This course examines a range of Australian literary, theatrical and cinematic crime narratives from the 19^th century to the present. It explores Australian literary, stage and screen history through the ideas of crime and the criminal, introducing students to key 19^th and 20^th century Australian texts and investigating the relationships between literature, ethics, law and society. It also introduces students to a range of critical approaches to reading generic or ‘popular' fiction and film. Writers considered may include Marcus Clarke, Mary Fortune, Fergus Hume, Peter Temple, Doris Pilkington and Andrew McGahan.

Course Syllabus

The course will examine a selection of literary, theatrical and cinematic texts in the context of theories about crime, genre fiction and the popular. Topics to be addressed include:

*Australian "true crime" as a genre

*theories of genre and/or popular fiction

*reading "stolen generation" narratives as crime literature

*criminals on the 19th century stage

*crime on film and television

*women and crime

*crime and the Australian city

Students will understand crime narrative as a genre or continuous theme in Australian literary and crime history. This will enable a re-thinking of important strands of Australian cultural history and a new way of analysing the conditions that shape Australian literary and cultural productions.

Essay of 1,500 word essay (35%)

Essay of 2,500 word essay (55%)

Tutorial participation (10%)

Course delivered through a combination of small and large group teaching. Lectures and course syllabus will ba available online.

Any two English courses or Intro to Film Studies FILM1001A/B or FILM1002 and FILM1003 or with permission of the convenor.