Mark McLay

Dr. Mark McLay is a Lecturer in 20th Century US History at Lancaster University, part of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. He holds a PhD in History from the University of Edinburgh (2016) and previously held positions at Glasgow Caledonian University (2015–2018) and the University of Glasgow (2016–2021). His research focuses on post-1960s US political, societal, and cultural polarization, with a current project analyzing the 1990s as a period of persistent polarization. He writes the American Carnage Substack to explore historical polarization's relevance to modern politics.

McLay teaches undergraduate courses on US polarization (HIST360), the Vietnam War (HIST269), and postgraduate modules on post-Cold War US history (HIST456). He has examined one PhD dissertation and supervises students in post-WWII US history, military conflict impacts (Vietnam/Iraq Wars), and niche topics like sleep and fertility history.

His recent publication Midterms and Mandates (2022, co-authored) examines electoral dynamics. He engages in public lectures and media commentary on US elections and politics, including events like the Wigton Book Festival and A-Level Student Academic Lectures.