ENGL 4840 Queerness in Detective Fiction

Course Instructor: Margaret Robinson


Through its focus on the mysterious, the genre of detective fiction enables multiple readings of its texts. This course will examine detective fiction through short story and novel, as well as its transition to television or film media. Concepts used in the analysis of detective fiction will be engaged to illuminate the role of characters represented as queer (in a variety of ways), those who become queered over time, and those who are said to queer the genre itself by pushing or exceeding its limits. Note: The pieces we examine reflect their time period and some contain offensive material.