Not Just Cheap Thrills: American Crime Fiction and Film 4219-SC080

1. Sources of the genre: Heritage of 19th century Crime Fiction and American Gothic

2. The hard-boiled paradigm and its (anti)hero

3. The noir cycle in Classical Hollywood Cinema and its development

4. Racial, ethnic and gender inflections in crime fiction and film

5. Neo-noir revival of the 1970s and later

6. Neo-noir cont. not just in literature and film

7. Genre crossovers

Type of course

elective courses

Prerequisites (description)

The student should be a fluent speaker of English, able to watch films and read texts as well as discuss them in class and respond to them in writing. The student should have some knowledge of the history of American popular culture, as well as be aware of contemporary trends.

Learning outcomes

Upon completing the course, the student

Knowledge

- is familiar with basic elements of literary and film theory

- is familiar with features of hard-boiled novels

- knows features of noir cinema

- knows and is able to use basic concepts of gender and especially masculinity studies

Skills

- understands how the socio-economic changes in America influenced popular culture

- understands how media-selection influences representation

- is able to make connections to other fields of knowledge (American history, sociology and economy)

- is able to discuss merits of pop cultural productions in their contexts

Social competences

- knows how to select and present information on a specific topic

- knows how to independently respond to texts of culture using elements of theory

Assessment criteria

Attendance and Participation – 20%

Response Papers/In-Class Presentation – 20%

Final Essay - 30%

Final Test – 30%

Bibliography

Please note that some changes may be introduced

Primary texts and films:

1. “The Man of the Crowd” Arthur C. Doyle (short story)

2. “The Mystery of Marie Roget” E.A. Poe (short story)

3. The Long Goodbye Raymond Chandler (novel)

4. Murder, My Sweet (1944) Edward Dmytryk (film)

5. “Ghosts” in The New York Trilogy Paul Auster (short story)

6. Bitter Medicine Sara Paretsky (novel)

7. The Long Goodbye (1973) Robert Altman (film)

8. Brick (2005) Rian Johnson (film)

9. Veronica Mars (2004-2007) Rob Thomas (TV series, selected episodes)

10. Sin City Frank Miller (graphic novel, fragments)

Additional texts and films:

1. Blade Runner (1982/2007) Ridley Scott (film) – neo-noir and future noir

2. Cotton Comes to Harlem Chester Himes (novel) – African American hard-boiled

3. Promised Land Robert B. Parker (novel) – hard-boiled meets feminism (masculine edition)

4. The Yiddish Policemen Union Michael Chabon (novel) – hard-boiled meets future noir and ethic inflection

5. Jackie Brown (1997) Quentin Tarantino (film) – neo-noir, blacksploitation and gangster film

Additional information

Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system:

Description of 4219-SC080 in USOSweb