Understanding the Appeal of Mystery

Program Description

Time, Twists, and Fair Play: Understanding the Appeal of Mystery Recent years have seen a resurgence of the mystery as a popular genre, from numerous iterations of Sherlock Holmes appearing in film and television, to recent Agatha Christie films and Christie-inspired whodunits in See How They Run and the Knives Out films. But why do we have such a fascination with mystery? Dr. Christina Fawcett will discuss three themes that underpin mystery narratives and appeal to us as readers and viewers. Discussing the interplay of time and the array, the race we have with our detective counterpart and the joy of the twist, we will explore why mysteries are so timeless and appealing. Schedule: Wednesday, April 19 from 10:00 am to 11:00 am This class will be held online. A Zoom link will be emailed to you after you register and again 24 hours before the class begins. Presenter Dr. Christina Fawcett is a monster theorist with a Ph.D. from the University of Glasgow. A specialist in speculative and genre fiction, she studies participatory media and film and the themes of trauma, justice and monstrosity. Growing up with Agatha Christie's Poirot mysteries gave Dr. Fawcett a lifelong love of the murder mystery. She has taught mystery in both short fiction courses, and in adaptation between novels and film at the University of Winnipeg.