Dr Dean Clay

Dr Dean Clay is a Lecturer in History at the University of Hull. His research examines the history of US activism and its influence on foreign policy, empire, and international reform. He specialises in movements and organisations whose activities transcend national boundaries, exploring how activists coordinate across borders and how their campaigns shape both domestic and diplomatic agendas. His broader interests include humanitarianism, environmental politics, and the global dimensions of US reform culture since the late nineteenth century.

Dean completed his Ph.D. in 2019. His research has been supported by the British Association for American Studies (BAAS), the Royal Historical Society, and the Historians of the Twentieth Century United States (HOTCUS). He serves on the Executive Committee of the British International History Group (www.bihg.ac.uk), is Website Editor for the North East Transnational and World History Research Centre (www.networc.wordpress.com), and edits Tyne Lines, a public history project exploring Newcastle upon Tyne’s global past (www.tynelines.substack.com). He was previously involved with the European research project 'The Congo Free State Across Language, Culture, Media (2015–18)' and continues to manage its associated website (www.congofreestate.com).

His first book project, 'Bringing Light into the Heart of Darkness: The Congo Question, Humanitarian Activism, and Anglo-American Relations, 1885-1909', examines how American activists sought to shape international politics through moral and media-based diplomacy. His current research project explores the rise of environmental activism in the United States from the late nineteenth century to the early twentieth, tracing how conservationist and civic groups influenced domestic and imperial policy through ideas of stewardship, identity, and moral responsibility. His research has been published in Journal of American Studies, History, International History Review, English Studies in Africa, and USAbroad – Journal of American History and Politics, as well as in public-facing outlets including the Brussels Times and Africa Is a Country.