How to Read a Secret Document with Dr. Mark Stout (Members-Only Event)

This Valentine’s Day season, in the spirit of love and gratitude, we are thrilled to invite all Spy Museum members to Member Appreciation Days.

During Member Appreciation Days, you’re invited to an exclusive talk with Dr. Mark Stout, former historian of the International Spy Museum and former US intelligence officer, taking place Saturday, February 11th, at 10 AM at the Museum. 

When you see the phrase “top secret document” in the news, or “classified information” in a history book, do you really know what it means? Join Dr. Stout to uncover how secret documents are written and how to decode them: from the critical role of fonts and codewords, to the important terminology used by intelligence insiders. (Don’t worry – no current confidential documents will be shared! But we will take a look at a few historical examples from the Spy Museum’s collection.)

Mark Stout was historian and curator at the International Spy Museum from 2010 to 2013. He was the director of the MA in Global Security Studies at Johns Hopkins University in Washington, DC, from 2013 to 2021. Dr. Stout is a former intelligence officer, having served with the State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research and the Central Intelligence Agency. He was also the founding president of the North American Society for Intelligence History. Dr. Stout is co-author or co-editor of several books, most recently Spy Chiefs: Intelligence Leaders in the United States and United Kingdom (Georgetown University Press, 2017). His history of American intelligence during World War I will be published by the University Press of Kansas in the fall of 2023. He is also series co-editor of the Studies in Intelligence History series from Georgetown University Press. He holds a Ph.D. in history from the University of Leeds.

Members are invited to Dr. Stout’s formal presentation from 10 to 10:30 AM, followed by coffee and pastries and an opportunity to chat with Dr. Stout and other members of the Spy Museum team.

This event is free of charge and open exclusively to Spy Museum members. You can join SPY as a member online or by calling 202.654.2840. If you are a current member and have not received the link to sign up for this event, please email membership@spymuseum.org to register.