ENGL 358 | True Crime in the U.S.

This course examines the origins, rise, and prevalence of true crime narratives. Emerging from execution sermons, sensational journalism, and hard-boiled detective fiction, true crime is legitimated by Truman Capote's 1966 In Cold Blood, which sets in motion a wave of serious and even literary works dealing with criminality and violence. Recent decades have seen the rapid expansion of the genre via multiple media including weekly television "newsmagazines," documentary films and series, and, of course, podcasts. The course will consider the formal aspects of true crime narratives across multiple media and delve into its social and political implications, including its intersections with and impacts on cultural understandings of crime and criminality, race, gender, policing, and the justice and carceral systems. Please note that some of the material in the course includes images or descriptions of violence that may be upsetting.