In all honesty, I took this class ("Crime Fictions") largely because a friend who had taken one of his previous classes told me that he invited the class over to his house for dinner at the end of the semester. I had never read much in the way of crime fiction before, and never had much interest in doing so. But I had also never had the (apparently critical) experience of eating dinner at a professor's house, so I signed up.

Having said that, Holsinger is the GREATEST--I mean he's seriously brilliant. Classes were discussion-based and mostly student-led, so while he didn't lecture much, he did do a great job of providing historical context and focusing discussion. I didn't get a chance to take him for 3810, so I'm so happy I finally got the opportunity to take one of his classes.

The reading list was interesting, and completely unlike any other English class I've had at UVA. We read a few "old timey classics" (Macbeth, a few of the Canterbury Tales) through a crime fictions lens. The rest were modern historical crime fictions set in the Middle Ages/Renaissance. We had some really interesting discussions about the value of historical and/or crime stories, the distinction (if one exists) between "literary" and "genre" fiction, etc. etc.

Work load: a stack of novels, a short essay (5 pages), a midterm (take home, open book/notes), and a final paper (analytic and creative options). Not too heavy, and the books were mostly fast-paced reads.

It wasn't a class that I ever would have envisioned myself taking, but I'm so glad I did. I highly recommend ANY class with Holsinger, if you have the chance.