD was on the 20thC Irish-American relationship to Ireland, especially as it was expressed through popular cultural forms such as film, television and tourism.  This was then the basis of my first book, The Irish American in Popular Culture, 1945-2000 (Irish Academic Press, 2007).

My subsequent work has focused on Irish cultural history, specifically the intersection between popular culture and everyday life.  My second book, Commodity Culture and Social Class in Dublin, 1850-1916 (Irish Academic Press, 2010) examined the development of department stores and consumer culture in 19thC Dublin.  For several years after that, my research focused on the Irish popular press of the late 19thC and early 20thC, particularly women’s magazines and commercial periodicals publishing popular fiction, as well as on the political economy of Irish media in the period before Independence.  I published several articles/chapters on this in journals such as in Irish Studies Review, English Literature in Transition 1880-1920, Media History and the Irish University Review.

My most recent book Advertising and Consumer Culture in Ireland 1922-1962: Buy Irish (Liverpool University Press, 2022) continued that focus on Irish popular publishing, and examines the political economy of the Irish media of the 20thC.  It explores the development of the modern advertising industry, the ways in which advertising revenue was central to the business model of Irish newspapers and magazines, and the broader implications of consumer culture in 20thC Ireland.

I am currently working towards a new book project on Irish holiday-making during the 20thC.  Most studies of Irish tourism concentrate on Ireland as a site for foreign tourists, and holidays taken by Irish people (both at home and abroad) prior to the Celtic Tiger era are relatively overlooked by comparison. This project includes a wide range of Irish holiday-making, from seaside trips to pilgrimages, cruises and the early years of package holidays.

I also run the Irish Media and Cultural History blog at https://irishmediahistory.com/.

I would welcome enquiries from students interested in pursuing PhD research in any area of Irish popular culture, including those covering film, radio and television, newspaper history and digital culture, as well as cultural history topics such as shopping, tourism and other aspects of everyday life.  I’m also available to supervise cultural studies projects with a UK or US focus, with a particular interest in popular culture and everyday life.