| Course Description |
| Requirements |
| Calendar of Readings |
| Web Links |
| Course Policies |
This course will attempt to bring together insights from mass culture, the social histories of American crime and policing, and American literature, in order to understand how such cultural stories shape readers' understandings of modern crime and disorder. Essentially, this is a "cultural studies" course, in that it tries to arrive, through interdisciplinary work, at an understanding of how a culture tries to make sense out of social conflict by producing stories that decipher, disguise, and play out that conflict in dramatic form. The course materials will therefore be various: popular fiction and nonfiction; literary criticism on dominant crime story genres (the Western, the police procedural, the gangster narrative); a few memoirs of crime reporters, TV writers, and of criminals; some political science and opinion pieces; and cultural criticism on crime and media. You will also be be asked to view two crime films. The course will ask students to explore the multiple narrative forms that modern media conventionally use to represent the most senseless of violations of a community's fabric--and, by way of comparison, we will refer to a few personal narratives from urban communities themselves (specifically, gang and prison narratives). A final section of the course will consider the recent response to the terrorist threat, and try to look ahead to crime and policing in the future.
Students interested in taking this course will quickly
recognize, therefore, that our orientation is likely to be somewhat different
than the standard English elective. ("Crime Stories" should not be mistaken,
in particular, for a course on "mystery" writing, detective fiction, or whodunits.)
For instance, we will commonly be less concerned with the literary
merit or value of the works we will read than their social, cultural, and
political ideas and effects. And though we will often be discussing popular
culture, our concerns will be rigorous: students will be asked
to think theoretically about representation, about "information economies"
around crime and policing, and about questions of civil and criminal rights.
Success on the final exam will include the ability to recall specific passages
from texts we cover.
Students with majors other than English are welcome. Student papers from this course are eligible for the American
Studies program Randall Prize in American literature and culture.
In addition, three books have been ordered for
possible paper topics: Alice Sebold, Lucky, Jennifer Gonnerman's Life on
the Outside, and Wendy Lesser's Pictures at an Execution. Purchase of these books
is optional.
For this
lecture, you would do well to start looking on our WebCT site (W) for both
the first paper assignment and some of the readings that will provide the
basis for that paper. Looking ahead to your first paper, you should also read
one or more of the following: Larry Landrum, "Instrumental Texts and Stereotyping
in Hill Street Blues" ; Elayne Rapping, "Television, Melodrama, and
the Rise of the Victims' Rights Movement," in (W); Chapters 2 and 3 of Wendy
Lesser, Pictures at an Execution (R); Mark Seltzer, "The Conventions
of True Crime" (W); or William Ian Miller, "Clint Eastwood and Equity" (W).
Mon. 10 Discussion of material Handed
out in Class on the 5th. Please also start reading the
assigned selections (pp. 61-101) from John Cawelti, The Six-Gun Mystique
(W) and (R)
Crime Busters: Westerns, Police Power and Private Operatives
Required Video Viewing: "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance," on Reserve. You may see it yourself, or come to the group viewing on Monday, Sept. 10 (in the Media Center: either in O'Neill 211 or 214) at 7 PM.
Wed. 12 Discussion of "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance"
If you'd like to read a section of a popular narrative about
Jesse James, click here
For a PBS Documentary Site on Jesse James, click here
Fri. 14 Discussion Edward Wheeler,
Deadwood Dick, Prince of the Road (1). In two parts on
our WebCT list (W). You can also find this book on reserve, in Bill
Brown, ed. Reading the West (R)
Mon. 17 Discussion of Deadwood Dick -2-
Wed. 19 Lecture: Where Do Police Come From?
Please look at the Foucault wiki and read it through for the first time,
at:
http://idesweb.bc.edu/wiki/crimestories
Fri. 21 Discussion: Steffens 1 in (W). You can also read this on Reserve, or in Steffens's Autobiography, pp. 169 (the chapter titled "I Become a Reporter") to 291 ("I Make a Crime Wave")
Mon. 24 Discussion: Steffens 2 (W)
Wed. 26 Lecture: Seeing Through Noir
Fri. 28 Discussion: Hammett, Red Harvest -1- Panel Presentation #1
OCTOBER
Mon. 1 Discussion:
Hammett -2-
Wed. 3 Discussion:
Hammett -3-
Fri. 5 Lecture:
Getting Procedural FIRST PAPER
DUE
Mon. 8 NO CLASS COLUMBUS DAY
Wed. 10 Ed McBain, The Con Man (W) - Panel Presentation #2
(Recommended video viewing: a classic gangster film, either "The
Public Enemy" or "Little Caesar")
Fri. 12 McBain (W) -2-
Mon. 15 McBain -3-
Fri. 19 Pileggi, -2-
Mon. 22 Pileggi -3-
Wed. 24 Lecture: Crime and the Underclass
Fri. 26 Discussion: John Gregory Dunne, "Law and Order in Los
Angeles,
Parts I and II"
(W) [Note that there are two versions on our WebCT site--read either
one.]
For an on-line exhibit of Chicano Murals like the one on
the left, click here
For Chicano Murals
at the "Brown Pride" site, click here
Wed. 31 Discussion: Rodriguez
2
NOVEMBER
Fri. 2 Discussion: Rodriguez
3
Mon. 5 Lecture: Critiquing
the Consensus
Wed. 7 James Q. Wilson, Thinking
About Crime (W) Panel Presentation
# 4
Mon. 19 Discussion:
Wideman 3
WIKI edits should be completed before
Thanksgiving.
THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY
Monday 26 Lecture:
Policing the Future: Terror and Risk
Wed. 28 Discussion; Philip K. Dick, "The
Minority Report," (W) and Elizabeth Stanko, "Victims R Us" (W)
Fri. 30 DeLillo, Mao II Panel Discussion #6
DECEMBER
Fri. 7 NO
CLASS PAPER CONFERENCES
Mon. 10 LAST CLASS DAY/ FINAL PAPER DUE
1. Class attendance is required. For this course, you are allowed three cuts (hereby defined as an "unexcused absence") without penalty. But excessive absence can lower your overall course grade--and, in some cases, be grounds for failing the course altogether. If there is a good reason why you have had to miss a class, please don't hesitate to tell me, and for illness, just bring me a signed medical slip and your absence won't be counted. After the first weeks, we'll be using an attendance sheet sign-in to save time.
2. Class participation will account for about 20% of your grade. Generally, I try to use your class participation as a measure of how well you have read and understood the assignments. But only in cases of excessive absence can your class participation grade "pull down" your final average. That is, if your participation reflects strong reading skills, consideration for others' viewpoints, and consistent contributions to the flow of discussion, your class "average" from your papers can easily be boosted at the close of the semester--indeed, well beyond the weight of this 20% guideline. Days on which you "kick off" class or guide discussion will not be graded on the spot, but added into your overall in-class performance.
3. When you submit a paper, it should be neatly typed or word- processed and double-spaced, preferably on both sides of the paper so that we can save a few trees. In addition, you are required to keep either an electronic, xerox or carbon copy. That way, if your paper is lost, you can simply re-submit your copy immediately. I'm sorry to say that I cannot accept email submissions.
4. Papers are due on the assigned dates. My rule is that I allow 24 hours leeway without penalty; after that, you will be penalized about 1/3 grade for every part of 24 hours the paper is late. The idea of this "leeway" period is that you should never miss a class in order to type a paper; come to class, and turn the paper in later. Any paper submitted 6 days after the original due date will automatically be assigned an "F."
5. Everyone should feel that office hours
are for "hashing out" class discussions, lectures, and the progress of the
course generally. If you feel confused, bored, unchallenged, or
otherwise distressed, please come see me. If my office hours don't fit
your schedule, just talk to me in class about setting up another time.
Small groups are welcome, and most welcome are discussions about the ideas
of the course. I'm also open to conversations on email,
but please don't use this or my voicemail as a substitute for a conference,
particularly about planning your papers. Given the sheer volume
of messages and the differences between your schedule and mine, I can't
also respond to messages that request an urgent "call back." And "But
I left a message on your voice mail" isn't an excuse for anything, in your
social life or mine (except for class absences you anticipate, which
I appreciate).
6. As the university regulations on Academic Integrity state, "Students at Boston College are expected to have high standards of integrity. Any student who cheats or plagiarizes on examinations or assignments is subject to dismissal from the College. Cases involving academic integrity shall be adjudicated according to the policies and procedures of the appropriate school or college." It should go without saying, simply as a matter of fairness to everyone who participates in this class, that I take such matters quite seriously. All students are required to read the university guidelines on integrity at the start of the course. To see those guidelines, click here.
7. This course emphasizes improving your
writing. To that end, I use a "correction guide" adapted from a handbook
by Diana Hacker--a sheet which I will also hand out (though see the link below).
If you're confusedby some of the symbols I use in the margins to correct
your papers, you can also consult Hacker (which can also be bought in the
Bookstore). It goes without saying I would also be happy to discuss your writing with you in conference.
Six Conventions It's Good to Know for College Papers [Download the PDF]
A Few Tips on Effective Quotation [Download the
PDF]
The
Simplified MLA Citation System You Should Use for Documenting Your Paper
[Download the PDF]
Alas, My own Pet Peeves: Ten Suggestions to Improve
Your Writing [Download the PDF]
If you have any comments on this page, please send them
to: wilsonc@bc.edu . Thank you.