Murder Books

Students’ murder books summarize their experience of Law & Order UK: British Murder Mysteries & Crime Dramas

Each week in Gender, Race, & Class in British Murder Mysteries & Crime Dramas, we discuss different social justice topics–gendered geographies, feminist detective fiction, complicated women, intersections of race and gender, sexuality, the justice system in the UK, war, disability, social class, and crime & punishment. We watch British crime dramas like Line of Duty, Hidden, A Very English Murder, and Happy Valley. We read mystery novels, including Sarah Waters’ The Paying Guests and Belinda Bauer’s Rubbernecker. Then we visit sites in London related to the week’s topics, from Whitechapel to Old Bailey to Mayfair and the Tower of London. Students’ murder books capture the themes of the semester and show how a social justice lens on British murder makes for entertaining, insightful, and profound learning.

Jane talks about the life of Elizabeth Stride whose body was found near the school in the background.
Sarah discusses Catherine (Kate) Eddowes near the Mitre Square site where her body was discovered.
Mariella at afternoon tea at Fenwick’s in Mayfair
Chels talks about Mary Jane Kelly, one of The Five, in Whitechapel in front of a former workhouse where some of Jack’s victims may have stayed.
Bobby at Stonehenge

Why not join us Fall 2023?

Gender, Race, and Social Justice in London