Both the FBI and the CIA have been featured extensively in films and TV action dramas. Unfortunately, the profound influence of these organisations on American history is less well known. This class aims at redressing that balance. Beginning with the formation of the FBI and the perceived need to tackle crime at a national, rather than local level, it will examine the political context in which the FBI was formed and how crime fighting has changed over the years. In a similar fashion it will look at the historical circumstances and political influences that led to the formation of the CIA as an agency primarily concerned with intelligence gathering and analysis and how its more controversial involvement in covert activities came about. Lecture style with question and answer time.