Diversity and Detective Fiction

This collection of essays is the first book to articulate the pedagogical strategies of using detective fiction tests to investigate the politics of difference. It explores the many ways in which diversity is positioned by contemporary writers exploring distinctive American subcultures. The distinguishing characteristic of this book is its mix of essays focusing on teaching cultural diversity in the classroom and illustrating it through fiction to the general reader. Among the issues addressed are definitions of diversity, what constitutes ethnicity or race, especially in terms of multiple adjectives; how race, gender and ethnicity are culturally constructed; and what part identity politics play. Pedagogical issues are considered both explicitly and by implication.