For this month’s Woman of the Month Feature, I am so honoured to have spoken to Dr Sophie Doherty, an Assistant Professor in Law at Dublin City University, known and adored by many.
Sophie teaches Jurisprudence, Criminal Law, Advanced Criminal Law and Introduction to Law in the School of Law and Government at Dublin City University. In her current research she explores feminist jurisprudence, criminal law and visual art. She is also researching the intersections between visual art, sexual violence and conflict which has solidified her as a feminist icon at DCU.
Sophie completed her undergraduate degree in Law at Queen’s University Belfast and also had the opportunity to study at Ferrum College, Virginia on the Study USA scholarship programme. When she pursued her MSSc in Criminal Justice, her dissertation titled ‘Susanna the Slut: Depictions of Rape Victims in Law and in Art’ was awarded with a Distinction and this led to her pursuing a PhD in Law at Durham University where she was awarded the Durham Law School PGR Scholarship.
In October 2019, she submitted her doctoral thesis, ‘Visualising Justice: Sexual Violence, Law and Art’. In this research, Sophie argued that visual art practice can be conceptualised as a justice process and developed the concept of ‘justice through expression.’ In January 2020, Dr Sophie was awarded her doctorate with no corrections. She is working on converting her thesis into a monograph.
While Dr Sophie has achieved a multitude in such a short time, she admits it has not always been easy to feel confident in herself academically.
“Thankfully, I am beginning to find my voice and place, but it does take a lot of resilience and the support of family, friends, and colleagues to overcome issues with confidence, so I am appreciative to have these wonderful support networks.”
When discussing her confidence further, Dr Sophie acknowledges her PhD experience as “phenomenal and life-changing”, but it also provided her with some of her greatest hardships.
When she took the time to reach out for support, she began to refocus on her thesis and felt confident asking for feedback from her colleagues and others in her field.
Dr Sophie got into teaching during her PhD programme when she began teaching Criminal Law at Durham University. She found it quite stressful at first but found her feet quite quickly. She taught there for three years and was nominated for Law School Teacher of the Year.
“I love teaching because I love people. The students I have taught have been exceptional and I really enjoy getting to know the personalities within the groups and getting to know students on an individual basis.”
She confesses she loves preparing for lectures and seminars, often learning through her preparation materials, “I find myself teaching and learning at the same time.”
Dr Sophie reiterates that the most rewarding aspect of teaching is “s feeling like you have impacted someone’s life positively.” I can certainly say she has done that for me.
When we chatted about Law, Dr Doherty gave me some wonderful insight into her favourite areas of law – Criminal Law and Jurisprudence. She explains her love for Criminal Law by saying, “The study of Criminal Law gives us an insight into society, into value systems, into justice – and equally – injustice.”
Her love of Criminal Law links into her love for Jurisprudence extremely well. “Jurisprudence to me brings together so many wonderful elements, for example philosophy, history, anthropology, linguistics, religion, activism, and creativity. Thankfully, owing to a very progressive and supportive School, I’m permitted to teach creative Jurisprudence, informed by my own research and interests.”
Dr Sophie has a long list of achievements and merits in such a short time but credits being awarded her PhD with no corrections as her proudest to date. She also acknowledges that her PhD journey was difficult but is thankful for the support network she had around her and her viva examiners.
On creating a support network she says, “I really cannot emphasise enough, the importance of creating a network and finding ‘your people’ early on in your academic journey, and of course, never giving up on yourself.”
Dr Sophie doesn’t plan on stopping anytime soon with her clear view of her goals for the next few years. “I aim to have written one book based on my thesis, ‘Visualising Justice: Sexual Violence, Law and Art’ and to have developed a second book proposal. I am also aiming to publish in journals within my field and to establish a feminist network for law and humanities researchers.”
Dr Sophie has consistently inspired and encouraged students during her time here at DCU, including myself. Dr Sophie gives some beautiful advice to young students, no matter their discipline saying “Believe in yourself and surround yourself with people who believe in you.”
A big thank you to Dr Sophie Doherty for taking the time to chat with me and for inspiring me in more ways than I can describe.