Overview

This topic examines one of the most provocative and fertile genres in contemporary literature and cinema: the crime fiction genre. As a literary genre, crime fiction is relatively young; from its beginnings in the 19th Century, and through its major development in the 20th, the genre has responded vigorously to … For more content click the Read More button below.

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Aims

This topic aims to:

  • Expose students to a range of texts that deal with the themes of crime and detection, taken from a range of historical and critical contexts, and to encourage students to respond critically to these texts in terms of their prevailing ideologies
  • Contextualise the transformations that occur in the crime fiction genre as it develops and passes from literature to television and film
  • Help students develop a critical understanding of (a) the processes and debates that characterise popular culture, and (b) of popular culture's relation to 'high' culture in fiction, television and film
  • Consider the complexities inherent in the notion of adapting texts from this genre from one medium to another (with regard to both the conventions of narrative and the conventions and regulations governing the film and television industries)
  • Help students critique the narratological function of archetypal elements that can be seen at work within the crime genre (i.e. characters, narrative forms, devices and tropes)

Learning outcomes

On completion of this topic you will be expected to be able to:
1.
Discuss crime fiction’s central conventions across several key texts while recognising the enormous size and complexity of the genre and its sub-genres
2.
Use relevant critical and theoretical tools to produce well-reasoned and nuanced readings of the literary and filmic texts they have examined
3.
Discuss in depth the issues and debates surrounding questions of genre and ideology represented across the crime fiction genre
4.
Appraise the ways in which the devices, narratives and tropes of the genre(s) in their literary form have influenced the workings of related filmic and televisual genres

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Requisites information

Pre-requisites:
Anti-requisites:

Assumed knowledge

A basic understanding of academic approaches to literature and the cinema. Basic literacy concepts and terminology.