History 65
The CIA and American Democracy
Fall 2004
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This course--a History Department fall 2004 seminar--will examine the history of the intelligence community in the United States, with a bit on international intelligence history in the context of 20th century Europe. Nearly 50% of the reading comes from primary documents, almost all of which are available on-line; by the end of December, we hopefully will have a fuller understanding of both the CIA and the rich documentary record that currently exists on intelligence activities. The course will conclude with two weeks on intelligence successes and failures in the war against terrorism. |
Grading:
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Papers: 53.3%, to include two document-based papers of 6-7 pages each, plus one response paper, on the topic of your oral presentation, of 3 pages. |
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Participation: 46.7%, to include an oral presentation on an outside reading; and coming to class (usually) well prepared and (fairly regularly) willing to participate. This class won't work without the latter requirement being fulfilled. |
Books:
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Christopher Andrew, For the President's Eyes Only: Secret Intelligence and the American Presidency from Washington to Bush |
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John Le Carre, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold |
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Steve Coll, Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001 (in hardcover, but $10 off at amazon.com) |
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Ernest May, Strange Victory: Hitler's Conquest of France |
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Ernest May and Philip Zelikow, The Kennedy Tapes: Inside the White House during the Cuban Missile Crisis |
Upon completion of this course, students will have fulfilled the following learning goals:
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Seeing the importance of learning about "figures in power" in understanding US intelligence history |
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Recognizing the dangers of applying ideological litmus tests in analyzing primary sources about American intelligence |
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Studying the strengths and weaknesses of intelligence agencies in protecting a diverse, multicultural democracy |