3.0

credits

Average Course Rating

From dark alleyways and cul-de-sacs to deserted country roads, wastelands and high prison walls, locales in crime fiction are never a mere backdrop. Representations of violence take on a spatial character that readers can understand though the lens of historical, political, ideological, and social tensions. How can this situated quality of violence reflect hidden traumas of the past as well as anxieties about the future? This course invites you to investigate various crimes scenes in French crime fiction novels, short stories, and films from mid-19th century to the present. Texts by Poe, Balzac, Malet, Camus, Sue, Japrisot, and Vargas; films by Corneau, Clouzot, Jeunet, and Audiard. Don't forget to bring your magnifying glass and spy gloves to class! Course taught in English; students wishing to count the course towards the French minor or major should also register for the 1-credit discussion section (AS.212.3XX.02).