calendar
Be sure to complete the assigned readings (to the end of the indicated chapter or section) before coming to class on the date indicated.
Some weeks feature longer and more complex reading assignments than others.
I reserve the right to change this schedule with reasonable notice. 
 

Week 1		Introduction. Precursors of modern detective and mystery fiction. History of police and detective forces and of the penal system. The plot of detective fiction: an anthropological model.
Week 2		Read about Edgar Allan Poe.  Learn more about scientific method. Download a list of unfamiliar/foreign words and phrases from the Poe stories (pdf format) Poe, "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" Discussion of the locked-room mystery.  Poe, "The Purloined Letter" (pp. 330-350).
Week 3		Poe, "The Gold-Bug" (pp. 283-219).
Week 4		Read about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.  Doyle, "A Scandal in Bohemia" (pp. 9-32).  Doyle, "The Speckled Band" (pp. 165-190).
Week 5		Doyle, and "The Copper Beeches" (pp. 260-285) and "A Case of Identity" (pp. 33-50).  Doyle, "The Red-Headed League" (pp. 51-74).
Week 6		Doyle, "The Man with the Twisted Lip" (pp. 120-143).  FIRST MIDTERM, covering material from Weeks 1-6.
		S P R I N G    B R E A K
Week 7		Review midterm.  Christie, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, chapters 1-10 (pp. 1-124).  Christie, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, chapters 11-27 (pp. 125-277).
Week 8		Christie, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, chapters 28-end. Chandler, Farewell, My Lovely, chapters 1-16 (pp. 3-112).
Week 9		Chandler, Farewell, My Lovely, chapters 17-31 (pp. 112-218).  Chandler, Farewell, My Lovely, chapters 32-40 (pp. 218-292).
Week 10		SECOND MIDTERM, covering Weeks 6-9. E A S T E R     B R E A K
Week 11		Review midterm. Du Maurier, Rebecca, chapters 1-11 (pp. 1-134).  Du Maurier, Rebecca, chapters 12-19 (pp. 135-266).
Week 12		Du Maurier, Rebecca, chapters 20-27 (pp. 267-380).
Week 13		Harris, The Silence of the Lambs, chapters 1-19 (pp. 1-134).  Harris, The Silence of the Lambs, chapters 20-39 (pp. 135-258).
Week 14		Harris, The Silence of the Lambs, chapters 40-61 (pp. 259-367).  Conclusions; course evaluations.
Week 15		Date and time of cumulative final exam to be announced by the Registrar's office.