Special Topics in Comparative Literature (390-0-20)

Topic

Postcolonial Noir

Instructors

Rebecca Carol Johnson
847/467-1365
University Hall 225

Meeting Info

Kresge Centennial Hall 2-331: Tues, Thurs 9:30AM - 10:50AM

Overview of class

Postcolonial Noir

Crime fiction is where questions of law, justice, and community are investigated, but only rarely resolved. This course will explore this problem in a transnational context, to expose the fundamental issues of power and difference that have underlain the classic detective novel, with emphasis on empire and colonialism. We will then work our way through texts produced in colonial and postcolonial settings in the Middle East and North Africa. Surveying over 150 years of detection, we will use these texts to understand the relationship between criminal investigation and literary interpretation, between history and the present, and between literary style and political authority. 

Teaching Method

Seminar

Evaluation Method

1 short and 1 longer interpretive essays; active participation in class discussion; 1 group research presentation.

Class Materials (Required)

Texts will be available at: bookshop.org.

Possible Texts include: Conan Doyle, The Sign of Four; Didier Daeninckx, Murder in Memoriam; Sonallah Ibrahim, That Smell; Donia Maher/Ganzeer, The Apartment in Bab al-Louk; Adania Shibli, Minor Detail.

Class Attributes

Advanced Expression
Literature and Arts Foundational Discipline
Literature & Fine Arts Distro Area
Global Perspectives on Power, Justice, and Equity