This course welcomes students who wish to complete the following modules:
B.A. E-SC “Key Topics in Literature”- D2-c; WD-2a and WD-2b
B.A. E-SC “Key Topics in Cultural History” – D2-a
Erasmus students and General Studies
Online course in the summer term 2021 – Due to the COVID 19 pandemic we will meet in weekly ZOOM sessions. Crime Fiction is overwhelmingly popular and yet, much of the narrative literature that involves crime of some kind or another is often not regarded as ‘literature’ at all. This course is designed to familiarise students with the contemporary critical and theoretical arguments concerning popular fiction and genre studies, as well as to enable all participants of this course to relate to the genre’s wider social, historical and political contexts while discussing the individual narratives in terms of form, language and imagery. Seeking to promote an analytical, creative and imaginative engagement with the complexities of literary and cultural discourses, we will focus on excerpts of both detective- or transgressor-centred narratives from the second half of the 20th Century onwards. These narratives include examples of the police novel (e.g. Ian Rankin); of female detectives and the feminist appropriations of the hard-boiled story (e.g. Sara Paretsky); of the psychothriller (e.g. Patricia Highsmith), of Afro-American crime fiction, here the examination of literary representations and other cultural manifestations of the Black Diaspora, discussing the relevance of this form of genre fiction to the Black experience of American Life (e.g. Walter Mosley), of Indigenous crime fiction (e.g. Thomas King), of the postmodern mystery (e.g. Paul Auster), and of representations of disability in crime fiction (e.g. Jeffrey Deaver’s Lincoln Rhyme series).

Please register on Stud. IP and explore the sections “Information” and “Schedule” on Stud. IP. for further details.
Requirements:

• work through the weekly study units (ZOOM and podacsts);
• in-depth knowledge of the selected reading material and course materials,
• final exam according to module choice.

Reading materials (we will read excerpts of these novels but you are welcome to read these novels in full especially when planning a research project):
Auster, Paul. The New York Trilogy, Faber and Faber, 1987.
Deaver, Jeffrey. The Bone Collector, Hodder and Stoughton, 1997.
Highsmith, Patricia. Strangers on a Train, Vintage, 1999, 1950.
King, Thomas. The Red Power Murders: A DreadfulWater Mystery, Harper Perennial, 2006.
Mosley, Walter. Devil in a Blue Dress, Serpent's Tail, 2001, 1991.
Paretsky, Sara. Blacklist: A V.I. Warshawski Novel, Signet Book, 2004.
Rankin, Ian. Knots & Crosses: Inspector Rebus Novel, Orion, 2005, 1998.

In this seminar, students get an introduction to the history of English, i.e. Old English, Middle English and Early Modern English. The course combines synchronous and asynchronous elements. In the second half of the seminar, we will study the major varieties of British and North American English as well as other world varieties with a focus on their structural and phonological features. We will follow the debates about English as a cause of language death, and talk about the place of English in language policies and language planning.

In this seminar, students get an introduction to the history of English, i.e. Old English, Middle English and Early Modern English. This class is taught via podcasts and weekly discussions and tasks. In the second half of the seminar, we study the major varieties of British and North American English as well as other world varieties with a focus on their structural and phonological features. We will follow the debates about English as a cause of language death, and talk about the place of English in language policies and language planning.

In this seminar, students get an introduction to the history of English, i.e. Old English, Middle English and Early Modern English. This class is taught via podcasts and weekly discussions and tasks. In the second half of the seminar, we study the major varieties of British and North American English as well as other world varieties with a focus on their structural and phonological features. We will follow the debates about English as a cause of language death, and talk about the place of English in language policies and language planning.

In this seminar, students get an introduction to the history of English, i.e. Old English, Middle English and Early Modern English. This class is taught via podcasts and weekly discussions and tasks. In the second half of the seminar, we study the major varieties of British and North American English as well as other world varieties with a focus on their structural and phonological features. We will follow the debates about English as a cause of language death, and talk about the place of English in language policies and language planning.