Louise Ryan is Senior Professor of Sociology and Director of the Global Diversities and Inequalities Research Centre. Louise is also chair of the Research Ethics Committee in the School of Social Sciences and Professions.
Professor Louise Ryan
Originally from Cork, and a graduate of University College Cork, Louise joined London Metropolitan University in June 2020 as Senior Professor. She previously was Professor of Sociology at the University of Sheffield, and before that was a professor and co-director of the Social Policy Research Centre at Middlesex University.
Louise has over 20 years of experience in higher education and has taught on a wide range of modules including Sociology of Gender, Ethnicity and Migration. She has a particular interest in research methods and has taught as programme leader of an MSc in research methods.
Louise currently teaches on the Researching Diversities and Inequalities course.
Louise is a leading expert in the field of migration. She has received many prestigious research grants to develop her work on migration including several ESRC awards.
Louise is currently working on two externally funded research projects:
- Irish Nurses in the NHS: an Oral History Project
- Refugee resettlement schemes in the London, with a particular focus on recent arrivals from Afghanistan
She recently completed a large Horizon2020 project MIMY focusing on migrant youth across 9 European countries.
Louise has been awarded the following grants:
- EMpowerment through liquid Integration of Migrant Youth in vulnerable conditions (MIMY); Horizon2020, 2020-23; co-I and WP co-leader; âŹ2.9 million (overall).
- Sustainable Care: connecting people and systems; ESRC 2017-21; co-I and WP co-leader; ÂŁ2.4 million (overall).
- Researching Early School Leaving in the EU; FP7 Lead UK partner and leader on largest work package; 2013-18; âŹ6 million (ÂŁ800,000 to UK team).
Louise has been granted multiple professional appointments:
- Chair of the British Sociological Association (2021-23).
- Vice-chair of the BSA (2019-21).
- Member of the ESRC Grant Assessment Panel (2016-18).
- Chair of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Sociology (2015-18).
Louise was awarded a Fellowship of the Academy of Social Sciences in 2015 for her contribution to migration research. She is regularly interviewed in the press, on TV and radio as an expert on migration.
Journal articles (since 2010):
- Grzymala-Kazlowska, A., & Ryan, L. (2022). . Comparative Migration Studies, 10(1), 1-19.
- Mulhollland, J and L. Ryan (2022) . Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies (open access).
- LĆrinc, M., Kilkey, M., Ryan, L., & Tawodzera, O. (2021). . The Gerontologist.
- Ryan, L., Kilkey, M., LĆrinc, M., & Tawodzera, O. (2021). Analysing migrants' ageing in place as embodied practices of embedding through time: âKilburn is not Kilburn any moreâ. Population, Space and Place, 27(3), e2420.Ryan, L., & Dahinden, J. (2021). . Global Networks.
- Tubaro, P., Ryan, L., Casilli, A. A., & Dâangelo, A. (2021). . Social Networks, 67, 1-8.
- Ryan, L. (2020). . Global Networks.
- Kilkey, M., & Ryan, L. (2020). . International Migration Review.
- Hickman and Ryan (2020), The âIrish questionâ: marginalizations at the nexus of sociology of migration and ethnic and racial studies in Britain, published in Ethnic and Racial Studies, Volume 43 Issue 16 (open access).
- DâAngelo, A., & Ryan, L. (2019). . Social Networks (online).
- Erel, U and L. Ryan. (2019) âMigrant Capitals: proposing a multi-level spatio-temporal analytical frameworkâ, Sociology 53(2): 246-263
- Ryan, L., DâAngelo, A., Kaye, N., & Lorinc, M. (2019). Young people, school engagement and perceptions of support: a mixed methods analysis. Journal of Youth Studies, 22(9), 1272-1288.
- Magdolna LĆrinc, Louise Ryan, Alessio DâAngelo & Neil Kaye (2019) , European Educational Research Journal.
- Ryan, Louise, and Magdolna LĆrinc. (2018) "Perceptions, prejudices and possibilities: young people narrating apprenticeship experiences." British Journal of Sociology of Education: 1-16.
- Ryan, L. (2018). . International Migration.
- Ryan, L. (2018). Differentiated embedding: Polish migrants in London negotiating belonging over time. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 44(2), 233-251.
- Ryan, L., & DâAngelo, A. (2018). Changing times: Migrantsâ social network analysis and the challenges of longitudinal research. Social Networks, 53, 148-158.
- Ryan, L. (2016). Looking for weak ties: using a mixed methods approach to capture elusive connections. The Sociological Review.
- Ryan, L., & Maxwell, C. (2016). Social Class and Sociology: The State of the Debate Between 1967 and 1979. Sociology, 0038038515617696.
- Ryan, L., Rodriguez, M. L., & Trevena, P. (2016, May). Opportunities and Challenges of Unplanned Follow-up Interviews: Experiences with Polish Migrants in London. In Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung/Forum: Qualitative Social Research (Vol. 17, No. 2).
- Koppenfels, A. K., Mulholland, J., & Ryan, L. (2015). âGotta Go Visit Familyâ: Reconsidering the Relationship Between Tourism and Transnationalism. Population, Space and Place, 21(7), 612-624.
- Ryan, L. (2015). âIt's Different Nowâ: A Narrative Analysis of Recent Irish Migrants Making Sense of Migration and Comparing Themselves with Previous Waves of Migrants. Irish Journal of Sociology, 23(2), 114-132.
- Ryan, L. and E. Kurdi (2015) "âAlways up for the craicâ: young Irish professional migrants narrating ambiguous positioning in contemporary Britainâ Social Identities, 21(3)
- Ryan, L. (2015). â"Inside" and "Outside" of What or Where? Researching Migration Through Multi-Positionalitiesâ, Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 16 (2)
- Ryan, L. (2015) âFriendship-making: Exploring Network Formations through the Narratives of Irish Highly Qualified Migrants in Britainâ, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies
- Ryan, L., Von Koppenfels, A. K. and Mulholland, J. (2015), âThe distance between usâ: a comparative examination of the technical, spatial and temporal dimensions of the transnational social relationships of highly skilled migrants, Global Networks, 15(2).
- Ryan and Mulholland (2014) âFrench Connections: The networking strategies of French highly skilled migrants in Londonâ, Global Networks, 14 (2): 148-166.
- Ryan, L. Mulholland, J and A Agoston (2014) Talking Ties: Reflecting on Network Visualisation and Qualitative Interviewing, Sociological Research online, Sociological Research Online, 19 (2) 16.
- Ryan, L. (2014) âIslam does not changeâ: young people narrating negotiations of religion and identity', Journal of Youth Studies, 17 (4): 446-460.
- Ryan and Mulholland (2014) âWives Are the Route to Social Lifeâ: An Analysis of Family Life and Networking amongst Highly Skilled Migrants in Londonâ Sociology 48 (2) 251-267.
- Lucine Endelstein, Louise Ryan (2013) Dressing religious bodies in public spaces: gender, clothing and negotiations of stigma among Jews in Paris and Muslims in London. Integr Psychol Behav Sci 47(2):249-64.
- Ryan, L. 2013. âCompare and contrast: understanding Irish migration to Britain in a wider contextâ. Irish Studies Review, 21(1): 6-19.
- Ryan and Vacchelli (2013) , Religion and Gender, vol, 3 no 1.
- Ryan, L., & Sales, R. (2013). Family Migration: The Role of Children and Education in Family DecisionâMaking Strategies of Polish Migrants in London. International Migration, 51(2), 90-103.
- Ryan, L. and J. Mulholland (2013) 'Trading Places: French Highly Skilled Migrants Negotiating Mobility and Emplacement In London', Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies.
- McKie L. and Ryan, L. (2012) Exploring trends and challenges in sociological research. Sociology 40(5).
- Ryan, L. (2011) âMuslim women negotiating collective stigmatisation: âWeâre just normal peopleâ, Sociology 45(6): 1045-1060.
- Ryan, L. (2011) âMigrantsâ social networks and weak ties: accessing resources and constructing relationships post-migrationâ, Sociological Review 59 (4): 707-724.
- Ryan, Kofman and Aaron (2011) âInsiders and Outsiders: working with peer researchers in researching Muslim communitiesâ, International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 14 (1): 49-60.
- DâAngelo and Ryan (2011) âSites of Socialisation â Polish Parents and children in London Schoolsâ in âStudia Migracyjne â PrzeglÄ d Polonijnyâ 2011, nr 1 (special issue on Polish Migration to UK).
- Ryan, (2011) âTransnational Relations: Family Migration among Recent Polish Migrants in Londonâ, International Migration, 49 (2) (Special issue on Eastern European Migrants).
- Ryan (2010) âBecoming Polish in London: negotiating ethnicity through migrationâ in Social Identities, 13 (3): 359-376, (special issue on Polish migration)
Books:
- by Louise Ryan (2023). To watch a 3 mins video about the new book visit .
- Revisiting migrant networks: migrants and their descendants in labour markets; Keskiner, E., Eve, M., & Ryan, L. (2022); Springer Nature. Open access book - to download all or part of the book visit .
- Ryan, L. Winning the Vote for Women: the Irish Citizen Newspaper and the Suffrage Movement in Ireland (Four Courts Press), 2018 McKie and Ryan (2016) An end to the crisis in empirical sociology? Routledge.
- Ryan, L. U. Erel and A. DâAngelo (2015) Migrant Capital: Networks, Identities, Strategies, Palgrave Publishers.
- Ryan, L. and W. Webster (eds) Gendering Migration: Masculinity, Femininity and Ethnicity in Post-War Migration to Britain (Ashgate Publishers 2008).
Louise is a leading expert on the topic of migration. Her research on migration was awarded with a Fellowship of the Academy of Social Sciences in 2015. She is available for media appearances or expert commentary.
Louise has written many journalistic pieces of migration including:
- (Sept 12th 2018)
- Blog Post â (1st Feb 2019)
- Invited Opinion Piece for RTE (Irish national broadcaster):