Information Package
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Program of American Culture and Literature (English)

ACL280

AMERICAN CRIME FICTION

Course Code
ACL280
Semester
-
Theory+Practice
3 + 0
ECTS
4
Course TypeElective Course
Course LevelBachelor's Degree
Year of Study-
Semester-
ECTS4
Name of Lecturer(s) -
Learning Outcomes

At the end of this course, the students;

  1. Identify the characteristics and major themes of American crime fiction.
  2. Demonstrate knowledge of the historical and cultural development of American crime fiction.
  3. Respond critically to American crime fiction by using analytical and theoretical concepts.
Mode of DeliveryFace to face
PrerequisitesNo
Recommended Optional Programme Components
Course DescriptionThis course presents a survey of American crime fiction starting with the mid-19th century with the invention of detective fiction by Edgar Allan Poe to the present day. The aim of the course is to explore a selection of American crime narratives with a particular focus on their generic features as well their social and cultural contexts. The course acquaints students with the formulaic conventions and key terminology of this popular genre and enables them to explore its transformation throughout history by drawing attention to the changing attitudes to justice, truth, state authority, ideology, social order, community, law, and punishment as well as the changing representations of crime, investigation, the criminal, and the detective.
Course Contents
WEEK TOPICS
1st Week Introduction: What is Crime Fiction?
2nd Week The politics and types of crime Fiction, Classical detective fiction 'The Typology of Detective Fiction', Todorov
3rd Week Edgar Allan Poe :'The Murders in the Rue Morgue','William Wilson','The Mystery of Marie Roget', 'The Purloined Letter'
4th Week 'Quitters, Inc.', Stephen King, 'Three-Dot Po', Sara Paretsky, 'The Whimper of Whipped Dogs', Harlan Ellison.
5th Week Noir: Widespread Panic, James Ellroy
6th Week Widespread Panic, James Ellroy
7th Week Midterm
8th Week Hard-Boiled Detective Fiction: The Big Sleep, Raymond Chandler
9th Week The Big Sleep, Raymond Chandler
10th Week True Crime: In Cold Blood, Truman Capote
11th Week In Cold Blood, Truman Capote
12th Week The Talented Mr. Ripley, Patricia Highsmith
13th Week The Talented Mr. Ripley, Patricia Highsmith
14th Week Review
Recommended or Required ReadingBradford, Richard. Crime fiction: a very short introduction. Oxford UP, 2015.
Horsley, Lee. Twentieth-century crime fiction. Oxford UP, 2005.
Lodge, David and Nigel Wood, editors. Modern Criticism and Theory. Longman, 2008.
Raczkowski, Chris. A History of American Crime Fiction. Cambridge UP, 2017.
Worthington, Heather. Key Concepts in Crime Fiction. Palgrave Macmillan, 2011.
Planned Learning Activities and Teaching Methods
  • Lecture
  • Discussion
  • Questions/Answers
  • Other
Assessment Methods and Criteria
Quantity Percentage (%)
Mid-term 1 30
Assignment 1 15
Quiz 1 10
Presentation of Article 1 5
Total(%) 60
Contribution of In-term Studies to Overall Grade(%) 60
Contribution of Final Examination to Overall Grade(%) 40
Total(%) 100
ECTS Allocated Based on Student Workload
Activities Quantity Duration (Hour) Total Workload (Hour)
Midterm exam 1 5 5
Preparation for Quiz 1 3 3
Individual or group work 14 3 42
Preparation for Final exam 1 5 5
Course hours 14 3 42
Preparation for Midterm exam 1 5 5
Laboratory (including preparation)
Final exam 1 5 5
Homework 1 8 8
Article Presentation 1 5 5
Total Work Load120
Total Work Load / 30 (h)4
ECTS Credit of the Course4
Language of InstructionEnglish
Work Placement(s)No

Programme Qualifications / Learning Outcomes

LO1 LO2 LO3
K1 X X
K2 X X X
K3 X X X
K4 X X
K5 X X X
K6 X X X
K7 X X
K8 X
K9 X X X
K10
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K12 X X X
K13
K14