Marc Becker
Marc Becker, professor of history, was awarded a Summer Research Stipend by the National Endowment of the Humanities. These $6,000 stipends support continuous full-time work on a humanities project for a period of two consecutive months.
This funding will allow Becker to gather additional material for his project, “Philip Agee and the CIA in Ecuador, 1960-1963,” by conducting research in the foreign ministry archives in Quito, Ecuador.
Agee was a CIA case officer who became disillusioned with his role in the cold war. In 1975 he published “Inside the Company: CIA Diary,” the first uncensored exposé of CIA operations by a former case officer. Agee’s condemnation of U.S. intervention in Latin America ignited a broad debate about the role of the CIA and the moral responsibilities of its officers that permanently shifted public perceptions of the CIA.
Becker, who recently published “The CIA in Ecuador,” plans to draw on previously assembled data to examine the veracity and limitations of surveillance accounts such as that of Agee for interpreting the ideas and actions of leftist political activists in Latin America. The research will result in peer-reviewed journal articles and a book.
This funding will allow Becker to gather additional material for his project, “Philip Agee and the CIA in Ecuador, 1960-1963,” by conducting research in the foreign ministry archives in Quito, Ecuador.
Agee was a CIA case officer who became disillusioned with his role in the cold war. In 1975 he published “Inside the Company: CIA Diary,” the first uncensored exposé of CIA operations by a former case officer. Agee’s condemnation of U.S. intervention in Latin America ignited a broad debate about the role of the CIA and the moral responsibilities of its officers that permanently shifted public perceptions of the CIA.
Becker, who recently published “The CIA in Ecuador,” plans to draw on previously assembled data to examine the veracity and limitations of surveillance accounts such as that of Agee for interpreting the ideas and actions of leftist political activists in Latin America. The research will result in peer-reviewed journal articles and a book.
The NEH Summer Stipend program is highly competitive, with less than 10% of annual applications being funded. It is intended to support outstanding and advanced humanities research in all disciplines and fields. It funds scholars who are pursuing projects that embody exceptional research, rigorous analysis and clear writing.
