Great Courses: The Secret World of Espionage

Join facilitator Steve as we learn about the world of espionage! Each of the weekly gatherings will start with a short video lecture, followed by a group discussion.

This is a nine week series that will begin on September 8th and end on November 3rd. You can join the series at any time, and you only need to register once. Below is the course overview, along with the video topics covered in this course.

Course Overview:

When you hear the word “spy,” you likely think of suavely dressed heroes driving fast cars, performing daring feats of adventure, and committing crimes the rest of us can’t get away with—with maybe time for a stiff drink or two. Cool? Certainly. True to historical reality? Absolutely not.

The world of espionage is shrouded in mystery—even to those in it. But so much of what we think we know about spy craft is rooted in literature and film and drama. Think Ian Fleming’s James Bond and John LeCarre’s George Smiley. Fictional spies loom large over our conception of covert operations and how they get done. But even though the true nature of espionage is quite different, that doesn’t mean history’s real spies are any less heroic—or less fascinating.

Consider how integral spies have been in shaping our world, often in ways we can’t possibly fathom. They’ve created governments. They’ve expanded economies and overthrown monarchies. They’ve even helped nations avoid catastrophic wars. (They’ve sometimes enabled them, too.) When it comes to the secret world of espionage, it’s fair to say that facts are often better than fiction.

In the nine episodes of The Secret World of Espionage, shine a light into the shadowy world of spy craft with a distinguished panel of historians—including a former intelligence case officer—in search of the secret meeting places, complex codes, stealth observations, and cutting-edge technologies spies have used throughout history. How much does pop culture get wrong about espionage? What traits make for exceptional spies and possible double agents? What happens when intelligence operations fail? Learn why the answers are more intriguing than anything pop culture could come up with.

You can view the full course description and all of the video topics here.

Video Topics:

• September 8: Spies: Facts and Fiction
• September 15: The Human Element
• September 22: The Great Game
• September 29: Beyond the Femme Fatale
• October 6: Strange Bedfellows
• October 13: Making Codes, Breaking Codes
• October 20: The Mole and the Hunter
• October 27: The Art of Counterintelligence
• November 3: Too Many Secrets