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.
Athena Title
Lit and Crime
Prerequisite
ENGL 1102 or ENGL 1102E or ENGL 1102S or ENGL 1050H or ENGL 1060H
Semester Course Offered
Offered spring
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student learning Outcomes
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.
Students will gain a broad understanding of the history of crime fiction.
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.
Students will develop a suitable conceptual vocabulary for discussing this fiction’s style, structure, themes, audience, and cultural implications.
Students will practice engaging in collaborative discussion with their peers, in small groups and/or full-class discussion. They will improve their ability to express their ideas cogently and effectively.
Students will improve their abilities to argue persuasively, use textual evidence, and write vigorous prose that adheres to conventional standards of grammar and usage.
Topical Outline
The choice and sequence of topics will vary from instructor to instructor and semester to semester. 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
narratological devices in mystery novels
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
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.
Institutional Competencies Learning Outcomes
Analytical Thinking
The ability to reason, interpret, analyze, and solve problems from a wide array of authentic contexts.
Critical Thinking
The ability to pursue and comprehensively evaluate information before accepting or establishing a conclusion, decision, or action.
