Fiction and Espionage (Postgraduate)

The course addresses the modern history of contemporary concerns about secrecy and the surveillance state, terrorism and propaganda. Students will follow a broadly chronological survey from the end of the nineteenth century to the present day that explores how espionage fiction reflects the anxieties of modern society and how these anxieties change historically. The course will consider the relationship of fiction to history, and of 'popular' to 'literary' fiction. Specific issues will include gender, imperialism, technology and the role of political secrecy in everyday life. The course follows these concepts through a sequence of espionage novels. Credit Level: 11 Year taken: Postgraduate