Languages, Literatures, & Cultures

Dr. Rodrigues concluded her PhD in Sociology in 2023, under the President's Scholarship, with a thesis titled 'Mitigating the Effects of Precarity: Brazilian Migrant Workers and Place-Making in Rural Ireland'. Her research involved one year and a half of fieldwork with Brazilian migrant workers in rural Ireland, particularly in Gort, Ireland's Little Brazil. She is currently working on the Irish Research Council (IRC) funded project 'Rural Villages, Migration and Intercultural Communication'. The study seeks to understand the linguistic background and the experience of migrants and refugees living in rural communities in Ireland, as well as how they use different languages in their daily lives. It also investigates any obstacles or opportunities in learning English and/or Irish in the community.

She has recently been awarded funding from the Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Fund of the South East Technological University (SETU), for the project 'Understanding Race Equality in the South East'.

Dr. Rodrigues is a member of the Race and Ethnicity Study Group of the Sociological Association of Ireland (SAI), of the Sociology of Migration Research Network of the European Sociological Association (ESA), and of the HIDDEN (History of Identity Documentation in European Nations) COST Action Network.

Her research interests include migration, social policy, and cultural diversity.

Recent Publications:

Peer-Reviewed Journals:
Rodrigues, P. L. (2019) Inclusion and exclusion in Europe: migration, work and employment perspectives by Olena Fedyuk and Paul Stewart (eds.), reviewed in Work, Employment and Society, 34 (5), pp. 961-962.

Rodrigues, P. L. (2019) The field researcher¿s handbook: a guide to the art and science of professional fieldwork by David J. Danelo, reviewed in International Studies Review, 21 (4), pp. 718-719.

Rodrigues, P. L. (2019) Migrant professionals in the city: local encounters, identities, and inequalities by Lars Meier (ed.), reviewed in International Sociology, 34 (2), pp. 217-219.

Rodrigues, P. L. (2019) Global labour and the migrant premium: the cost of working abroad by Tugba Basaran and Elspeth Guild (eds.), reviewed in Irish Journal of Sociology, 27 (1), pp. 91-94.

Rodrigues, P. L., Cuffe, J. (2017) `The 20-year strategy for the Irish language and the Irish speaking communities: an ethnographic investigation¿, ABEI Journal ¿ The Brazilian Journal of Irish Studies, n. 19, pp. 123-130.

Book Chapters:
Rodrigues, P. L., O¿Brien, H., Boland, T. (2023) ``Here it¿s good but it¿s bad, there it¿s bad but it¿s good¿: experiences of precarious work and life among Brazilian migrants in rural Ireland¿, in Palombino, F. M. (ed.) Labour migration in the European Union: current challenges and ways forward, Rome: CNR Edizioni.

Reports:
Denieffe, S., Gooney, M., Hunt, P., Prendergast, M., Rodrigues, P.L., Rabbitte, M., Nevin, M., May, P., and Denny, M. (2024) Energy hardship for people with palliative care needs at home: Understanding issues and promoting actions, Ireland: Irish Cancer Society, available: https://www.cancer.ie/sites/default/files/2024-02/Energy-Hardship-and-Palliative-Care-Research-Repor...

Hearne, B., Rodrigues, P. L. (2021) International student report 2021: impact of the covid-19 pandemic and the overall international student experience in Ireland, Ireland: Irish Council for International Students, available: https://www.internationalstudents.ie/sites/default/files/media/file-uploads/2021-12/ICOS%20Internati...

Hearne, B., Rodrigues, P. L. (2021) The international student experience: impact of the covid-19 pandemic on international students in Ireland, Ireland: National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, available: https://hub.teachingandlearning.ie/resource/the-international-student-experience-impact-of-the-covid... 

Blog Articles:
Rodrigues, P. L. (2019) 'Bilateral agreements: a tool for enhancing social protection for migrant workers', socialprotection.org, 12 May, available: https://socialprotection.org/discover/blog/bilateral-agreements-tool-enhancing-social-protection-mig...

Rodrigues, P. L. (2019) 'Social protection for migrant workers: costs and frameworks', socialprotection.org, 26 Aug, available: https://socialprotection.org/discover/blog/social-protection-migrant-workers-costs-and-frameworks

Rodrigues, P. L. (2019) 'The overseas workers welfare fund in Sri Lanka', socialprotection.org, 28 Oct, available: https://socialprotection.org/discover/blog/overseas-workers-welfare-fund-sri-lanka

Rodrigues, P. L. (2019) 'The Overseas Workers Welfare Association in the Philippines: social protection provision for migrant workers', socialprotection.org, 2 Dec, available: https://socialprotection.org/discover/blog/overseas-workers-welfare-association-philippines-social-p...