English 200C (Reading Literary Forms): Podcasting Sherlock Holmes
- Matthew Poland (mjpoland at uw dot edu)
- MTuWTh 11:30-12:20
- Smith 407
- Office hours: M 12:30-1:30 (PDL B5E), Th 12:30-1:30 (Henry Gallery Cafe) or by appointment
“I hear of Sherlock everywhere…”
This course will focus on two popular forms of “new” media: the podcast in the 2010s, and the detective story in the 1890s. We will use one to explore the other by writing, researching, and recording podcast episodes that explore the universe of Sherlock Holmes, one of the world literature’s best-known characters.
In this class, we will read and discuss short stories, investigating the features of recorded language in order to understand the many possible ways it can be made effectively expressive. We will implement this knowledge by making a podcast, developing compositional skills that address particular audiences and situations but also can be generalized across situations and media. These podcast episodes will require the same level of rigorous analysis, planning, and composition more conventional essay assignments would. By learning how to craft this particular form, you will develop habits that help you communicate in different academic and professional settings.
The podcast and the detective story both try to make sense of their audiences’ feelings of living in a busy, confusing world. Podcasts are modular and mobile: we take them with us and tune in to short bursts of information or storytelling which fit in to our hectic lives. They use particular narrative and rhetorical tools to create an identity that persists across episodes, and the intimacy of human voices to engage their audiences. Similarly, detective stories originated in a complex, overpopulated media environment, and had to find ways to stand out. Victorians are now associated with stern moralizing (unfairly – somewhat). But in their moment, they were intensely self-conscious about being modern. The residents of Victorian London lived at the center of the first fully industrialized society and an expansive empire. They had a sense of the time they lived in as distinct from the past and oriented toward an exciting, sometimes frightening, future.
Who better to help us investigate these worlds than Sherlock Holmes? His cases reflect on and respond to the complexities of modern existence. His methods also translate across different time periods and contexts, and have been adapted into every subsequent media form. We will join in by discussing the stories, refining your reading and analytical skills. Our podcast will build on our discussions and generate new ideas for class. To help the process, you will write brief analyses of a podcast you subscribe to and respond to your classmates’ reflections.
Required Materials
Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Stories with Illustrations from the ‘Strand’ Magazine (Wordsworth Editions, ISBN 9781840220766, $24.99 new at UW Bookstore)
Note: Please purchase this exact edition (new or used) to make finding passages in class more efficient.It is available at the UW Bookstore and online. If this requirement constitutes a hardship, let me know and we’ll work something out.
Additional Materials
- All supplemental readings and materials will be posted on our Google Drive andcourse website
- Download the free audio recording/editing software Audacity
- Download a podcast listening app for your device
- Internet access, UW Net ID and password, UW email account that you check every day.