European Detective Fiction

Fall 2014

Several European countries have experienced a real renaissance in crime fiction within the last decade. This semester we will focus on the Italian crime novel in the larger context of European crime fiction. We will read some of the most important and interesting contemporary authors of Italian detective fiction — Camilleri, Vichi, Pastor, Lucarelli, de Giovanni — to see what crime fiction can tell us about the nation in an age of globalization, and about Italy in the European Union. We will compare the Italian case to Scandinavia (Mankell, Nesbø), and to a nation squarely at the center of the European Union: France (Vargas, Manchette, Thilliez). In addition to novels, we will watch the Danish/Swedish crime series Bron/Broen (The Bridge) and its French/English remake, The Tunnel.

Students choose: write 2 shorter papers (5-7 pp. each), or one research paper (10-14 pp.). Graduate students will give a presentation on one of the readings, and write a standard seminar/research paper (15-25 pp) at the end of the semester.

ITAL 440 | CWL 461

Prof. Robert Rushing

T / Th ; 11-12:20

Location: 211 Davenport (ignore the 131 English location)

In English, with readings in Italian for Italian majors and minors