Dr Stephanie Rains

    Media Studies

    Associate Professor

    0.22 Iontas Building
    (01) 708 6980

    Biography

    I am an Associate Professor in the Department of Media Studies at Maynooth University, where I have worked since 2007. Prior to that, I worked at IADT Dun Laoghaire, after completing my PhD in the School of Communications in Dublin City University in 2003.  I teach on the BA Media Studies and BA Media and Cultural Studies programmes, for which I am 3rd year Co-ordinator, as well as on the MA in Critical and Creative Media programme.  I teach classes on media history, advertising and political economy, and podcasting, and I am the International Co-ordinator for the Department of Media Studes.

     My main research interests are in Irish media and cultural history.  I have published monographs on Irish-American cultural history, and on the history of shopping and consumer culture in Dublin, and several articles/chapters on the Irish popular press of the late 19thC and early 20thC, published in Irish Studies Review, English Literature in Transition 1880-1920, Media History and the Irish University Review.  My current book project, Advertising and Consumer Culture in Ireland 1922-1962: Buy Irish, is due out from Liverpool University Press in 2022.  I also run the Irish Media 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 on UK or US popular cultural history topics.

    Office Hours: students should contact me at stephanie.rains@mu.ie to arrange a Teams consultation.

    Books

      Year Publication
    2010 Commodity Culture and Social Class in Dublin, 1850-1916.
    Dr Stephanie Rains (2010) Commodity Culture and Social Class in Dublin, 1850-1916. : Irish Academic Press. [Details]
    2007 The Irish American in Popular Culture, 1945-2000.
    Rains, S. (2007) The Irish American in Popular Culture, 1945-2000. : Irish Academic Press. [Details]

    Book Chapters

      Year Publication
    2022 'The Politics of Sitting Down: Women, Cafes and Public Toilets in Dublin'
    Stephanie Rains (2022) 'The Politics of Sitting Down: Women, Cafes and Public Toilets in Dublin' In: Shopping and the Senses, 1800-1970. London: Palgrave Macmillan. [Details]
    2020 ''Popular Prints''
    Stephanie Rains (2020) ''Popular Prints'' In: Matthew Campbell (eds). Irish Literature in Transition, 1830-1880 (Vol 3). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. [Details]
    2019 'Reading the Hand: Graphology and Alternative Literacies'
    Stephanie Rains (2019) 'Reading the Hand: Graphology and Alternative Literacies' In: Rebecca Anne Barr, Sarah-Anne Buckley and Muireann O'Cinneide (eds). Literacy, Language and Reading in Nineteenth-Century Ireland. Liverpool, UK: Liverpool University Press. [Details]
    2009 'Ireland as a Past Life: Bridey Murphy and Irish-American Tourism to Ireland, 1945-1960'
    Rains, S. (2009) 'Ireland as a Past Life: Bridey Murphy and Irish-American Tourism to Ireland, 1945-1960' In: After the Flood: Irish-America 1945-1960. Dublin: Irish Academic Press. [Details]
    2007 'Making Strange: Journeys through the Unfamiliar in the Films of Vincent Ward'
    Rains, S. (2007) 'Making Strange: Journeys through the Unfamiliar in the Films of Vincent Ward' In: New Zealand Filmmakers. Detroit: Wayne State University Press. [Details]
    2006 'Roots and Routes: Irish-American Interest in Genealogy, 1945-2000'
    Rains, S. (2006) 'Roots and Routes: Irish-American Interest in Genealogy, 1945-2000' In: The Irish In Us: Irishness, Performativity, and Popular Culture. Durham, NC: Duke University Press. [Details]
    2004 'Quarterizing the City:  The Spatial Politics of the Joyce Industry in Dublin'
    Rains, S. (2004) 'Quarterizing the City:  The Spatial Politics of the Joyce Industry in Dublin' In: City of Quarters: Urban Villages in the Contemporary City. Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing. [Details]
    2003 'Home from Home: Diasporic Images of Ireland in Film and Tourism'
    Rains, S. (2003) 'Home from Home: Diasporic Images of Ireland in Film and Tourism' In: Tourism in Ireland: A Critical Study. Clevedon: Channel View Publications. [Details]

    Peer Reviewed Journals

      Year Publication
    2021 '“No irregularity or obstruction can resist them”: advertising of abortion pills in the Irish press, 1890–1930'
    Stephanie Rains (2021) '“No irregularity or obstruction can resist them”: advertising of abortion pills in the Irish press, 1890–1930'. Irish Studies Review, [DOI] [Details]
    2020 'The Kennedys of Castleross: Soap Opera and Sponsorship on Irish Radio'
    Rains, S (2020) 'The Kennedys of Castleross: Soap Opera and Sponsorship on Irish Radio'. Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, [DOI] [full-text] [Details]
    2017 'Irish Women Freelance Writers and the Popular Press: An Army Beyond Literary Circles'
    Rains, S (2017) 'Irish Women Freelance Writers and the Popular Press: An Army Beyond Literary Circles'. English Literature in Transition, 1880-1920, 60 :36-57 [full-text] [Details]
    2016 'City streets and the city edition: newsboys and newspapers in early twentieth-century Ireland'
    Rains S. (2016) 'City streets and the city edition: newsboys and newspapers in early twentieth-century Ireland'. Irish Studies Review, 24 (2):142-158 [DOI] [full-text] [Details]
    2015 ''Nauseous Tides of Seductive Debauchery': Irish Story Papers and the Anti-Vice Campaigns of the Early Twentieth Century'
    Rains, S (2015) ''Nauseous Tides of Seductive Debauchery': Irish Story Papers and the Anti-Vice Campaigns of the Early Twentieth Century'. Irish University Review, 45 [DOI] [full-text] [Details]
    2015 'Going in for Competitions Active readers and magazine culture, 1900–1910'
    Dr Stephanie Rains (2015) 'Going in for Competitions Active readers and magazine culture, 1900–1910'. Media History, 21 :138-149 [full-text] [Details]
    2014 '‘“Do You Ring? Or Are you Rung for?”: Mass Media, Class, and Social Aspiration in Edwardian Ireland’'
    Dr Stephanie Rains (2014) '‘“Do You Ring? Or Are you Rung for?”: Mass Media, Class, and Social Aspiration in Edwardian Ireland’'. New Hibernia Review, 18 [full-text] [Details]
    2011 'The Ideal Home (Rule) Exhibition: Ballymaclinton and the 1908 Franco-British Exhibition'
    Dr Stephanie Rains (2011) 'The Ideal Home (Rule) Exhibition: Ballymaclinton and the 1908 Franco-British Exhibition'. FIELD DAY REVIEW, 7 [full-text] [Details]
    2008 'Joyce’s ‘Araby’ and the Real Araby Bazaar of 1894'
    Rains, S. (2008) 'Joyce’s ‘Araby’ and the Real Araby Bazaar of 1894'. DUBLIN JAMES JOYCE JOURNAL, 1 :17-29 [full-text] [Details]
    2008 'Here Be Monsters: the Irish Industrial Exhibition of 1853 and the Growth of Dublin Department Stores'
    Rains, S. (2008) 'Here Be Monsters: the Irish Industrial Exhibition of 1853 and the Growth of Dublin Department Stores'. Irish Studies Review, 16 :487-506 [full-text] [Details]
    2007 'Modernity and Consumption in 19thC Ireland: The Araby Bazaar and 1890s Popular Visual Culture'
    (2007) 'Modernity and Consumption in 19thC Ireland: The Araby Bazaar and 1890s Popular Visual Culture'. JOURNAL OF EARLY POPULAR VISUAL CULTURE, 5 :285-300 [full-text] [Details]
    1999 'Touring Temple Bar: Cultural Tourism in Dublin’s ‘Cultural Quarter’'
    Rains, S. (1999) 'Touring Temple Bar: Cultural Tourism in Dublin’s ‘Cultural Quarter’'. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CULTURAL POLICY, 6 :3-15 [full-text] [Details]

    Other Journals

      Year Publication
    2015 '‘Suburban Speculation: Dublin’s 19thC suburbs and the making of the middle-classes’'
    Dr Stephanie Rains (2015) '‘Suburban Speculation: Dublin’s 19thC suburbs and the making of the middle-classes’' 2ha magazine, 10 . [Details]
    2015 ''A Brief History of Clery's''
    Dr Stephanie Rains (2015) ''A Brief History of Clery's'' History Ireland, 23 . [full-text] [Details]
    2013 'Colleens, Cottages and Kraals: the politics of 'native' village exhibitions'
    Dr Stephanie Rains (2013) 'Colleens, Cottages and Kraals: the politics of 'native' village exhibitions' History Ireland, 2 . [full-text] [Details]
    2004 'Celtic Kitsch: Irish-America and Irish Material Culture'
    Rains, S. (2004) 'Celtic Kitsch: Irish-America and Irish Material Culture' Circa Art Magazine, 107 :52-57. [Details]

    Conference Contributions

      Year Publication
    Crosscurrents: The Postgraduate Conference in Irish and Scottish Studies.
    Crosscurrents: The Postgraduate Conference in Irish and Scottish Studies. [Oral Presentation], ‘Roots and Routes: Irish-American Interest in Genealogy, 1945-2000’, Centre for Irish and Scottish Studies, University of Aberdeen, UK [Details]
    2008 Early Popular Visual Culture Symposium,.
    (2008) Early Popular Visual Culture Symposium,. [Oral Presentation], ‘Modernity and Consumption in 19thC Ireland: The Araby Bazaar and 1890s Popular Culture', IADT Dun Laoghaire [Details]
    2008 Associational Culture in Ireland and the wider world, c. 1750-c.1940.
    (2008) Associational Culture in Ireland and the wider world, c. 1750-c.1940. [Oral Presentation], ‘Organising an Exhibition: National and International Exhibitions in 19thC Dublin’, NUI Maynooth, Ireland [Details]
    2008 American Conference for Irish Studies Mid-West Conference.
    (2008) American Conference for Irish Studies Mid-West Conference. [Oral Presentation], ‘Department Stores and Exhibitions: The Arrival of Commodity Culture in mid-19thC Dublin’, Metropolitan State University, St Paul, Minnesota, USA [Details]
    2008 American Conference for Irish Studies National Conference.
    (2008) American Conference for Irish Studies National Conference. [Oral Presentation], ‘Welcome (Back) to Ireland: The 1950s, The Search for Bridey Murphy and Ireland as an Escape from Co, University of St Ambrose, Davenport, Iowa, USA [Details]
    2008 Society for the Study of Nineteenth-Century Ireland Conference.
    (2008) Society for the Study of Nineteenth-Century Ireland Conference. [Oral Presentation], ‘Here Be Monsters: the Irish Industrial Exhibition of 1853 and the Growth of Dublin Department Store, University of Limerick, Ireland [Details]
    2007 Society for Cinema and Media Studies Conference.
    (2007) Society for Cinema and Media Studies Conference. [Oral Presentation], ‘The Case of the Disappearing Colleen: Irish Actresses in Hollywood Film, 1945-2000’, Chicago, USA [Details]
    2007 International Association for the Study of Irish Literature Conference.
    (2007) International Association for the Study of Irish Literature Conference. [Oral Presentation], ‘Modernity and Consumption in 19thC Ireland: The Araby Bazaar and 1890s Popular Culture’, UCD, Ireland [Details]
    2006 American Conferernce for Irish Studies National Conference.
    (2006) American Conferernce for Irish Studies National Conference. [Oral Presentation], ‘Modernity and Consumption in 19thC Ireland: The Araby Bazaar and 1890s Popular Culture’, University of Missouri-St Louis, St Louis, USA [Details]
    2006 Rethinking the Everyday: Different Approaches to Material Culture.
    (2006) Rethinking the Everyday: Different Approaches to Material Culture. [Oral Presentation], ‘The Everyday and the Academy: A New Generation of Cultural Studies?’, NCAD, Dublin [Details]
    2005 Cultural Theory Public Lecture Series.
    (2005) Cultural Theory Public Lecture Series. [Oral Presentation], ‘An Introduction to Michel Foucault’, Douglas Hyde Gallery, TCD Dublin [Details]
    2005 American Conference for Irish Studies Mid-West Conference.
    (2005) American Conference for Irish Studies Mid-West Conference. [Oral Presentation], ‘Celtic Kitsch: Irish-America and Irish Material Culture’, Loras College, Iowa, USA [Details]
    2005 O'Kane Film Centre Research Seminar Series.
    (2005) O'Kane Film Centre Research Seminar Series. [Oral Presentation], ‘John Wayne Seeks Maureen O’Hara: Representations of Sexuality and Gender in Irish-American Popular, UCD, Ireland [Details]
    2004 Ireland and Irish-America in the Twentieth Century.
    (2004) Ireland and Irish-America in the Twentieth Century. [Oral Presentation], ‘Diaspora and Conflict: Irish America and the Northern Ireland Troubles’, NUI Maynooth, Ireland [Details]
    2002 Cultures in Conflict.
    (2002) Cultures in Conflict. [Oral Presentation], ‘Politics and Capital: Irish-American Ideological and Economic Involvement with Ireland’, St. Patrick’s College, Dublin [Details]
    2002 Private Vices, Public Virtues: Gendered Sexualities and Citizenship.
    (2002) Private Vices, Public Virtues: Gendered Sexualities and Citizenship. [Oral Presentation], ‘John Wayne Seeks Maureen O’Hara: Representations of Sexuality and Gender in Irish-American Popular, University of Evora, Portugal [Details]
    2001 Diasporic Communications: Transnational and Local Cross-Currents.
    (2001) Diasporic Communications: Transnational and Local Cross-Currents. [Oral Presentation], ‘Roots and Routes: Irish-American Interest in Genealogy, 1945-2000’, University of Westminster, UK [Details]
    2000 English Department Research Seminar.
    (2000) English Department Research Seminar. [Oral Presentation], ‘Pedestrian Politics: Joyce Tourism in Dublin’, University College, Chichester, UK [Details]
    1999 Defining Colonies, Third Galway Conference on Colonialism.
    (1999) Defining Colonies, Third Galway Conference on Colonialism. [Oral Presentation], ‘Home from Home: Irish Diaspora Tourism in Ireland’, NUI Galway, Ireland [Details]
    1998 International James Joyce Foundation Symposium.
    (1998) International James Joyce Foundation Symposium. [Oral Presentation], ‘Pedestrian Politics: Joyce Tourism in Dublin’, Rome, Italy [Details]

    Book Review

      Year Publication

    Dr Stephanie Rains Book Review [Details]