Harriet J. Bauman
By now I hope the students are as excited about mysteries and detective fiction as I am. As they peruse and purchase Agatha Christies or Ed McBains written in French, I would encourage them to analyze why these authors have had their works translated into French, and why this genre of fiction is so popular both in France and the United States.
For those students who are interested, I will arrange an opportunity for research on the following questions: Do other French-speaking peoples read detective stories? For what reasons? Do they read the same authors? What role does their culture play in their literature? All this could be a point of departure for cultural and human or global understanding.