Spies, Statecraft and Society: A Comparative History of Secret Worlds

Spying has long captured the public imagination, portrayed both as a sinister threat to civilization and a heroic force capable of altering history. This course explores these contrasting perspectives by thoroughly examining the history of intelligence. We will investigate how the definitions of 'spy' and 'spying' have evolved across different eras and cultures. Topics include the legacies of spies, the history of spycraft, and the cultures of intelligence communities. Through historical snapshots from Renaissance Venice and Elizabethan England to Revolutionary America and Tsarist Russia, we will trace the development of spycraft, as well as discuss 'modern' espionage, from World War I to the Cold War and beyond. This comparative history will use an array of primary sources, including recently declassified documents, memoirs, material culture, sensory and visual history.