Fall 2006 Courses

English 380-01: African American Detective Fiction (Topics in 20th Century African American Literature) (English)

M/W/F 1:10-2:10pm, Old Main 001

Prerequisite: one 100-level English course other than ENGL 120

In this course, we will investigate the contemporary flourishing of African American detective fiction. Guided by the premise that genres perform particular "cultural work," we will assess the aesthetic and political work being performed by contemporary murder mysteries and crime novels by authors such as Walter Mosley, Barbara Neely, and Thulani Davis.

We will develop a strongly historical context for our investigation, reading earlier examples of detective fiction by Pauline Hopkins at the turn of the 20th century, Rudolph Fisher during the Harlem Renaissance, and Chester Himes in the mid-20th century. We will also view film adaptations, examining the aesthetic and political shifts that can occur when a literary work is transformed via a visual/auditory medium. We will read relevant literary and filmic criticism and theory as well.

Requirements for the course include: an oral presentation; weekly discussion questions; and two essays of about 10 pages each, one of which must be revised. This course will fulfill the literature by U.S. writers of color requirement for the English major and the college's domestic diversity requirement.

Fall 2006 Course Listings