Wilkie Collins, The Moonstone. Dashiell Hammett, The Maltese Falcon. Raymond
Chandler, The Big Sleep. Agatha Christie, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.
Crimes and Clues: Detective Fiction Instructor: Becky Richardson English 167D (Summer 2013): MW 3:15-5:05 Whether it’s a classic or a mass-market paperback, detective fiction keeps us on the edge of our seats—we want to know who committed the crime, what the motivation was, and how the detective is going to solve it. In this course, we will think critically about how suspense works by investigating the structures of detective stories, the expectations we have as readers, and the ways in which authors have played with those expectations. How do different works portray crime, and what’s at stake in seeing it solved and restoring order? Starting with the earliest nineteenth-century forms—for example, Edgar Allen Poe and Arthur Conan Doyle—we will trace the development of detective fiction up to the present day television franchise Law & Order, and consider how television, journalism, and film have adapted and changed the genre. As we read and screen foundational examples of detective fiction, we will also question how these narratives encourage us to participate in the process of discovery. How do we as readers use reason, deduction, and close reading in order to uncover evidence and to solve the puzzle? What roles do science, intuition, and reason play in this type of fiction? And to what extent does all storytelling rely on the tools of detective fiction? Goals of the course: To analyze how literature, film, and television series use the device of the mystery or secret in order to structure narratives; to isolate how such texts rely on reason, deduction, and close reading; to consider the relations among art, literature, and popular/ genre fiction; to practice and hone the skills of close reading and literary and media analysis; to improve writing skills, and, specifically, to develop arguments and support them with textual evidence. Required texts: Wilkie Collins, The Moonstone Dashiell Hammett, The Maltese Falcon Raymond Chandler, The Big Sleep Agatha Christie, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd Truman Capote, In Cold Blood Mark Haddon, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time Assignments, in addition to class participation (10% of grade): 1) Blog posts that closely analyze a passage or scene from reading/screening—one per week (25%) 2) 4-5 page essay that expands/ revises a blog post (20%) 3) Short creative writing assignment, in small groups, using a wiki to collaborate (10%) 4) 5-8 page final essay on a text, film, or television series (can respond to a provided prompt OR expand/revise a blog post) (35%)
WEEK 1 Mon., June 24
detective fiction: shaping a genre
Introductions, from Sherlock Holmes to Law & Order: detectives, crimes, and clues Wed., June 26 Edgar Allen Poe, “The Purloined Letter” and “Murders in the Rue Morgue” WEEK 2: Mon., July 1 Wilkie Collins, The Moonstone Wed., July 3 The Moonstone (cont.) WEEK 3 Mon., July 8 The Moonstone (finish) G.K. Chesterton “A Defense of Detective Stories” Wed., July 10 Arthur Conan Doyle, “The Speckled Band” and “Silver Blaze” Anna Katharine Green, “An Intangible Clue” WEEK 4 Mon., July 15 Dashiell Hammett The Maltese Falcon Wed., July 17 The Maltese Falcon (finish) WEEK 5 Mon., July 22 Raymond Chandler, The Big Sleep Wed., July 24 The Big Sleep (finish) and “The Simple Art of Murder: An Essay”
WEEK 6 Mon., July 29 Agatha Christie, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd Wed., July 31 The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (finish) WEEK 7 Mon., August 5 Truman Capote, selections from In Cold Blood Wed., August 7 In Cold Blood (cont.) WEEK 8 Mon., August 12 Mark Haddon, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time Wed., August 14 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (finish)
