British Golden Age Crime Fiction

Dozent/in:

Kerstin-Anja Münderlein

Angaben:

Seminar/Proseminar, 2 SWS, ECTS: 6, Studium Generale

Termine:

Di, 18:00 - 20:00, Raum n.V.

Voraussetzungen / Organisatorisches:

1. Module Allocation:

BA Anglistik/Amerikanistik: Aufbaumodul Literaturwissenschaft / freie Erweiterung: Seminar 6 ECTS
Ergänzungsmodul Literaturwissenschaft: Seminar max. 6 ECTS
LA Gym: Aufbaumodul Literaturwissenschaft: Seminar 6 ECTS
BA Berufliche Bildung: Basis/Aufbaumodul Literaturwissenschaft: Seminar 6 ECTS
LA GS/HS/MS/RS: Basis/Aufbaumodul Literaturwissenschaft (b): Seminar 6 ECTS
NOT open for Consolidation Module Literature
Open for Ergänzungsmodul Literature

2. (De)Registration:
in FlexNow! (except for guest auditors): 01.03.2021, 10:00 - 25.04.2021, 23:59
guest auditors: please contact lecturer

Inhalt:

The so called “Golden Age of Crime Fiction” or “Golden Age of Detective Fiction” denotes a specific period (the 1920s and 1930s) in which the British crime novel flourishes particularly. After crime fiction rose to ubiquitous prominence among British readers in the 19th century, the new generation of writers, often women writers, developed certain traits of the crime novel in the interwar period that both regulated the genre and boosted its favour with readers even more. During the 1920s, prominent crime authors banded together and established a certain set of rules crime fiction should adhere to, to make each case a puzzle solvable by the reader themselves. Readers should be presented with the mystery (i.e. the crime, mostly murder) early on in the novel and then accompany the detective on his or her way to solving the mystery. Mostly, these mysteries revolve around the central question of “whodunit,” that is, who committed the crime and why. This term soon became synonymous for the specific type of detective fiction and dominated the genre during the Golden Age. Other popular conventions of the genre included the locked room mystery, the remote country house setting, the eccentric, but sympathetic detective (male or female), and the upper class affiliation of the persons involved.
This course is going to look at some of the most eminent writers of this generation of crime writers, namely Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, G.K. Chesterton, Freeman Wills Crofts and Michael Innes. Before turning to the writers themselves, we will look at the central traits of this subgenre of crime writing, its key players and its general historical background during the interwar period and the aftermath of the Great War. During the course, we will look at recurring motifs and themes in the genre.

Empfohlene Literatur:

Obligatory reading:
To read before the semester:
G.K. Chesterton. “The Invisible Man.” 1911. and “The Quick One.” 1935.

To read during the semester:
Dorothy L. Sayers. The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club. 1928.
Dorothy L. Sayers. Gaudy Night. 1935.
Agatha Christie. The Mysterious Affair at Styles. 1921.
Agatha Christie. The Secret Adversary. 1922.
Agatha Christie. The Murder at the Vicarage. 1930.
Freeman Wills Crofts. The Hog’s Back Mystery. 1933.
Michael Innes. Hamlet, Revenge! 1937.

Crime Fiction, Femininities and Masculinities I: The 19th Century

Dozent/in:

Kerstin-Anja Münderlein

Angaben:

Übung, 2 SWS, ECTS: 4, Studium Generale, Gender und Diversität, Erweiterungsbereich

Termine:

Mo, 18:00 - 20:00, Raum n.V.

Voraussetzungen / Organisatorisches:

1. Module Allocation:

all modules including an obligatory/optional reading tutorial (Übung) for literature in
LA GS/HS/MS/RS/GY
BA Anglistik/Amerikanistik
MA English and American Studies
MA WiPäd
Erweiterungsbereich English and American Studies

open for Consolidation Module Literature (Übung)
NOT open for Ergänzungsmodul Literature

2. (De)Registration:
in FlexNow!: 01.03.2021, 10:00 - 25.04.2021, 23:59
Guest auditors should first contact the lecturer  

Inhalt:

Crime Fiction reaches large numbers of readers with heterogeneous interests. In other words, it provides something for everyone, yet in doing so it can either assert or scrutinise and thus re-negotiate gender and sexual normativity. As such, the genre itself is both assertive of perceived normativity and at the same time deviant from socially constructed roles and rules. A crime of any kind, after all, already provides a disruption of order and sets extraordinary events in motion. The exceptional situation a crime creates thus leaves room for all kinds of agents (for queerness or normativity) to revise order and normativity. Crime, sex and gender are intricately linked, be that through the characters, the target audience, or the crime itself. Probably no other genre provides such a broad spectrum of characters, ranging from the occasionally hyper-masculine hardboiled detective and the stereotypically feminine spinster sleuth to androgynous private eyes or gender-fluid police detectives.
Moreover, a scholarly focus on gender and sex in Crime Fiction “has […] advanced understanding of the socially constructed nature of crime” (2) as Bill McCarthy and Rosemary Gartner write in the Oxford Handbook of Gender, Sex and Crime (2014). Crime as a social construct inhabits a liminal position. Like gender, it crosses boundaries and is thus positioned on a perpetual threshold between what is read as “order” or “normality” and “chaos” or “deviance.” Crime Fiction provides the space to investigate this liminality and to open up stereotypical concepts of normativity in crime, gender and sexuality. Crime Fiction’s relationship with sex and gender is thus fascinatingly complex and allows for a broad variety of critical angles on the topic.

This course is the first of a three-part “Übung” on crime fiction and gender. It specifically covers the beginnings of British crime fiction in the middle of the 19th century and ends with the turn of the century. Please see below for the literature used in class (more literature to be announced and uploaded to the VC at the beginning of the semester). Students should be aware that this is a very reading- and discussion-intensive class and students should be prepared to participate in the in-class discussions.
In the winter semester 2021/22, part II will cover the early 20th century until roughly the 1950s, laying its focus on the so called “Golden Age” of crime fiction, i.e. the 1920s and 30s. Part III (summer semester 2022) will then conclude this series of Übungen with gender and modern crime fiction from the 1950s/60s to today.

This course also serves as a preparation for the international conference “Captivating Criminality 8: Crime Fiction, Femininities and Masculinities” (25-27 November 2021). Students in this course will have the chance to participate in a poster exhibition on the topic of the conference, but are not required to.

Empfohlene Literatur:

Obligatory Reading:
To read before the beginning of the semester:
Edgar Allen Poe. “The Murders in the Rue Morgue.” 1841. Short story available online

To read during the semester:
Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White . 1859. (Novel available online via Project Gutenberg Australia)
Mary Elizabeth Braddon. Lady Audley’s Secret. 1862. (Novel available online via Project Gutenberg Australia)
Israel Zangwill. The Big Bow Mystery . 1891. (Novel available online via Project Gutenberg Australia)
Allen Grant. Hilda Wade . 1899. (Novel available online via Project Gutenberg Australia)
Several short stories by Catherine Louisa Pirkis, Arthur Conan Doyle, and Arthur Morrison will be published on the VC in the beginning of the semester.

Nachholtermine EngLit

Dozentinnen/Dozenten:

Christoph Houswitschka, Igor Almeida Ferreira Baldoino, Kerstin-Anja Münderlein

Angaben:

Seminar

Termine:

Do, 18:00 - 20:00, Raum n.V.

Preparatory Course for Bavarian State Exam (English Literature)

Dozent/in:

Kerstin-Anja Münderlein

Angaben:

Übung, 2 SWS, ECTS: 2, Studium Generale

Termine:

Do, 10:00 - 12:00, Raum n.V.

Voraussetzungen / Organisatorisches:

1. Module allocation
all modules including an exam preparation (Examensübung/ Übung für Examenskandidaten)

Übung in "Vertiefungsmodul" or "Master Module" in any of the following courses of study

LA GS/HS/MS/RS/GY

BA Anglistik/Amerikanistik

MA English and American Studies

Erweiterungsbereich English and American Studies

NOT open for Consolidation Module Literature
NOT open for Ergänzungsmodul Literature

2. FlexNow (de-) registration: 01.03.2021, 10:00 - 25.04.2021, 23:59

Inhalt:

This course is designed specifically for students of all "Lehrämter" who prepare for the written "Staatsexamen" in English Literature according to the new LPO. However, students preparing other - oral or written - final exams are very welcome, too.

Students will first revise basic terminology for the analysis of poems, narrative and dramatic texts and receive an overview of literary history. After that, each session will be dedicated to one set of "Staatsexamen" questions from previous years. The course will cover all of the "Körbe" used in Staatsexamen (englische Literatur) (e.g. "Thema 1: Dramatische Texte der Renaissance," "Thema 6: Narrative und expositorische Texte des 19. Jahrhunderts" etc.). After the revision sessions, each session will be divided into a revision of the literary history of the respective "Korb" and a detailed analysis of one state exam question from this "Korb". All participants need to prepare a presentation based on these questions and the literary and historical background for each of them.

Shakespeare Reading Group

Dozent/in:

Kerstin-Anja Münderlein

Angaben:

Sonstige Lehrveranstaltung

Termine:

Do, 18:00 - 20:00, Raum n.V.

Voraussetzungen / Organisatorisches:

This course will be conducted via Microsoft Teams. Please contact the lecturer to get access to the team.
This course is an extracurricular course and does not offer any ECTS credits. Anybody interested in reading and discussing Shakespeare is very welcome, regardless of their course of studies.

Inhalt:

William Shakespeare's works are well known, or should be well known, to all students of English literature. However, when reading Shakespeare some people struggle to fully appreciate his language or his brilliantly designed characters. This course aims at all of those students who would like to enjoy Shakespeare's works together with other students. Thus, we will not only read two pieces by Shakespeare, one comedy and one tragedy, we will also provide a platform for discussion or even stage a few scenes to further our understanding of what is going on. If you want to join us, you need not have any previous knowledge, only bring a copy of the play and comfortable shoes.

Empfohlene Literatur:

William Shakespeare. King John.
William Shakespeare. Timon of Athens.

Tutorial for Students of MA English and American Studies

Dozent/in:

Kerstin-Anja Münderlein

Angaben:

Übung, 2 SWS

Termine:

Di, 10:00 - 12:00, Raum n.V.

Voraussetzungen / Organisatorisches:

This tutorial is coordinated through the VC course MA EAS. To get the key for the course, please contact the lecturer.

Welcome Meeting new MA students

Dozentinnen/Dozenten:

Christoph Houswitschka, Susan Brähler, Kerstin-Anja Münderlein

Angaben:

Sonstige Lehrveranstaltung

Termine:

Zeit/Ort n.V.

Voraussetzungen / Organisatorisches:

Wednesday, 07 April 2021, 11:00 a.m.

Inhalt:

This appointment will be held via Zoom. New students will receive an invitation link via e-mail a few days in advance.