Personal statement
I am Senior Lecturer in the History of Health and Medicine at the University of Strathclyde. I am Co-Director of the Centre for the Social History of Health and Healthcare (CSHHH) and a member of the Scottish Oral History Centre (SOHC). I joined the University of Strathclyde as a lecturer in 2015. Prior to that, I was awarded a PhD in History from the National University of Ireland, Galway in 2011 and undertook an Irish Research Council postdoctoral fellowship at the Centre for the History of Medicine in Ireland, University College Dublin (2012-14).
My expertise lies in gender history and the social history of medicine in nineteenth and twentieth century Ireland. I have published on the history of women in the medical profession, medical education and student culture, and more recently on the history of contraception and activism. My first monograph Irish women in medicine, c.1880s-1920s: origins, education and careers was published by Manchester University Press in 2012 (paperback, 2015). My second monograph, Irish medical education and student culture, c.1850-1950 was published by Liverpool University Press in September 2017 (paperback, 2020).
More recently, I have been researching the history of birth control in twentieth-century Ireland. This was the focus of my recent major project, 'Contraception and Modern Ireland, c.1922-92' which was funded by a Wellcome Trust research fellowship (2016-2021). My third monograph, which is based on this research, will be published by Cambridge University Press in March 2023.
I am also interested in the history of activism, particularly around reproductive and sexual health issues. I hold a Carnegie Trust Research Incentive Grant for a project on Pro-life and Pro-Choice Activism in the Republic of Ireland in the 1980s and 1990s. I am currently developing my next book project on the history of activism around the abortion issue in 1980s and 1990s Ireland.
I am Chair of the School of Humanities Gender Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (GEDI) committee and sit on the Faculty GEDI committee as the School representative. I currently serve on the Executive Committee of the Women's History Association of Ireland (International Secretary).
Teaching
In 2022/23 I am teaching the following modules:
- V1346/V1468: Sex, medicine and society in Britain and Ireland, 1880s-1980s
- V1988: Gender, health and modern medicine
- V1715/V1716: Women's lives in Modern Ireland
I am happy to hear from prospective students about PhD supervision in areas related to the social history of medicine, gender history and modern Irish history.
I am supervisor to the following PhD students:
| Georgia Grainger: A history of vasectomy in Britain from 1960 to the twenty-first century (REA studentship) | (first supervisor) 2018- |
| Kristin Hay: An Oral History of Contraception and Abortion in Scotland, c.1960-2000 (Wellcome Trust funded) | (first supervisor) 2018- |
| Rory Stride: An investigation of the ways deindustrialisation and resultant job losses impacted on women workers in Scotland (AHRC funded) | (second supervisor) 2018- |
| Jois Stansfield: History of speech therapy in Britain |
(first supervisor) 2021-
|
Recently graduated PhD students:
- Dr Jasmine Wood: Disability and intimacy in the lives of wounded British soldiers, 1914-45. (2022)
- Dr Mara Dougall: Writing Unity a Practice-led Exploration of Female Embodiment in Historical Fiction Set in Early Twentieth-Century Britain. (2021)
Research interests
- The social history of medicine in modern Ireland
- Gender and medicine
- Contraception and reproductive health
- Activism
- History of sexuality
- The medical profession
- Medical education and student culture
I have received awards from the Wellcome Trust and the Irish Research Council, amongst others for my research and the organisation of international conferences, totalling £433,190 since I began postgraduate study in 2006. I have experience as PI on two projects, one, a Wellcome Trust fellowship in medical humanities on the topic of ‘Contraception and Modern Ireland, c.1922-92’ (2016-2021) and the other an Irish Research Council postdoctoral fellowship for a project on the history of medical education and student culture (2012-2014).
I recently held a Wellcome Trust Research Fellowship in Medical Humanities (June 2016 - February 2021), for a project which explored the history of contraception in Ireland, c.1922-92. This project examined four main themes: men and women's changing birth control practices and attitudes to contraception; the dissemination of knowledge about contraception; the stories of individuals prosecuted for the illegal sale and distribution of contraceptives; and the role of activist groups in debates on the legalisation of contraception. Utilising a range of sources including oral history interviews, women's magazines and archival material, the project has produced a variety of outputs and will help to place current debates on reproductive rights in Ireland in perspective.
I also hold a Carnegie Trust Research Incentive Grant for a project on Pro-life and Pro-Choice Activism in the Republic of Ireland in the 1980s and 1990s. The project has three key objectives: 1) to explore the social backgrounds, motivations, and experiences of individual men and women involved in abortion activism; 2) to investigate the strategies, campaigns and provision of healthcare and support services by activist groups; 3) to examine the impact of activists on legal and medical professionals, church hierarchies and the public.
Professional activities
- Wellcome Trust (External organisation)
- Advisor
- 2022
- GEDI committee of School of Humanities, Hass Faculty, Strathclyde University (External organisation)
- Chair
- 28/10/2021
- External Examiner - MA in History at NUI Galway
- Examiner
- 2021
- Society for the Social History of Medicine (External organisation)
- Advisor
- 2019
- Reproductive and sexual health activism, c.1960–present
- Organiser
- 17/7/2018
- Elected Member of the RSE Young Academy of Scotland (External organisation)
- Advisor
- 2018
More professional activities
Projects
- Society for the Social History of Medicine Research Community (Discretionary Award)
- Cresswell, Rosemary (Principal Investigator) Kelly, Laura (Co-investigator)
- 01-Jan-2021 - 30-Jan-2025
- Society for the Social History of Medicine Events (Discretionary Award)
- Cresswell, Rosemary (Principal Investigator) Kelly, Laura (Co-investigator)
- 01-Jan-2021 - 30-Jan-2025
- Abortion activism in the Republic of Ireland in the 1980s and 1990s
- Kelly, Laura (Principal Investigator)
- 01-Jan-2019 - 30-Jan-2022
- Building Shared Futures: Co-developing Medical Humanities in China and the UK
- Mills, James (Principal Investigator) Kelly, Laura (Research Co-investigator)
- 01-Jan-2019 - 31-Jan-2024
- An Oral History of Contraception and Abortion in Scotland c. 1960-2000 (Kristin Hay)
- Kelly, Laura (Principal Investigator) Newlands, Emma (Co-investigator)
- 01-Jan-2018 - 30-Jan-2022
- Psychedelic Birth: R.D. Laing and the Transformation of Psychiatry (Visiting Fellowship: Wendy Kline)
- Kelly, Laura (Principal Investigator)
- 02-Jan-2018 - 01-Jan-2019
More projects