Joe Ryan-Hume

Joe is a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Glasgow, where he completed his doctorate in 2017. His thesis – ‘Standing in Reagan’s Shadow: Liberal Strategies in a Conservative Age’ – questioned the notion of conservative ascendancy and the so-called ‘Reagan revolution’ in 1980s America by reinterpreting the impact of liberalism at the time.

By thoroughly examining how liberals functioned both within and distinct from the Democratic Party in opposition, Joe’s thesis argued that the history of 1980s liberalism is not one of ineffectiveness. Instead, he highlighted how the networks that formed and developed whilst in opposition helped liberals attain success at state and congressional level, as well as facilitate Bill Clinton’s subsequent presidential triumph in 1992.

Furthermore, as this is the era in which Barack Obama and many of the President’s allies became politically active, Joe argues that it is impossible to understand the present administration’s historic ascension without an examination of the political environment that first nurtured Obama and his cohort.

He is currently turning this Ph.D. into a monograph. He has also taught American history at the University of Glasgow for a number of years, and administrates the blog site for the department of American Studies.