Detective Fiction: From Victorian Sleuths to the Present

During my holiday absence, I slowed my typical consumption of academic materials. Even though the postings in my little blog are not, by their very nature, a job (despite the laborious effort), I needed a short break! To paraphrase the old adage, however, the brain wants what the brain wants. I found myself slipping away from my preoccupation with remaining unoccupied: Listening to lectures on my mp3 player while others at family gatherings sat around espousing the worst kind of tripe about the American government, the United Nations, the Pope, etc.

I tried to pick a lecture series that seemed to be more entertaining fare than my typical consumption. Thus, with very little forethought, I began The Modern Scholar course Detective Fiction: From Victorian Sleuths to the Present.  Like Scholar lecture series I have completed before, Detective Fiction is divided into 14 lectures each with a length of approximately 30 minutes. The lecture series contains the following lectures: Lecture 1 Mysterious Origins, Lecture 2 Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes, and the Victorian Era, Lecture 3 The Queen of Crime: Agatha Christie and the Golden Age, Lecture 4 Gifted Amateurs: Academics to Zoologists, Lecture 5 Private Investigators and Hard-boiled Heroes, Lecture 6 Cops, Capers, and Police Procedurals, Lecture 7 Spies Among Us: Espionage and Techno-thrillers, Lecture 8 In the Teeth of the Evidence: Lawyers and Legal Eagles, Lecture 9 Medicine for Murder: The Medical Mystery, Lecture 10 Probing the Past: Historical Detective Fiction, Lecture 11 Women of Mystery: Beyond Female Intuition, Lecture 12 International Intrigue: Detective Fiction Goes Global, Lecture 13 Investigating Identity: Ethnic Sleuths, and Lecture 14 Regional Sleuths and Future Trends in Detective Fiction.

The presenter for the course was M. Lee Alexander, Ph D., a visiting assistant professor of English at the College of William and Mary. Her CV indicated that she teaches detective fiction, creative writing, and “Tolkien and His Circle,” a course about the group of authors called “the Inklings.” Professor Alexander also teaches English as a second language (ESL) courses for graduate students. She has authored many scholarly articles and poems, and a chapbook of poetry called Observatory (2007). Dr. Alexander has presented scholarly papers concerning detective fiction, emphasizing the links between modern popular culture and the classic tradition at international conferences, including “Mr. Monk Meets Sherlock Holmes: Disability and the Consulting Detective” at Arthur Conan Doyle and Sherlock Holmes: Their Cultural Afterlives Conference at the University of Hull, England (2009), and “To Make a House a Holmes: Sherlockian Subtext of House, MD” at Sherlock Holmes: The Man and His Worlds Conference, Bennington College, Vermont (2010).

Detective fiction, as we know it, has its beginnings in American literature. Some of the first instances are Edgar Allan Poe’s “Murders in the Rue Morgue,” “Mystery of Marie Rogêt,” and “The Purloined Letter” in Collected Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe. However, William Godwin, an English journalist, political philosopher, and writer, is considered by many to have written the first detective novel, Caleb Williams in 1794. It describes the story of a wealthy squire named Ferdinando Falkland. Falkland tries to ruin the life of his secretary Caleb Williams after he discovers a secret about his employer’s past.

The big name in detective fiction, is, of course, Sherlock Holmes—the iconic character created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The Holmes stories were written in the Victorian era. Holmes defining characteristic as a detective was observation and deduction. The character was always the smartest man in the room. Other interesting facets of Holmes’ character were his eccentricities. Modern psychology might consider him to have Asperger's syndrome with a healthy dose of narcissism bordering on personality disorder. While these characteristics might have been debilitating in “real life” they often serve as catalysts for Holmes’ amazing abilities. Holmes often self-medicates, particularly with opium.

The rest of the course looks at how diverse detective fiction has grown since the time of Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes. There are numerous subgenres of detective fiction—some for animal lovers, some for would-be lawyers, international sleuths—you name it, there is probably a book out there incorporating whatever interest, hobby, or disability possible into the work of professional, private, and amateur detectives. The field shows no sign of slowing its expansion.

As a side note, I was surprised to find that many detective fiction authors have created works that are considered genuine literature. I found it surprising because it is more often thought of as “pulp” or cheap fiction. Overall, I found this to be a fun and inspiring course. I am even considering writing a detective fiction novel myself. I think it would be quite interesting work, as I loved being a professional investigator when I worked for a governmental agency. I think most avid readers would find this series of lectures to be interesting and enriching.

Oh, and happy learning!!!

The NPR Guide to Building a Classical CD Collection by Ted Libbey

I recently read Ted Libbey's book published around 2001 The NPR Guide to Building a Classical CD Collection. It is chock-full of information on select composers and artists. For anyone with an interest in concert music it is probably a great place to start. I found the ending section with lists for starting collections to be the most useful. To that end, this posting will cover a few of my favorite lists along with three or four of my favorite pieces of all time. 

My favorite classical pieces:

1)      Pachelbel’s Canon in D Major

2)      Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik

3)      Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings

4)      Wagner’s Ring Cycle

 As a former "band geek" these pieces had lasting impact on me as well as several of Beethoven's symphonies, some of which are covered in the following lists.

From The NPR Guide to Building a Classical CD Collection by Ted Libbey

“Top Ten CD Starter Set”

1)      Bach: B Minor Mass – Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists/John Eliot Gardiner

2)      Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 5 and 7 – Vienna Philharmonic/Carlos Kleiber

3)      Bizet: Carmen – Baltsa, Carreras, Van Dam, Ricciarelli; Choris of the Paris Opera

4)      Chopin: Ballades and Scherzos – Artur Rubinstein

5)      Debussy: La Mer; Saint-Saens: Organ Symphony – Boston Symphony Orchestra/Charles Munch

6)      Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue, An American in Paris; Grofe: Grand Canyon Suite

7)      Haydn: Symphonies Nos. 95, 96, 98, 102, 103, and 104 – Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra/Sir Colin Davis

8)      Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 24 and 25 – Ivan Moravec, piano; Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields/Sir Neville Marriner

9)      Schubert: Trout Quintet; Mozart: Clarinet Quintet – Rudolf Serkin, paino; Harold Wright, clarinet; with string players from the Marlboro Festival

10)  Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1; Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 2 – Van Cliburn, piano; RCA Symphony Orchestra/Kirill Kondrashin; Chicago Symphony Orchestra/Fritz Reiner

“The Next Ten”

11)  Bach: Brandenburg Concertos – Tafelmusik/Jeanne Lamon

12)  Bartok: Concerto for Orchestra; Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta [with Hungarian Sketches] – Chicago Symphony Orchestra/Fritz Reiner

13)  Beethoven: Piano Sonatas in C, Op. 53 (Waldstein), in F Minor, Op. 57 (Appassionata), and in E Flat, Op. 81A (Les Adieux) – Emil Gilels

14)  Dvorak: Cello Concerto [with Tchaikovsky: Rococo Variations] – Mstislav Rostropovich; Berlin Philharmonic/Herbert von Karajan

15)  Handel: Messiah – Marshall, Robbin, Rolfe-Johnson, Hale, Brett, Quirke; English Baroque Soloists & Monteverdi Chorus/John Eliot Gardiner

16)  Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E Minor; Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto – Kyung Wha Chung; Montreal Symphony Orchestra/Charles Dutoit

17)  Mozart: Clarinet Concerto [with Oboe Concerto] – Antony Pay; Academy of Ancient Music/Christopher Hogwood

18)  Schubert: Symphonies Nos. 8 and 9 – Scottish Chamber Orchestra/Sir Charles Mackerras

19)  Tchaikovsky: Nutcracker Suite [with Suites from Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty] – Berlin Philharmonic/Mstislav Rostropovich

20)  Verdi: Otello – Domingo, Milnes, Scotto; National Philharmonic Orchestra/James Levine

From section: Music for Special Occasions

“Candlelight Dinners”

1)      Beethoven: Romances for Violin and Orchestra, Opp. 40 and 50

2)      Brahms: Clarinet Sonatas, Op. 120

3)      Chopin: Nocturnes

4)      Debussy: Suite Bergamasque

5)      Grieg: Lyric Pieces

6)      Mozart: Clarinet Quintet

7)      Josef Suk: Serenade for Strings, Op. 4

8)      Guitar Recital – Jason Vieaux

“Funerals”

1)      Bach: Violin Concertos in A Minor and E, Concerto for Two Violins in D Minor – Slow Movements

2)      Brahms: Vier Ernste Gesange, Op. 121

3)      Faure: Requiem—Pie Jesu OR In Paradisum

4)      Mahler: Symphony No. 5 Adagietto

5)      Mozart: Cosi Fan Tutte, “Soave Sia Il Vento”

6)      Rachmaninoff: All-Night Vigil (Vespers)—“Svete Tikhi” (“Joyful Light”) OR “Ninye Otpushchayesi” (“Now Let Thy Servant Depart”)

7)      Vaughan Williams: The Lark Ascending

Concert music, or "classical music" can be quite enriching and tell more of the human story with music than many authors can with volumes of words. Don't believe me? Give it a chance! And as always, happy learning!

A History of Ancient Israel: From the Patriarchs to the Romans

I recently completed George Washington University Professor Eric H. Cline’s course, A History ofAncient Israel, part of The Modern Scholar Series. Professor Cline is the chair of the Department of Classical and Semitic Languages and Literature at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Professor Cline holds a joint appointment serving both as an

associate professor in the Classics/Semitics Department in addition to the Anthropology Department. As a prolific researcher, Dr. Cline has authored or edited seven books and more than seventy articles and book reviews. I found his presentation style to be adequate. His voice is not unpleasant and he speaks smoothly with focus and clarity.

Israel has been and continues to be one of the most important nations of people in history. Any conflict in the volatile region of the Middle East is typically interpreted in the United States in terms of the effects on the security of Israel. This may be due to the significance of Israel to three of the most prominent monotheistic religions around the globe: Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. As Professor Cline indicated in the introduction to the course, “Israel is steeped in history and conflict, much of which is known through the tales of biblical figures such as Moses, David, Solomon, and, of course, Jesus Christ.”

I admit some trepidation when I began the course. How, I wondered, can such a complex history and geopolitical situation be encapsulated in a 14-lecture course? One of the ways in which Professor Cline accomplished this is through a streamlined organization that didn’t spend a lot of time fixating on favorite topics but instead ushered the learner onto the next important topic and how it relates to the larger picture for which the course constantly strives.

The basic organization of the material is chronological. The professor began with the quasi-mythological beginnings of the Hebrew people: Abraham and the patriarchs—the familiar “Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph” lineage from scripture. He asserted that, while the Hebrew scripture sometimes seems to be a history, it is inappropriate to understand it in this way, but rather, a mythological origin story with possible roots in real historical events.

After spending some time discussing the importance and the difficulty of Abraham as a literary and/or historical figure and following his lineage for a few generations, Professor Cline discussed the controversial topic of the Exodus. The Exodus, described in Scripture by the book of the same name, indicates that the people of Israel were held in some form of slavery by the Egyptians—having initially been well-treated due to the prominence of Joseph among Egyptians. However, a new pharaoh took over rule of the Egyptian empire and did not hold the Israelites in the same regard. At this point the controversial figure of Moses emerges in scripture. The legend is that Moses was given up by his mother, a Hebrew woman, and floated down the Nile in a basket where he was taken in by a princess of Egypt.

Moses had some stature among Egyptians—many contemporary believers hold that he was considered a “Prince of Egypt.” However, this is unlikely as there is no historical record of Moses and the Egyptians of this period were very good record keepers. The familiar tale is that Moses sided with the Hebrews against their Egyptian oppressors, performing miracles, delivering warnings and plagues to pharaoh who eventually let the Hebrews leave. Their destination was a land called Canaan, a land already inhabited and that must therefore be taken by force. Professor Cline discussed the possible circuitous route taken by the Hebrews as well as the probable exaggeration of their numbers. The legend holds that the Hebrews wandered in the desert for 40 years and Moses died before ever seeing Canaan, the Promised Land.

Even among the Hebrews there was some degree of strife. For example, Jacob, who was renamed Israel in scripture, was born twelve sons. Each of these sons was the progenitor of a “tribe of Israel.” Thus, there were 12 tribes of Israel, each named after one of the sons. This would later become important as some tribes consolidated or were lost to the mythology. By the time of the first monarch, Saul, the tribes had split into 2 kingdoms: Judah and Israel. 

Thus, the Hebrews did eventually reach and conquer Canaan where they set up a civilization that eventually became a monarchy. The most prominent of their monarchs was David who created a strong unified kingdom of both Judah and Israel. He was introduced with the familiar story of “David versus Goliath” in which he killed a taunting Philistine warrior who stood around 9 feet tall when he was just a teenager. David was anointed future king of Israel by the prophets, which did not make the sitting king, Saul, very happy. Saul sought to kill David but to no avail and David did become king. David was considered a great king but there were obvious failings of character, temptations, and overall he was demonstrated in scripture to be a flawed but sincere leader. Professor Cline indicated that there have been some indications in archaeological findings that David was a real person.

David’s son Solomon was considered a wise man in scripture. His great accomplishment was the building of a great temple where the Hebrews could worship God. This was built where the modern day holy site of Islam called “The Dome of the Rock” currently stands in Israel. Solomon was also shown to be a man that was prone to human frailty—following after the false gods of many of his numerous wives and concubines. However, Solomon did also keep a strong unified kingdom among the Israelites and increasing the wealth of the kingdom.

Professor Cline also devoted an entire lecture to the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark has fascinated believer and non-believer, adventurer and scientist for centuries. Does it still exist? Did it ever really exist? What was it? What was the source of its power? None of these questions have answers—only hypotheses. However, it is reasonable to assume that the quest for knowledge about the Ark will continue for the foreseeable future.

After Solomon’s death, his kingdom split into Israel in the north above Jerusalem and Judah in the south, including Jerusalem. They existed like this for approximately 200 years but both kingdoms felt continued threats from the rise of powerful empires such as the neo-Assyrians. Around the 7^th Century BCE, the kingdom of Israel fell to the Neo-Assyrians and Jerusalem was attacked but Judah stood and prospered for a while longer. It was the Neo-Babylonians and Nebuchadnezzar to whom Judah would eventually fall. This led to what is commonly referred to as the Babylonian exile. Later the Persians and Greeks would threaten the area, until finally the Romans extended their empire to encompass the area.

This is necessarily a brief survey of a survey course. However, I think any student who has a Judeo-Christian background would find the material very interesting. There is a focus on historicity but not to the exclusion of the importance of religion and myth—just the way I like a study of a culture to be undertaken. How else could we hope to learn anything about a people without knowing what was important to them? What did they live for? What did they die for? These are rather dramatic notions but I think that Professor Cline answers them quite cleverly. I felt as though the course provided twice as much material as any other series of 14 comparable lectures—but not in such a way that my brain felt overloaded!

Of course, I love to learn, so I am easily pleased. Give me a lecture on a distant people from a distant land. Give me enough detail and they start to come to life in my mind. This is the joy of learning. This is why I love lectures, books, TED talks, documentaries. Hopefully, you do as well. If you get a chance, check this course out. And, as always, happy learning!!!

Evolutionary Psychology II

I just completed the follow up lecture series Evolutionary Psychology II by The Modern Scholar © series. This course, like the first volume, was presented by Professor Allen D. MacNeill of Cornell University. His academic background and qualifications can be found in my previous entry. Like the first volume in the series, this course consists of fourteen one-half hour lectures.

This second volume of lectures is more focused than the first. There are basically three separate topics presented over the seven hours: politics and warfare, religion, and individuality. Each of these areas is discussed from the evolutionary psychology perspective with a particular focus on the nature of adaptation.

Professor MacNeill first discusses the character of human societies. Human societies are a lot like most animal societies. They are made up of several different social groups each interacting with the other “in complex and fascinating ways.” At times, individuals engage in competition with members of their own group; however, they usually cooperate with fellow group members to further their own interests and the interests of the group. The evolution of social behavior in human beings “depends on the evolution of the capacity for cooperation, which can evolve as the result of kin selection, reciprocal altruism, and group selection.”

Kin selection refers to an individual’s tendency to cooperate with those who are closely related so that their genes will increase in frequency in the population over time. According to evolutionary theory, those who sacrifice part or all of their individual fitness for the sake of their offspring do so because in the past this behavior has led to more of their genes being expressed in future generations as compared to those who act purely selfishly.

Using an example from the animal kingdom, Professor MacNeill explained that animals that cooperate with individuals and groups who are not genetically related in a symbiotic relationship. For example, he asserts, “there are acacia trees in Africa called “whistling thorns” that are inhabited by ant species that protect the trees from insects and other herbivores that might eat or otherwise damage the trees. In return for such protection, the acacia trees produce bulbous thorns where the ants lay their eggs and raise their young. The trees even provide food for the ants in the form of nectar secreted at the bases of their leaves.” This type of mutual symbiosis describes what evolutionary biologist Robert Trivers termed reciprocal altruism.

Five of the next lectures focus on religion as part of the human experience. The professor first reviewed the neurobiology of religious experience. He explained that humans have evolved to have transcendent experiences. Religion also plays an important role in promoting pro-social behaviors. One of the most interesting arguments he made, from several different approaches, was that the same impulses that drive religious experience drive the tendency for humans to engage in warfare. In fact, according to Professor MacNeill, religiosity is essential to war—and the two are often intertwined closely throughout most of history’s armed conflicts. 

Professor MacNeill presented one of the most compelling statements in any lecture series that I have had the pleasure to hear. It concerns the nature of scientific inquiry and those who would turn their back on science and reason as tools for understanding the world. He said:

The fact that a non-scientist, or a person who chooses not to use scientific reasoning, cannot imagine a naturalistic explanation for a phenomenon is neither a logical nor compelling argument against that explanation. On the contrary, it is an admission of ignorance, willful or otherwise. Now, ignorance by itself is no sin, it simply means that one has not yet had the opportunity to learn something. But ignorance in the face of the opportunity to learn is not ignorance at all: it is stupidity. Science is a socially organized determined effort to minimize ignorance in all its forms. It is the opposite of stupidity.

Many people would balk at the ideas presented in these lecture series, and indeed, some inferences do seem to require a “stretch” to be believed. However, I contend that this field of study provides valuable insights into the way in which natural selection and evolutionary forces have shaped and continue to shape human culture and individual behavior. I must admit that I find some strains of argument too deterministic for my taste. I have no problem with human consciousness as an emergent phenomenon from various disparate neurological functions, but I think it is too complex and our understanding too scarce to apply reductionism to the point that many natural and social scientists often have. Whatever the reality, I believe that further study in cognitive science and evolutionary psychology will continue to enhance our understanding of how we think, act, and are influenced by the environment.

Evolutionary Psychology I

I recently completed The Modern Scholar © series Evolutionary Psychology I by Professor Allen D. MacNeill of Cornell University. MacNeill completed a B.S. in biology and an Master’s degree in science education at Cornell University in 1977. He currently teaches the support course for introductory biology at Cornell University where he has lectured since 1976 and is currently a senior lecturer in the Learning Strategies Center. Professor MacNeill also teaches evolution for the Cornell Summer Session and the introductory evolution course for non-science majors. He is also involved in drama as an off-Broadway actor.

Evolutionary Psychology I is very strong right out of the gate. The first five lectures are a revelation. The material in these lectures is a unique blend of biology and psychology with a strong history of science component weaved throughout the lectures. Unfortunately, the “wow” factor (excuse the terminology, I accidentally spent a few minutes on TMZ.com earlier this evening) tends to wane in the later lectures.

Like all Modern Scholar series, Evolutionary Psychology I is a 14 lecture series, with each lecture lasting approximately 30 minutes. The recording and production quality is excellent. Professor MacNeill is one of the best “public” speakers I’ve heard in recorded lectures—perhaps this ability is enhanced by his background in the dramatic arts. The pacing of the course is well done and material very well organized. It is the level of detail presented in this introductory course in the last half of the lecture series that seems to make the course “bog down” under its own weight.

Most of the lectures cover the evolution of the brain among various animals leading up to human beings and the corresponding capacity for complex behaviors that, according to evolutionary psychologists can tell us a lot about human nature. One of the more interesting facts is that these scientists use study of animals as well as humans to understand and try to explain human behavior under a variety of circumstances.

MacNeill explains that the field of evolutionary psychology, “the scientific study of how human nature has evolved” is a relatively new discipline. The early material sketches a brief historical study of the characteristics of both traditional human psychology and the more specialized and newer field of evolutionary psychology. The instructor also introduces and elaborates on the basic analytical methods and theoretical frameworks evolutionary psychologists use in their research.

From this beginning, Professor MacNeill follows the continued historical development of the field, from its nascent emergence to contemporary applications in fields such as genetic engineering and neuroscience. Evolutionary psychology has its roots in particular fields such as cognitive psychology and evolutionary biology and attempts to combine the methods and theories from these fields to understand human behavior and its purposes. As a brief aside, there is an interesting discussion of the early American preference for behavioral psychology over the cognitive model which positioned American study behind Europe. Evolutionary psychologists assert, as their name suggests, that the human brain is an organ similar to any other but with the unique emergent property we call “the mind.” The brain, they believe, evolved in relation to the environmental challenges human beings have faced throughout their history as a species.

Thus, the bulk of Evolutionary Psychology I examines the history of the field, its primary theories, and the unique research methods used in the field. These perspectives are applied to human behavior at the level of the individual, the family, and other groups. Professor MacNeill then explains how evolutionary psychology applies to the essentials of human life: food, shelter, clothing, and safety (or health). He discusses the ways in which groups of social animals, such as primates, are organized. Importantly, MacNeill examines the role of natural selection in social organization.

The latter part of the lecture series concerns the theoretical foundation for the evolution of cooperation among humans as well as their complex sexual behaviors. A considerable amount of time is spent evaluating the concepts of monogamy and polygamy. (A small warning here, as the professor pronounces these words “mono-gammy” and “polly-gammy” which sounds very unnatural to me). MacNeill also reconfigures the definition of monogamy and polygamy. According to him, any person who has sexual relations (or “mates”) with more than one partner at any time during the course of his or her life—whether by divorce, death of significant other, or any other reason, they are polygamous. Thus, according to this revised definition, Professor MacNeill declares that humans are largely polygamous. I must admit, I had a bit of a problem with the way in which he reached this conclusion. Finally, the course considers the implications of evolutionary psychology and its theories for child rearing and mate selection.

Overall, I think that the course material is interesting and exotic enough to recommend it for at least a cursory review. I studied psychology in quite a few courses for my initial undergraduate degree but most of this material was new to me. Likewise, my career in counseling and social service work exposed me to even more developments and subfields of psychology but I must admit that much of the material discussed in this course was foreign to me—one of the reasons that I found at least the first half of the course refreshing and fascinating. There is another 14-lecture course by The Modern Scholar Company appropriately titled Evolutionary Psychology II. I will more than likely listen to, read, and review its materials at some later date as well.

Until the next time, happy learning! By the way, if you have completed an interesting course, lecture series, TED talk, seminar, training, book, or any other learning experience and would like to share it, please e-mail me or leave a comment in the comments section. Criticisms and responses are always welcome to this and other postings as well.

S.I.P.