HSTY2701: Semester 1, 2021

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Units HSTY2701 Semester 1 2021 [Normal day]

Unit outline_

HSTY2701: Spies in the Archive

Semester 1, 2021 [Normal day] - Remote

Overview

Historians love spies whose clandestine collection of information in the service of states and as a weapon of war has created irresistible archival records. This course traces the history culture and changing technologies of espionage and surveillance from the Spanish Inquisition to Cold War Australia, from Russian empire to neighbourhood spy networks in interwar Britain and current debates over terrorism and social media. Can we use such material without becoming complicit in the voyeurism and implied violence of its collection?

Unit details and rules

Academic unit	History
Credit points	6
Prerequisites ?	12 credit points at 1000 level in History
Corequisites ?	None
Prohibitions ?	None
Assumed knowledge ?	None
Available to study abroad and exchange students	Yes

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Sophie Loy-Wilson, sophie.loy-wilson@sydney.edu.au

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
Participation	Tutorial participation Class attendance and participation	10%	Ongoing	n/a
Outcomes assessed:
Creative assessment / demonstration	Book Review Book Review	35%	STUVAC	2000
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Primary source exercise and essay plan Essay	15%	Week 07	500 words
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Research essay Essay	40%	Week 13	2500 words
Outcomes assessed:

Assessment summary

Detailed information for each assessment can be found on Canvas.

Assessment criteria

The University awards common result grades, set out in the Coursework Policy 2014 (Schedule 1).

As a general guide, a high distinction indicates work of an exceptional standard, a distinction a very high standard, a credit a good standard, and a pass an acceptable standard.

Result name	Mark range	Description
High distinction	85 - 100
Distinction	75 - 84
Credit	65 - 74
Pass	50 - 64
Fail	0 - 49	When you don’t meet the learning outcomes of the unit to a satisfactory standard.

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and automated writing tools

You may only use generative AI and automated writing tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator. If you do use these tools, you must acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section. The assessment instructions or unit outline will give guidance of the types of tools that are permitted and how the tools should be used.

Your final submitted work must be your own, original work. You must acknowledge any use of generative AI tools that have been used in the assessment, and any material that forms part of your submission must be appropriately referenced. For guidance on how to acknowledge the use of AI, please refer to the AI in Education Canvas site.

The unapproved use of these tools or unacknowledged use will be considered a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy and penalties may apply.

Studiosity is permitted unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission as detailed on the Learning Hub’s Canvas page.

Outside assessment tasks, generative AI tools may be used to support your learning. The AI in Education Canvas site contains a number of productive ways that students are using AI to improve their learning.

Learning support

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

Weekly schedule

WK	Topic	Learning activity
Week 01	1. Introduction to spies in the archives; 2. The real James Bond	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 02	1. Secrets revealed: the Cold War context; 2. Keeping secrets? historians and spies	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 02	The real James Bond	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 03	1. Female spies in WWI: Mata Hari and the spy courtesan; 2. Spies and war: Richard Sorge	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 03	Mata Hari and the spy courtesan	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 04	1. Empire of spies: Shanghai; 2. Empire of spies: Cape Town	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 04	Spies in Shanghai	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 05	1. Spying on indigenous populations; 2. In crimes archive: photography and police surveillance	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 05	Ethics, photography, and spying	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 06	1. The Cambridge spy ring; 2. The Petrov Affair	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 06	Soviet spy rings during the Cold War	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 08	A spy in the archives in Soviet Russia	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 08	State affairs and love affairs: reading your 'file'	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 09	1. Stasiland: the release of the Stasi Files in Germany; 2. The Atom Spies and the Klaus Fuchs Case	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 09	Stasiland: the release of the Stasi Files in Germany	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 10	1. The CIA, McCarthysim and the Lavender Scare; 2. ASIO, Australia and the protest years	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 10	Sex, race and spying	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 11	1. Divorce, adultery and spyware: spying on your loved ones; 2. Neighbourhood watch: The Mass Observation archive	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 11	Spying in the home	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 12	1. Anthropologists and assassinations: The CIA in Latin America; 2. Wikileaks, terrorism and the post 9/11 world	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 12	Wikileaks, terrorism and the post 9/11 world	Tutorial (1 hr)
Week 13	1. The Stern Hu affair and Chinese 'spies' in Australia; 2. Conclusion and exam preparation	Lecture (2 hr)
Week 13	Exam preparation	Tutorial (1 hr)

Attendance and class requirements

Attendance: According to Faculty Board Resolutions, students in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences are expected to attend 90% of their classes. If you attend less than 50% of classes, regardless of the reasons, you may be referred to the Examiner’s Board. The Examiner’s Board will decide whether you should pass or fail the unit of study if your attendance falls below this threshold. If a unit of study has a participation mark, your attendance may influence this mark.
Lecture recordings: Most lectures (in recording-equipped venues) will be recorded and may be made available to students on Canvas. However, you should not rely on lecture recording to substitute your classroom learning experience.
Preparation: Students should commit to spend approximately three hours preparation time (reading, studying, homework, essays, etc.) for every hour of scheduled instruction.

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

All readings for this unit can be accessed through the Library eReserve, available on Canvas.

Jeremy Black. The Geopolitics of James Bond. Intelligence and National Security, 19, 2 (2004) pp 290-303.
David McKnight. How to Read Your ASIO File in Meredith Burgmann (ed.) Dirty Secrets: Our ASIO Files (Sydney: New South Wales Press, 2014) pp 21-49.
Sissela Bok, Secrets: On the Ethics of Concealment and Revelation? (New York: Vintage Books, 1989), pp 15-28.
Toni Waller. The Information State: a historical perspective on surveillance. pp 57-63 in Kirsten Ball, Kevin D. Haggerty and David Lyon (eds.) Routledge Handbook of Surveillance Studies.

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

Outcomes
Graduate qualities

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

LO1. demonstrate knowledge of the history of and spying and surveillance and their importance to states, societies and individuals
LO2. analyse historical evidence from a number of selected primary sources of different kinds including primary sources produced through surveillance activity
LO3. engage in independent historical research into the history of spies and surveillance
LO4. present a coherent and convincing written argument using primary sources as evidence, weighing up the ethical challenges of using primary sources produced through spying and surveillance
LO5. demonstrate appreciation of scholarly trends and debates in the field of surveillance studies and intelligence history.

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1	Depth of disciplinary expertise Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.
GQ2	Critical thinking and problem solving Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.
GQ3	Oral and written communication Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.
GQ4	Information and digital literacy Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.
GQ5	Inventiveness Generating novel ideas and solutions.
GQ6	Cultural competence Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.
GQ7	Interdisciplinary effectiveness Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.
GQ8	Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.
GQ9	Influence Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes	Graduate qualities
Learning outcomes

Responding to student feedback

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

No changes have been made since this unit was last offered

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.

Current students

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Disclaimer

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