Marian Caulfield
Research Profile
Marian Caulfield
Contact Details
Applied Social Studies
University College Cork
Cork
Ireland
T: +353-21-490-3000
E: marian.caulfield@ucc.ie
Biography
Dr. Marian Caulfield
Researcher in Ritual, Sound, Well-being, Eco-grief, Eco anxiety
Marian's research explores the intersections of ritual, sound, and well-being, with a particular focus on the reimagining of traditional lament practices, especially Irish 'keening', as contemporary tools for emotional expression and communal healing.
Marian's work explores the intersections of ritual, sound, and well-being. Her PhD thesis, 'The Reimagining of Irish Lament for the Contemporary World' (April 2025), involved ethnographic fieldwork in Ireland and Finland, investigating how improvised vocal expressions of grief can foster therapeutic and transformative experiences. Her research examines how cultural traditions such as keening can be meaningfully adapted in modern contexts to support emotional expression and communal healing.
Researcher in Ritual, Sound, Well-being, Eco-grief, Eco anxiety
Marian's research explores the intersections of ritual, sound, and well-being, with a particular focus on the reimagining of traditional lament practices, especially Irish 'keening', as contemporary tools for emotional expression and communal healing.
Marian's work explores the intersections of ritual, sound, and well-being. Her PhD thesis, 'The Reimagining of Irish Lament for the Contemporary World' (April 2025), involved ethnographic fieldwork in Ireland and Finland, investigating how improvised vocal expressions of grief can foster therapeutic and transformative experiences. Her research examines how cultural traditions such as keening can be meaningfully adapted in modern contexts to support emotional expression and communal healing.
Her current research interest explores the emotional and psychological dimensions of ecological crisis, including eco-anxiety and eco-grief. She is particularly interested in how collective expression through lament and sound making in groups can support individuals and communities in processing environmental loss and climate-related distress.
Marian is a member of the COST Action CA23113 CliMent (Climate Change Impacts on Mental Health in Europe), contributing to a multidisciplinary working group focused on the cultural and psychological impacts of climate change.
Marian also serves as a third member of a support committee for a PhD student whose research investigates the effectiveness of ritual theatre and expressive arts, including keening, sound, and movement, for grief transformation in individuals experiencing ambiguous loss. This project draws on psychology, neurobiology, ritual praxis, leadership, cultural anthropology, and expressive arts-based therapeutic methods, aligning closely with Marian's own interdisciplinary approach.
Marian was awarded the College of Arts, Celtic Studies and Social Sciences (CACSSS) Excellence Scholarship at University College Cork (UCC) on two occasions: first in 2014 for her MA in Contemporary Religions, and again in 2017 to support her PhD research. She completed her BA in Music at UCC in 2012, graduating with First Class Honours. During her undergraduate studies, she developed a strong interest in experimental music and ethnomusicology, and also undertook modules in the Study of Religions, which laid the foundation for her interdisciplinary research approach.
Marian Currently is employed at The School of Applied Social Sciences at UCC as an Executive Assistant to the School Graduate Studies Committee and the BSocSc Youth and Community programme
Research Interests
Marian is drawn to the area of 'sound' as a 'well-being' tool and her PhD project examines the budding efforts of those who are 're-imagining' the practice of sounding grief together, through improvised
cry/singing otherwise known as 'lament'.
Marian has carried out fieldwork in both Ireland and Finland with groups who re-imagine older lament traditions to fit modern purposes. She particularly focuses on the recent efforts being made to re-imagine Irish lament 'keening' (or 'caoine' in the Irish language). Marian examines the reported therapeutic effects of this non-musical vocality, brought forth by the body from deep within, and how it is considered as a tool for healing bodily and mental tensions.
Marian utilizes fieldwork and ethnographic methodologies to analyze her participants reactions to 'sounding' together in somewhat 'risky' ways (such as crying and wailing). In these settings, people tend to open up to witness with each other, their insecurities, fears and traumas.
Marian is very interested in the challenges that these revival groups face when attempting to re-invent a lost or dying tradition to be repurposed in the modern world.
Marian has previously carried out a fieldwork project during her Masters studies in 2014 with experimental musicians in Ireland in search of the spirituality which appeared to initially inspire many of the experimental musical luminaries of the sixties and seventies such as Stockhausen, La Monte Young, John Cage and Terry Riley.
Marian's findings from this project have been published.
Marian has carried out fieldwork in both Ireland and Finland with groups who re-imagine older lament traditions to fit modern purposes. She particularly focuses on the recent efforts being made to re-imagine Irish lament 'keening' (or 'caoine' in the Irish language). Marian examines the reported therapeutic effects of this non-musical vocality, brought forth by the body from deep within, and how it is considered as a tool for healing bodily and mental tensions.
Marian utilizes fieldwork and ethnographic methodologies to analyze her participants reactions to 'sounding' together in somewhat 'risky' ways (such as crying and wailing). In these settings, people tend to open up to witness with each other, their insecurities, fears and traumas.
Marian is very interested in the challenges that these revival groups face when attempting to re-invent a lost or dying tradition to be repurposed in the modern world.
Marian has previously carried out a fieldwork project during her Masters studies in 2014 with experimental musicians in Ireland in search of the spirituality which appeared to initially inspire many of the experimental musical luminaries of the sixties and seventies such as Stockhausen, La Monte Young, John Cage and Terry Riley.
Marian's findings from this project have been published.
Peer Reviewed Journals
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| (2014) | 'A Rethinking of Religiosity through Sound: Meaning, Identity and Community Located within the Ineffable Sound of an Experimental Music Scene'
Marian Caulfield (2014) 'A Rethinking of Religiosity through Sound: Meaning, Identity and Community Located within the Ineffable Sound of an Experimental Music Scene'. Diskus, 16 (1):96-106 [ Publisher's Version] [Details] |
Honours and Awards
| Year | Title | Awarding Body | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | UCC CACSS Excellence Scholarship for PhD | CACSSS | |
| 2012 | UCC CACSS Excellence Scholarship (Masters) | CACSSS |
Professional Associations
| Association | Function | From / To | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Irish Society for the Academic Study of Religion | member | 30-JUN-20 / 15-SEP-20 |
Employment
| Employer | Position | From / To | |
|---|---|---|---|
| UCC | Executive Assistant (2022-Present) | 01-SEP-22 / | |
| UCC (Skills Centre) | Academic Skills Coach (2016 -2022) Part-Time | 01-AUG-16 / 30-APR-22 | |
| UCC, Study of Religions Department, | Assistant Lecturer (2013 -2022) Part-Time | 30-APR-13 / 01-JUN-22 | |
| UCC, Study of Religions Department | Course Coordinator (2016 -2018) Part Time | 31-MAY-16 / 30-MAY-18 |
Education
| Year | Institution | Qualification | Subject | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | UCC | MA (Study of Religions Department) | Contemporary Religions | |
| 2008 | Cork Academy of Music | ABRSM Level 5 | Music Theory | |
| 2007 | UCC | Certificate of Arts | Music Studies | |
| 2007 | Cork Academy of Music | ABRSM Level 3 | Music Theroy | |
| 2018 | UCC (CIRTL) | CPD Cert - Tutor Training | Foundation in Tutor Development | |
| 2009 | Cork Academy of Music | Fetac level 6 | Train the Trainer | |
| 2012 | UCC | BA | Music and Study of Religions |
Other Activities
| Description | |
|---|---|
Conferences and Talks 2023 October 15th, Caoineadh and Climate Grief, Alan James Burns, Artist, 'Caoineadh Dúlra', Derrylin, Co. Fermanagh, Ireland. https://www.alanjamesburns.com/caoineadh/ 2023 May 15th17th Laments Lost or Alive and WellInternational Conference of the Lament Tradition, Helsinki, Finland. https://visualartists.ie/events/artist-talk-keening-in-context-camilla-hanney-in-conversation-with-marian-caulfield-at-pallas-projects-studio/Paper: Crying together: mother and child resonance and a sense of belonging found in modern Irish laments https://www.uef.fi/en/event/international-conference-of-the-lament-tradition 2022 July 14th, Keening in Context, Camilla Hanney Exhibition, Pallas Projects/Studio, Dublin Ireland Talk: Dangerous vibrations: Exploring sonic and vibrational healing through the contemporary practice of ritual lament 2021 October 22nd, Ways Of Hearing, Ways Of Knowing: Listening For The Sounds Of Religion, Department of Theological Studies, St. Louis University, USA. Paper: Dangerous vibrations: Exploring sonic and vibrational healing through the contemporary practice of ritual lament. 2019, September 27th 28th Annual Conference of the Anthropological Association of Ireland, Maynooth University, Ireland. Paper: Re-Imagining 'keening' in contemporary Ireland: an Irish-Finnish collaboration in lament revival. 2019 June 25 to June 29 17th Annual Conference of the European Association for the Study of Religions (EASR), Tartu, Estonia. Topic: Religion Continuations and Disruptions Paper: Re-Imagining 'Keening' (lament): Re-purposing an old oral tradition for use in the modern world from the perspective of employing sound studies theoretical models. https://www.easr.eu/conferences/past-conferences/conference-2019-tartu/ 2018 April 16th -17th Re-Imagining Keening Workshop and Seminar- University College Cork, Ireland. (Organizer) A two-day event comprising of a one day lament composition workshop led by Finnish lament specialist Tuomas Rounakari and a second day of talks, featuring eminent scholars in the field of Irish and Finnish lament studies. 2017 November 15th -16th 9th Annual Critical perspectives Conference, Critical Perspectives On and Beyond change in Mental Health Services, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Paper: I Cried the Victim Out of Myself: A Re-imagination of Irish tradition of lament (Keening) as a therapeutic tool for overcoming stress, loss and trauma, based on a Finnish lament revival model.University College Cork, Ireland. https://www.ucc.ie/en/nursingmidwifery/conferences/critical-voices/9thannualcriticalperspectivesconference2017/ 2016, June 16th-17th Fifth Annual Conference Religion and Revolution, University College Cork, Ireland. Panel: 'Gender and Identity Politics' Paper: 'The Causes and Consequences of the Death of the Caoineadh na Marbh: An Examination of the Loss of Womens Lament in Ireland During the Formation of the New Irish State'. https://isasr.wordpress.com/conferences-2/isasr-2016-conference/ 2015, Aug 23rd -29th XXI IAHR World Congress in Erfurt, Germany. Paper 1: Accousmatic Listening: Philosophical Investigations of Sound and Technology within the Study of Religion'. Paper 2: Rupturing Epistemologies through aural investigations, in the Study of Religions 2013, September, 3rd -6th European Association of Study of Religions (EASR), Liverpool Hope University, Liverpool. Paper: Finding meaning and identity in post-Catholic Ireland: Sonic being and gendered social structures in an experimental music scene http://www.hope.ac.uk/religionmigrationmutation/ |
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COST Action -CA23113 CliMent About the Action CliMent COST Action CA23113 |
Teaching Interests
Teaching Undergraduate and Post-Graduate student to improve their academic skills such as:
Reflective Writing
Cultures of Writing
Note--taking
Paraphrasing
Unpacking the Question
Building and Argument
How to Write an Essay
Presentation Skills
Assignment Planning and Structure
Referencing
Delivery weekly tutorials to undergraduate students in the 'study of religions' covering:
Indigenous religions
Hinduism,
Christianity,
Paganism
Buddhism,
Chinese and Japanese religions,
Islam,
Judaism
Sikhism
Tutoring on second and third-year courses in :
Indigenous Religions
Hinduism and religions of India and South Asia
Christianities in Global Age
Examining theories and methodologies in:
Anthropology, Sociology, Gender, Authority, Ritual, Terminology, Modernity, Identity, Colonialism, Asceticism, Orality/Literacy, Eco-Cosmology, Ancestor Worship
Reflective Writing
Cultures of Writing
Note--taking
Paraphrasing
Unpacking the Question
Building and Argument
How to Write an Essay
Presentation Skills
Assignment Planning and Structure
Referencing
Delivery weekly tutorials to undergraduate students in the 'study of religions' covering:
Indigenous religions
Hinduism,
Christianity,
Paganism
Buddhism,
Chinese and Japanese religions,
Islam,
Judaism
Sikhism
Tutoring on second and third-year courses in :
Indigenous Religions
Hinduism and religions of India and South Asia
Christianities in Global Age
Examining theories and methodologies in:
Anthropology, Sociology, Gender, Authority, Ritual, Terminology, Modernity, Identity, Colonialism, Asceticism, Orality/Literacy, Eco-Cosmology, Ancestor Worship