IDS 1161 - Crime and Detectives: Three Perspectives

Credits: 4
This team-taught interdisciplinary course explores both crime and its detection from literary, criminological, and scientific perspective. The literary portion of the course traces the development of the detective as hero, the antagonist as criminal, and the ways in which narrative patterns and societal attitudes have evolved in the Anglo-American detective story since the 1840s. The criminological section of the course focuses on the realities underlying fictional portrayals of crime solving, which vary markedly depending upon the identity of the victim and perpetratory, the setting, and the time period. The forensic section of the course explores the scientific aspect of crime solving. Topics include characterization of a crime scene, analysis of hair and fibers, arson and explosives, forensic serology, DNA testing, fingerprint, firearms, and document and voice analysis.