Dr Fraser McGowan

  • Tutor (History)

email: Fraser.McGowan@glasgow.ac.uk
pronouns: He/him/his

Import to contacts

Biography

I am the Charlotte Nicholson Postdoctoral Fellow and a tutor in the history subject area. I graduated from the University of Glasgow with my doctoral degree in early 2024 after completing my dissertation on the early history of the U.S. National Intelligence Council (NIC). 

I am working on a journal article about how and why the NIC was established, based upon the first chapter of my dissertation. I am also beginning the process of turning my dissertation into a monograph and planning a short biography of one of the people who was centrally important in establishing the NIC, an organisation that still exists today.

Research interests

My research interests centre upon the history of intelligence after the Second World War. I am also interested in the ways in which intelligence history informs intelligence theory, specifically how new histories of intelligence yield useful new theories.

My main research interests are: 

  • The history of intelligence between 1945 and 2005
  • The evolution of U.S. intelligence organisations and cultures
  • Intelligence theory

Aside from my research, I have a scholarly interest in twentieth century history and culture, especially:

  • The Cold War
  • The Interwar period
  • The Vietnam War and its cultural legacies
  • British and American political history after 1933
  • Diaries and their use as historical sources

Teaching

I currently teach on the following courses:

Pre-Honours

  • History 1A: Scotland's Millennium: Kingdom, Union and Nation, c. 1000-2014
  • History 2A: The Social and Cultural History of Europe, 1500-2000
  • History 2B: Global History

Honours

  • Becoming an Historian

I have previously taught on the following courses:

  • The Vietnam War in American History and Culture (Honours)

I have also co-convened a couple of seminars on a PGT course called Intelligence & Policymaking

Additional information

My doctoral research was co-supervised by Dr. Damien Van Puyvelde and Professor Peter Jackson

I have an ongoing, semi-scholarly interest in Pollok House, a historic Georgian country house in the southside of Glasgow. I volunteered at the House for many years and would love to hear from anyone with stories to share about its rich history.