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Course ID:	ENGL 3340. 3 hours.
Course Title:	Literature and Crime
Course Description:	Examining authors from Poe and Dostoevsky to Christie, Hammett, and beyond, the course studies literature centered on crime, detection, and mystery within its literary and historical contexts. It considers developments from the 19th century through the “golden age” and hardboiled novels to contemporary procedurals and thrillers, reading them as literary endeavors.
Oasis Title:	Lit and Crime
Prerequisite:	ENGL 1102 or ENGL 1102E or ENGL 1102S or ENGL 1050H or ENGL 1060H
Semester Course Offered:	Offered spring semester every even-numbered year.
Grading System:	A-F (Traditional)

Course Objectives:	Novels centered on crime and detection have long been one of the most popular forms of fiction. This class will focus on the literary elements of these novels as well as their longstanding appeal and development in other media (e.g., short stories, film, comics). 1. Students will be able to analyze the literature of crime via appropriate genre-specific conventions as well as conventions common to the novel or film. 2. Students will gain a broad understanding of the history of crime fiction. 3. Students will consider the relationship between novels of crime (and/or short stories, films) and the cultural/social/historical contexts in which they were produced. 4. Students will develop a suitable conceptual vocabulary for discussing this fiction’s style, structure, themes, audience, and cultural implications. 5. Students will develop their abilities to think critically, read attentively, argue persuasively, and write incisively.
Topical Outline:	The choice and sequence of topics will vary from instructor to instructor and semester to semester. The topics will consist of selected works by various authors, to be read and/or viewed outside of class and discussed in class, examined individually and comparatively in the context of the times and circumstances of their composition and reception. Because the course will change from semester to semester, students are encouraged to refer to the English department website for information concerning the course content for a specific semester. Sample list of texts: Edgar Alan Poe, “Murders in the Rue Morgue,” “The Purloined Letter” Wilkie Collins, The Moonstone Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Sign of Four Fyodor Dostoevsky, Crime and Punishment Robert Lewis Stevenson, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray G.K. Chesterton, The Blue Cross Ellery Queen, “The Mad Tea Party” Agatha Christie, Murder on the Orient Express Dorothy L. Sayers, Strong Poison Josephine Tey, The Singing Sands Dashiell Hammett, The Thin Man Raymond Chandler, The Big Sleep Chester Himes, Cotton Comes to Harlem Graham Greene, Brighton Rock Truman Capote, In Cold Blood Iain Rankin, Black, and Blue Val McDermid, The Grave Tattoo P.D. James, Cover Her Face Walter Mosley, Devil in a Blue Dress Umberto Eco, The Name of the Rose Truman Capote, In Cold Blood Louise Erdrich, The Round House Linda Hogan, Mean Spirit Michael Nava, Lay your Sleeping Head The Maltese Falcon, dir. John Huston Rear Window, dir. Alfred Hitchcock Knives Out, dir. Rian Johnson CSI season 1, created by Anthony E Zuiker Film and TV adaptations of Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christie, etc. Topics might include the historical development of the mystery novel; the detective novel in particular spaces (i.e., LA, Edinburgh, NYC); adaptation of the literature of crime in film and TV; contemporary multiethnic crime novels; women detectives and authors; literary mystery novels and the high culture/popular culture divide; the procedural novel and the police state; ethics in crime fiction; genre-crossing crime fiction; and narratological devices in mystery novels.

Syllabus: No Syllabus Available