Name: Hannah Lucey
Hometown: Dublin, Ireland
Extracurricular interests: Performing as a member of the Cambridge Impronauts comedy troupe, and volunteering with Streetwise, a charity that helps homeless people and rough sleepers in Cambridge
Postgraduate degree: PhD in Social Anthropology
Life before Catz
“After studying medicine at University College Dublin in 2016, I worked as a doctor in Ireland for two years. However, I chose to leave clinical practice to read a Master’s degree in social anthropology as I had become interested in the lived experiences of my patients, and wanted to pursue more holistic approaches to the problems they faced. I had been fortunate enough before this to get to know someone who was studying Anthropology in Cambridge, who introduced me to the discipline and encouraged me to apply.”
Life at Catz
“For those who haven’t had the chance to visit, I’d describe Catz as a relatively small but beautiful College in the centre of Cambridge, which is home to a community of lovely people. Pretty much everyone is friendly, interesting and fun. The social life offered at Catz, including the group yoga sessions every Wednesday, made me feel immediately welcome and made it much easier to establish new friendships.”
Postgraduate studies
“My studies are focused on homeless mothers’ experiences of care-giving in Dublin. After the 2008 banking crisis, Ireland experienced a prolonged period of austerity, which had profound impacts on housing provision and levels of homelessness. As a result, before COVID-19, Ireland had one of the highest rates of female homelessness in Europe, and many of these women were mothers. Despite this, there has been very little public awareness or research into how are women’s care-giving responsibilities impact their trajectories through homelessness, how children shape their experiences and attitudes, and how agencies can help.
“Already I can see how postgraduate study has rewired my brain and changed the way I think about the world, which has been hugely exciting, and not at all expected. Medicine exposed me to front-line services and existing responses to homelessness; but anthropology has provided nuance and revealed the variety of possibilities at play. I’ve needed to re-examine my work as a doctor (e.g. “what is care?”) and how I view scientific evidence. Quantitative studies aren’t the only way of getting to truth; a singular example of lived experiences can be hugely instructive.
“During the early stages of the pandemic, I took a brief period of intermission from my studies to return to the medical workforce in Ireland, in response to a national call for doctors and other healthcare professionals. The entire Cambridge community, from my supervisor and the Department of Social Anthropology, to the College and everybody within the Harding Distinguished Postgraduate Scholars Programme, was extremely supportive of this transition, and I have to thank them for facilitating my return to work during an extremely challenging time. After two months of helping out on the wards in my local hospital, I was lucky enough to be able to resume my studies. I have since submitted to the Department’s PhD Committee a Fieldwork Proposal that outlines my plans for a 12-month period of ethnographic research, and I am currently in Dublin commencing this work. Over the next year, I hope to work with homeless mothers in order to gain a greater understanding of the role that care-giving plays in their lives, and I look forward to the opportunities for learning that this fieldwork will bring.”
The Harding Distinguished Postgraduate Scholars Programme
“Ultimately, the Programme has given me encouragement and greater confidence that my research is worthwhile. A real blessing for me has been the added sense of security provided by the generous funding – I can truly immerse myself in my studies, without worrying about paying for future years of my PhD. What’s more, my research allowance has enabled me to travel back and forth between Cambridge and Dublin to complete important fieldwork. I also want to thank the other Scholars for providing me with another well of support alongside my College community.”
Advice for undergraduates thinking of applying for postgraduate studies
“When thinking about applying for postgraduate studies, it can be important to remind yourself of how exciting and privileged a position that is: all options are open to you. As long as you are able to work hard and focus on something you genuinely enjoy, I’m sure you’ll be fine. And even if it is not immediately clear now, whatever you have studied as an undergraduate will eventually come into play. Perhaps there were (what felt like) loose ends from your degree? Postgraduate studies can enable you to explore and integrate these different strands. For example, I have been able to draw on my medical experience when contributing to group discussions with other students and when formulating my ideas, which has been a really fulfilling aspect of the PhD so far.”
