LIT310: Villains in Spy Thriller Fiction

LIT310: “Villains in Spy Thriller Fiction: 1880-2000” - on-demand

• How have spy thrillers as we know them developed? This survey of spy thriller fiction published between 1880 and 2000 sets the books in their historical context and shows how they reflect the politics of the time in which the books were published. • Spy thrillers also document our own social history and reveal many important issues for us to think about. • In this course we will examine the role women characters play in spy fiction and think about why the villains in spy fiction are usually Russian. • All prices are in New Zealand dollars and GST inclusive.

Available Now: NZ$50 Free Preview

Offered:

• Please note that this course is available as a a pre-recorded course only and there is no in-person or live via Zoom component. • You can start watching this course at any time.

• These prerecorded sessions are available for viewing at anytime. • Registering gives you instant access to all of the lessons in this course. • You will continue to have access to all PDF and video material for a full year from the date of purchase.

Description:

LIT310: Villians in Spy Thriller Fiction: 1880-2000

How have spy thrillers as we know them developed? This survey of spy thriller fiction published between 1880 and 2000 sets the books in their historical context and shows how they reflect the politics of the time in which the books were published. Spy thrillers also document our own social history and reveal many important issues for us to think about. We will look at the role women characters play in spy fiction and think about why the villains in spy fiction are usually Russian.
Other topics we might like to think about are why there is still interest in 50-year-old spy scandals, or why there were so few thrillers with Russian settings or characters published during the world wars when Russia/the Soviet Union was our ally. How do we know what’s true in spy thrillers? We will answer these and other questions.
Links to online resources are provided, and brief excerpts from some of the examples are available before each class.

Course curriculum:

The entire course is available to you immediately after registration. You'll have full access for all PDF and video recordings for a full year.

1. EarthDiverse Course Information
2. Course Introduction (updated): Please read before you begin your course
1. Session 1: The Background: 1880-1900
2. Session 1: Online Resources PDF
3. Session 1: Short Readings PDF
4. Session 1: List of Books for Session 1
5. Session 1: Course Introduction: The Great Game (video 18 mins, updated)
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6. Session 1: Course Introduction – Background: The Great Game lecture PDF
1. Session 2: Selected on-line resources
2. Thrillers: 1880-1900 (video 30 mins)
3. Session 2: Thrillers: 1880-1900 lecture PDF
1. Session 3: List of Books
2. Early Spy Thrillers (video 24 mins)
3. Session 3: Early Spy Thrillers lecture PDF
1. Session 4: List of books
2. Spy Thrillers 1900-1910 (video 31 mins)
3. Spy Thrillers: 1900-1910 lecture PDF
1. Session 5: List of books
2. Spy Mania & German Spies (video 36 mins)
3. Spy Mania and German Spies lecture PDF
4. Session 5: extra notes
1. Explanations of Key Terms PDF
2. The Big Question (video 15 mins)
3. The Big Question lecture PDF
4. Session 6: Extra Notes PDF
1. Session 7: List of Books
2. Session 7: A Brief History of the Secret Police PDF
3. 1920s Soviet/Bolshevik Villains and Amateur Heros, Part 1 (video 27 mins)
4. 1920s: Soviet/Bolshevik Villains and Amateur Heros, Part 1 lecture PDF
1. A Brief History of the Secret Services of the United Kingdom PDF
2. 1920s: Soviet/Bolshevik Villains and Amateur Heros, Part 2 (video 25 mins)
3. 1920s: Soviet/Bolshevik Villains and Amateur Heros, Part 2 lecture PDF
1. 1920s: Women in 1920s Spy Fiction (video 22 mins)
2. 1920s: Women in 1920s Spy Fiction lecture PDF
3. Session 9: Extra Notes
1. Session 10: List of Books
2. The Angry Thirties (video 35 mins)
3. The Angry Thirties lecture PDF
4. Session 10: Extra Notes
1. Session 11 List of Books for "The Coming War"
2. Session 11: Short Readings
3. Session 11: Selected On-line Resources
4. 1930s: The Coming War (video 19 mins, updated)
5. 1930s: The Coming War lecture PDF
6. Session 11: Extra Notes
1. Session 12: List of Books for "A New Kind of Spy"
2. Session 12: Selected On-line Resources
3. A New Kind of Spy Hero (video 20 mins, updated)
4. A New Kind of Spy Thriller Hero lecture PDF
5. Session 12: Extra Notes
1. Session 13: List of Books for "The 1940s: World War Two"
2. Session 13: Short Readings
3. Session 13: On-line Resources
4. The 1940s: World War Two (video 23 mins)
5. The 1940s: World War Two lecture PDF
6. Session 13: Extra Notes
1. Session 14: List of Books for "After the War, The Cold War"
2. Session 14: Short Readings
3. Session 14: Selected On-line Resources
4. After the War, The Cold War (video 20 mins)
5. After the War, The Cold War lecture PDF
6. Session 14: Extra Notes
1. Session 15: List of Books for "Later Thrillers set in the 1940s, Part 1"
2. Session 15: Readings for "Later Thrillers set in the 1940s, Parts 1 & 2"
3. Sessions 15: Selected on-line resources
4. Late Thrillers set in the 1940s, Part 1 (video 22 mins)
5. Later Thrillers set in the 1940s, Part 1 Lecture PDF
1. Session 16: List of Books for "Later Thrillers Set in the 1940s, Part 2"
2. Session 16: Readings for "Later Thrillers set in the 1940s, Parts 1 & 2"
3. Session 16: "A Brief History of the Secret Services of the USA"
4. Sessions 16: Selected on-line resources
5. Late Thrillers set in the 1940s, Part 2 (video 23 mins)
6. Later Thrillers set in the 1940s, Part 2 Lecture PDF
1. Session 17: List of Books for "The 1950s, Part 1"
2. Session 17: Selected On-line Resources
3. Session 17: Short Readings
4. The 1950s, Part 1 (video 29 mins)
5. The 1950s, Part 1 Lecture PDF
1. Session 18: List of Books
2. Session 18: Selected On-line Resources
3. Session 18: Short Readings
4. The 1950s, Part 2 (video 36 mins)
5. The 1950s, Part 2 Lecture PDF
1. Session 19: List of Books
2. Session 19: Selected On-line Resources
3. Session 19: Short Readings
4. The 1960s (video 34 mins)
5. The 1960s Lecture PDF
6. Session 19: Extra Notes
1. Session 20 Book list PDF
2. Session 20 and 21 Readings PDF
3. The 1970s, Part 1 (video 22 mins)
4. The 1970s, Part 1 Lecture PDF
5. Session 20 Extra Notes PDF
1. Session 21 Book list PDF
2. Session 20 and 21 Readings PDF
3. The 1970s, Part 2: Women Authors (video 12 mins)
4. The 1970s, Part 2 Lecture PDF
1. Session 22 Book list PDF
2. Sessions 22 and 23 Readings PDF
3. The 1980s, Part 1 (video 28 mins)
4. The 1980s, Part 1 Lecture PDF
1. Session 23 Book list PDF
2. Sessions 23 & 24 Readings PDF
3. The 1980s, Part 2 (video 37 mins)
4. The 1980s, Part 2 Lecture PDF
1. Session 24 Book list PDF
2. Session 24 Readings PDF
3. The 1990s (video 31 mins)
4. The 1990s lecture PDF
5. Session 24 Extra Notes PDF
1. Session 25 Book list PDF
2. Themes (video 19 mins)
3. Themes, Part 1 lecture PDF
4. Session 25 Extra Notes PDF
5. Session 25 Very Short List of Recommended Books PDF
1. Session 26 List of Books PDF
2. Themes, Part 2 (video 22 mins)
3. Themes, Part 2 PDF

About this course

119 lessons
11 hours of video content
Videos and PDF content of all course materials are available for a full year
Start the course at your leisure
view anytime!

Meet our Instructor:

Instructor Jillene Bydder

Jillene Bydder’s long-term interest is in spy thrillers and what they can tell us about ourselves. An academic research librarian, she has read many thrillers unavailable in New Zealand during study periods spent at the British Library in London. She has walked the line marking the path of the Berlin Wall, crossed the Bridge of Spies, and visited Russia multiple times. She has been to Siberia and seen the bullet holes in the building used as the headquarters of the White Army during the Russian Revolution and to Stalin’s birthplace in Georgia. She has visited the island in the Baltic Sea from which British agents were infiltrated into the Soviet Union. She has presented many papers to international conferences and spends much time in second-hand bookshops here and overseas adding to her own collection of thrillers.

Distance Learning:

This course is available as a series of pre-recorded lessons which you can watch at anytime.

• Watch the recorded class sessions at your leisure, at a time, day and place more suited to your schedule.
• Detailed instructions on how to access our distance learning courses are automatically emailed to you after completing your registration. There are no additional fees. Distance learners can access this course using any web browser (e.g. Chrome, Safari, Edge, Firefox) on a desktop or laptop computer, tablet device (e.g. iPad) or mobile phone . You can also access this course via a special app which you can download for free from the Apple iOS store or the Google Play store.

Price:

Price in New Zealand dollars and includes GST.

$50.00

provides full access to this course for an entire year

Register now!

Prerequisites:

A keen desire to learn about the history and intrigue behind Spy Literature.

• There are no prerequisites for this course.