These lectures are designed for post 16 students and will last 1 hour. Where applicable, each session has been aligned with content delivered on the A Level syllabus but is designed to give students an idea of how the subject would be taught at the university level.
Typical lecture content could include:
1. Women In British Intelligence, 1909 to the Present.
This lecture maps out a fresh and timely approach to the subject of women in intelligence from the founding of the Secret Service Bureau in 1909 through to the present day. During the early part of the Twentieth Century, the British state capitalized on the gendered notion of duty and loyalty, targeting women with good connections, a proper education, and a man of stature who could vouch for them. Women were in a paradoxical position: they were deemed not good enough to exercise the right to vote (only achieved after the First World War), yet they could be trusted to keep the government’s top secrets. It was only during the 1970s that change started to occur, with Stella Rimington finally tapping at the glass ceiling in 1992 when she became the first female Director General of MI5 – a marker we have yet to witness in MI6 and GCHQ.
2. An Unwinnable War? US intervention in Vietnam.
With the threat of unleashing nuclear Armageddon always present during the Cold War, military and political strategists theorised approaches to keep warfare confined geographically, limited to certain objectives, and, above all, how to avoid escalating any conflict into World War Three. This lecture will introduce students to ‘limited war theory’, how it was developed by US strategists during the Korean War – the first ‘hot’ war of the Cold War -- and how it shaped US strategy in the Vietnam War. It will enrich understanding of the Vietnam War, highlighting how the North Vietnamese were fighting a very different war to the United States – one which the Americans were ultimately unable to match. This lecture will be of interest to students studying the Vietnam War and the broader Cold War era.
How to book: Please contact outreach@bishopg.ac.uk if you would like to book a session.