Niamh Kirk

The overarching aim of my research pursuits is to understand the digital infrastructures needed for democratic engagement that foregrounds the informational needs of citizens. My research interests are primarily situated at the intersection of digital media, sociology, and politics. I work to better understand digitally mediated connections within and among communities; to identify how communications technology can enhance democratic participation; to understand the impact of shifts in the digital environment on communities, societies, and politics; and to inform regulation of digital media through empirical and ethical research. I am particularly interested in how the transnational dimensions of communications technologies can impact on migrant communities.

I am an Assistant Professorandnbsp;in Data Journalism and Social Media and Course Director of the MA in Journalism in the Department of Journalism, School of English, Irish and Communications,andnbsp;joining in 2022.andnbsp; Prior to this I was the Microsoftandnbsp;Newman Fellow in Digital Policy working with the Centre for Digital Policy inandnbsp;University College Dublin. For two years I worked as a postdoctoral researcher on the Horizon 2020 project Repast, investigating how European societies deal with their troubled pasts today through the analysis of conflict discourses.andnbsp; I was awarded a PhD from the School of Communication, Dublin City University in 2019andnbsp;with a thesisandnbsp;focused on transnational digital information flows.andnbsp;