The Legacy of Mata Hari: Women and Transgression

In 1917, Mata Hari was executed for espionage by a firing squad on the outskirts of Paris, ‘the greatest female spy the world has ever known’, a vamp and courtesan who had caused the deaths of 50,000 allied combatants. The event explores Mata Hari as icon of political betrayal and female seduction and transgression, drawing on history, politics, cultural studies, literary journalism, performing arts, museum studies and feminist studies.