Megan Rivera Hughes

Biography

Megan Rivera Hughes is a PhD candidate in Education at Trinity College Dublin. Her research investigates the role of cultural dance in education as a means of engaging students with history, immigration narratives, and evolving conceptions of national identity. Grounded in embodied learning theory, her work examines how movement practices can foster empathy, intercultural awareness, and deeper connections to cultural heritage within Irish classrooms. 

Megan brings substantial teaching experience from inner-city schools including New York and Chicago, where she taught Social Studies in diverse, multilingual environments. This work shaped her commitment to inclusive curriculum design and highlighted the capacity of the arts to render historical content both meaningful and accessible to all learners. 

Her doctoral research draws on her background as a salsa dancer and longstanding engagement with history and education. At Trinity, she explores how Irish step dance and the dance traditions of immigrant communities function simultaneously as modes of cultural preservation and intercultural dialogue, reflecting the complex and evolving character of contemporary Irish identity. Her work is informed by the belief that in contexts marked by migration and cultural transformation, the arts offer students vital pathways for examining identity and nationalism while cultivating mutual understanding and acceptance.