Undergraduate Course: Twentieth-Century Crime Fiction (ENLI10095)
Course Outline
| School | School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Course type | Standard |
Availability | Available to all students |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Credits | 20 |
| Home subject area | English Literature |
Other subject area | None |
| Course website |
http://www.englit.ed.ac.uk/studying/undergrd/honours/3year/index.htm |
Taught in Gaelic? | No |
| Course description | The course examines the crime narrative as a highly influential and socially embedded popular cultural form in Britain and the United States. Given that the central figure is someone undertaking a circumscribed interpretative task, crime fiction grants us insights into the representations of gender, class, race, politics and political institutions, science, and interpretation itself throughout the twentieth century. This course offers students the opportunity to study several representative examples of the genre in order to examine the ways in which issues of central importance in the humanities and social sciences have been represented in the popular domain. |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | A MINIMUM of three college/university level literature courses at grade B or above (should include no more than one introductory level literature course). Related courses such as civilisation or creative writing are not considered for admissions to this course.
Applicants should also note that, as with other popular courses, meeting the minimum does NOT guarantee admission. In making admissions decisions preference will be given to students who achieve above the minimum requirement with the typical visiting student admitted to this course having three to four literature classes at grade A.
** as numbers are limited, visiting students should contact the Visiting Student Section directly for admission to this course **
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| Displayed in Visiting Students Prospectus? | Yes |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes
| Students will appreciate a comprehensive range of texts that trace the transformations of the genre over the past century - such as detective novel, hardboiled and noir thriller, the police procedural, the conspiracy thriller and serial murder texts. The course discusses how crime as a connective tissue helps us narrate certain aspects of our society and allows students to ascertain whether the genre is an inherently conservative or subversive cultural form. Finally, the course confronts us as readers and critics with the question of whether we are in the position of the detective or the criminal. |
Assessment Information
1 essay of 2,500 words (25%); 1 examination essay of 3,000 words (75%)
Visiting Student Variant Assessment
1 essay of 2,500 words (25%); 1 examination essay of 3,000 words (75%) |
Special Arrangements
| Numbers are limited and students taking degrees not involving English or Scottish literature need the written approval of the head of English Literature |
Additional Information
| Academic description |
Not entered |
| Syllabus |
Not entered |
| Transferable skills |
Not entered |
| Reading list |
Not entered |
| Study Abroad |
Not entered |
| Study Pattern |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Aaron Kelly
Tel: (0131 6)50 3071
Email: |
Course secretary | Mrs Anne Mason
Tel: (0131 6)50 3618
Email: |
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