Murder and academe have had a long association in fiction. W.H. Auden felt that the “chaste precincts of a university provide almost as dramatic a foil for evil as the Garden of Eden”. Most of us who have spent our careers in academic institutions may be less convinced of the chasteness of the precincts but the combination of murder and academe provides a fascinating topic. We will look at the history of academic murder mysteries and consider the tensions and issues, the availability and accessibility of the victim(s), and the changing population over a relatively short time. The class will combine lecture and discussion, readings from a book of short stories, and two movies, one in class and one outside class. The required book is Lessons in Crime: Academic Mysteries edited by Martin Edwards and is available from Amazon for $9.99 on Kindle and $15.57 in paperback.
((Phyllis Kitzerow - Tuesday - In Person: CMU Campus))
