About this Event
Crime fiction lends itself to questions of legitimacy and justice by exploring the ‘mean streets’ of a world that is unjust, unequal and frequently absurd. In crime fiction, individuals are rarely the rational moral agents assumed by philosophical theories of justice. They are, rather, negotiating their way through hierarchical, brutal societies. Whether these societies are social democracies or dictatorships, they demand that individuals compromise, or even become complicit, with oppressive, murderous systems. Often crime has the greater claim to moral good or cynically exposes the fragility of moral claims. In this round-table discussion we consider the value of crime fiction for exploring the complex interaction of personal and institutional motivation and of individual moral codes and social norms, all with their competing claims for legitimacy. We also think about the role of fiction and what claims to legitimacy it makes.
Speakers
- Professor Sue Vice is Emeritus Professor of English literature at The University of Sheffield. She is currently working on representations of the Holocaust in popular and crime fiction.
- Professor Mary C. Rawlinson is Professor Emerita of Philosophy, Stony Brook University in New York. She is currently completing a philosophical analysis of crime fiction, arguing that crime fiction offers a more adequate concept of justice than does philosophy. Her book, Not a Fragrant World, will be published by Bloomsbury next year.
- Professor Jakob Stougaard-Nielsen is Professor of Scandinavian and Comparative Literature at UCL. He has long worked on Nordic Noir - crime fiction novels and television series.
- Professor Stephanie Bird is Professor of German Studies and Comparative Literature. She works on the representation of Nazi perpetration and has recently published on the figure of the Nazi detective.
Event venue & nearby stays
University College London, Common Ground, Room G11, Ground Floor, South Wing, Gower Street, London, United Kingdom
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