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American Espionage since 1941 (P01704)

? Credit Points : 20 ? SCQF Level : 11 ? Acronym : HCA-P-AmEspion

In the twenty-first century there has been a major debate on the issue of secret intelligence. Two intelligence problems in particular - the surprise element in the 9/11 2001 terrorist attack and the controversy over weapons of mass destruction that preceded the 2003 Iraq war - have attracted widespread popular and political attention. Advocates of partisan viewpoints have drawn on historical data to try to justify what they believe or propose. There is thus a pressing need to bring a measure of objectivity to the study of intelligence history.

The course will address: the pre-history of modern secret intelligence, 1776-1940; the 1941 Pearl Harbor attack and how 9/11 compares with it; the efficacy controversy over the Office of Strategic Services; the reasons for the creation of the Central Intelligence Agency in 1947; counterinsurgency and numbers theories in the Vietnam War; the 1975 intelligence flap; U.S. secret intelligence and the collapse of the Soviet Union; covert operations controversies culminating in Iran-Contra; the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the quest for American justice; the post-9/11 reform initiatives; intelligence theory; intelligence historiographies; intelligence fictions.

Entry Requirements

? This course is not available to visting students.

Subject Areas

Home subject area

Postgraduate (School of History and Classics), (School of History, Classics and Archaeology, Schedule E)

Delivery Information

? Normal year taken : Postgraduate

? Delivery Period : Not being delivered

? Contact Teaching Time : 1 hour(s) 50 minutes per week for 11 weeks

Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes

Students who successfully complete the course will have acquired an in-depth knowledge and understanding of crucial aspects of the history of modern American espionage. In particular, they will:

- be able to analyse independently controversial issues and documents
- have acquired a sound understanding of the contexts in which secret intelligence takes place, notably foreign policy and domestic politics
- have an advanced understanding of the complexity of, and the difficult relationship between, propaganda and reality
- have an advanced understanding of the interrelatedness of foreign and domestic intelligence

Further, they will also be able to:

- engage in historiographical debate of a type complicated by declassification time lags
- engage with issues of civil liberties
- set their own historical research agenda in relation to intelligence studies
- prepare and present their own work for seminars and workshops
- actively participate in group discussion
- to access library and IT resources efficiently