A Nicer Kind of Murder: The Evolution of Crime Fiction

Murder isn't what it used to be. Explore the shifting role of the victim in detective novels and how that shift reflects broader social changes.

From Poe and Sherlock Homes to British cozies and Hardboiled pulps, author Matthew Sullivan traces the many influences on the postwar and modern eras of the mystery genre and shows how empathy plays a unique role in contemporary crime novels—especially in today’s literary mysteries.

What does the way crime victims are portrayed say about a society’s culture? Join Sullivan to reflect on the special relationship between reading literature and experiencing empathy—on the page and in our daily lives.

A Humanities WA presentation.