Bard High School Early College DC (Bard DC) – Detective Fiction

Apr 2026 · 2nd Semester

In this seminar-style class, we will explore and challenge humanity's existential need to solve mysteries. The detective genre has had a powerful impact on literature for centuries, from Sherlock Holmes continuing through today's television police procedurals. We will explore what makes this genre so compelling by studying its motifs and expectations, tracing the development of detective fiction through a twin lens: humanity's fascination with crime and our fascination with the personalities who solve those crimes. We'll begin with Golden Age detective stories from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express, then explore 20th century staples like Truman Capote's In Cold Blood and Dashiell Hammet's The Maltese Falcon, before examining the genre's move across the globe with the stories of Edogawa Ranpo and Cheng Xiaqing, before ending with absurdist post-modern tales with Thomas Pynchon's The Crying of Lot 49 and Haruki Murakami's A Wild Sheep's Chase. Students will write weekly reflection papers, give one major presentation, and write one major critical analysis essay.