Kathleen Lynch (academic)

Kathleen Lynch (born 1951) is an Irish sociologist, activist and professor emeritus of equality studies at University College Dublin.

Kathleen Lynch
Born1951 (age 72–73)
County Clare, Ireland
OccupationSociologist
SpouseJohn Lynch
Academic background
Alma materUniversity College Dublin
Academic work
InstitutionsUniversity College Dublin
Websitepeople.ucd.ie/kathleen.lynch Edit this at Wikidata

Career

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Lynch began her career as a social worker, working in North Dublin city. Her seminal work is a co-authored study with Anne Lodge, Equality and Power in Schools: Redistribution, Recognition, and Representation. It was a two-year study of twelve Irish schools, studying all aspects from streaming to sexual orientation.[1] Lynch was involved in the establishment of the Equality Studies Centre in University College Dublin (UCD) in 1990. In 2005, she was involved in the creation of the UCD School of Social Justice.[2] Her 2009 book, Affective Equality: Love Care and Injustice, was named one of Ireland's 100 best books by readers of The Irish Times.[1]

With Ebun Joseph, Lynch co-founded the first Black Studies module in Ireland in 2018 at UCD.[3] She helped in the establishment of the Egalitarian World Initiative Network (EWI), chairing the group, and led the EWI Marie Curie Transfer of Knowledge Award from 2006 to 2010.[4]

Lynch was presented with a special award by the Irish Research Council in 2019 for her contributions to equality and participation studies.[5][6] In 2020, Lynch was amongst a number of UCD academics who spoke out against proposed changes to its academic freedom policy.[7][8] She was appointed as one of the commissioners to Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission in 2020.[9]

Outside of her academic work, Lynch has worked with a number of non-governmental organisations and statutory bodies, both in Ireland and internationally, focusing on improving social justice and challenging inequalities.[2] She consulted on the Commission on the Status of People With Disabilities report in the 1990s. She is a regular contributor to Irish television and radio speaking about issues of equality.[1]

Personal life

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Lynch was born in County Clare. She is married to John Lynch.[1]

Selected publications

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  • Equality and Power in Schools (2002) co-authored with Anne Lodge[1]
  • Equality: From Theory to Action (2004)
  • Affective Equality: Love Care and Injustice (2009)[4]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Holden, Louise (15 March 2011). "Giving a voice to inequality". The Irish Times. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  2. ^ a b Mc Callig, Elaine (28 September 2017). "Top feminist Professor to address Donegal ETB". Donegal Woman. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  3. ^ Traynor, Alison (7 August 2018). "Ireland's first Black Studies module to launch in UCD". Trinity News. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  4. ^ a b "Kathleen Lynch". The Center for the Humanities. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  5. ^ Gorey, Colm (5 December 2019). "2019's Irish Research Council Researcher of the Year has been revealed". Silicon Republic. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  6. ^ "UCD School of Education". www.ucd.ie. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  7. ^ Power, Jack (9 April 2020). "Concern over proposed changes to UCD's academic freedom". The Irish Times. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  8. ^ Fogarty, Sárán (10 April 2020). "After Backlash, UCD Abandons Plans to Weaken Policy on Academic Freedom". www.universitytimes.ie. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  9. ^ "Eight rights experts recommended for human rights watchdog". Irish Legal News. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
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