The Center for Irish Studies at Villanova University Podcast Series

Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon talks to Dr Cera Murtagh, Assistant Professor of Irish and Comparative Politics at Villanova, about her recent trip to Ireland as part of the presidential delegation with President Joe Biden, the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement and women’s role in the Northern Ireland peace process. This conversation was part of the event Women as Peacemakers: 25 Years On co-hosted by the Irish American Business Chamber and Network, Villanova’s Center for Irish Studies and Villanova’s Anne Welsh McNulty Institute for Women’s Leadership. Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon has dedicated her career to serving the most vulnerable — first as a lawyer and now in Congress. She was first sworn into the U.S. House of Representatives on November 13, 2018 following a special election, and currently represents Pennsylvania’s 5th Congressional District. Congresswoman Scanlon’s legislative priorities include voting rights, access to justice, education, supporting economic growth for her region, common sense gun safety, and ending hunger. All of these priorities align with Congresswoman Scanlon’s main goal as an elected official: protecting and improving the lives of America’s children, families, veterans, and seniors. She currently serves on the House Committee on Rules, House Judiciary Committee, and serves as Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on the Constitution and Limited Government. She also chairs the House Caucuses on Access to Legal Aid, Youth Mentoring, and Foster Youth. As a staunch believer that everyone is entitled to equal protection under the law, Congresswoman Scanlon previously worked as national pro bono counsel at a major U.S. law firm, where she directed and supervised over 600 lawyers across 15 offices in providing more than 50,000 hours of pro bono legal services annually to low-income clients and nonprofit organizations. Under her leadership, the pro bono program worked on critical issues, including voting rights, child advocacy, immigration, public benefits, and criminal justice reform. Before her election to the U.S. House of Representatives, Congresswoman Scanlon also served as an attorney at the Education Law Center, president of her local school board, and co-chair of the Voting Rights Task Force of the Association of Pro Bono Counsel. She is a graduate of Colgate University and University of Pennsylvania Law School. The Congresswoman and her husband, Mark, reside in Swarthmore and have three adult children.

Joseph Lennon interviews Liz Roche about her performance of Yes and Yes—a modern dance interpretation of Ulysses, which was performed at Villanova University in September of 2022, following its performance in Washington D.C. with Solas Nua. Music credit to Composer Ray Harman.

This episode is a recorded event of a conversation with the 2022 Charles A. Heimbold, Jr. Chair for Irish Studies, Irish author, broadcaster, and scholar, Emma Dabiri, and Kimberly DaCosta, Associate Professor of sociology at NYU. Emma Dabiri has written two very successful non-fiction books: Twisted (published as Don't Touch My Hair in Ireland) and What White People Can Do Next. Her work in the arts, fashion, and the media are complemented by her academic teaching and research in African Studies and Visual Sociology. She is currently completing her PhD at Goldsmiths University, London. The Charles A. Heimbold, Jr. Chair of Irish Studies is held in the Spring semester of each academic year by a distinguished Irish writer. Inaugurated at Villanova University in 2000, it has become one of the most prestigious Irish Studies positions in the United States. Kimberly DaCosta is a sociologist interested in racial inequality and, in particular, the contemporary production of racial boundaries. Her book, Making Multiracials: State, Family, and Market in the Redrawing of the Color Line (Stanford University Press, 2007), explores the cultural and social underpinnings of the movement to create multiracial collective identity in the United States. She is currently writing on how interracial extended kin relationships speak to questions of interracial empathy, care, and politics. She teaches courses on race in different societies, social mobility, consumerism, and the commercialization of intimate life. This event was co-sponsored by the Villanova Center for Irish Studies and Villanova Falvey Memorial Library and took place on April 4, 2022.

Kimberly McClain DaCosta is a sociologist interested in racial inequality and, in particular, the contemporary production of racial boundaries. Her book, Making Multiracials: State, Family, and Market in the Redrawing of the Color Line (Stanford University Press, 2007), explores the cultural and social underpinnings of the movement to create multiracial collective identity in the United States. Professor DaCosta is currently writing on how genealogy and interracial extended kin relationships speak to questions of interracial empathy, care and politics. She teaches courses on race in different societies, social mobility, consumerism, and the commercialization of intimate life. DaCosta has held several administrative posts including both the Associate Dean of Students and the Associate Dean of Faculty and Academic Affairs at NYU's Gallatin School. She has been involved in NYU’s Prison Education Program since its inception in 2013, serving on its Steering Committee and as its Faculty Director. A native of Boston, Kim received a B.A. in Sociology magna cum laude from Harvard University and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of California, Berkeley.

Hannah Khalil, Palestinian-Irish Playwright, and 2021 Charles A. Heimbold Jr. Chair

Emer  O’Neill, Irish-Nigerian educator, activist, model, athlete, and mother,  is our guest as we discuss race in Ireland and in the U.S.

Fulbright Language instructor, Alene O'Malley and four other FLTAs (Iseult O'Connor, Ellen Corbett, Deidre Murphy and Caroline Gallagher) discuss their experiences teaching the Irish language in various parts of America this year (2019-2020).