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ENGL 193: |
Detective Fiction |
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| Spring 2008 |
| Instructor: Christopher Newfield |
| Meets on: TR 5:00 PM - 6:15 PM GIRV 1004 |
| Prerequisites: Writing 2, 50, or 109; English 10; or upper-division standing |
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| Satisfies a GE area G and a Writing requirement |
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Critical and historical study of fiction from the classics of Poe, Conan Doyle, and Christie to the many contemporary kinds.
Why is detective fiction so popular? Why are good mysteries impossible to put down? How do their plots and characters work? In this course we'll check the nineteenth century roots of the detective novel, sample its mid-twentieth century renaissance, and spend about half the course covering the big mystery boom of the past ten or fifteen years. We will explore the rise of the "whodunit," the development of U.S. crime writing in parallel with the British tradition, and the "noir" vision of human nature and society that emerges from the crime tradition. Authors covered will include Edgar Allan Poe, Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie, Raymond Chandler, Carl Hiaasen, Elmore Leonard, Walter Mosley, and Mo Hayder. We will compare these books to several films, including Chinatown, Pulp Fiction, and Ghostdog. Requirements: exams and two papers, one of which can be a detective story.
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