Dr. DAVIES Ffion Mary Rose

Ffion is a PhD student at City University of Hong Kong researching deviant masculinities and the figure of the homme fatal in early twentieth-century American crime fiction. She was awarded the Hong Kong PhD Fellowship in 2020 and assists as part of the admin team for the International Crime Fiction Association managing social media, marketing and admin. She has a particular interest in the study of subversions of hegemonic masculinities through Crime and Horror narratives of the twentieth century. 

Title of thesis
Reconceptualising the homme fatal in Early Twentieth-Century American Crime Fiction

Short abstract of thesis
This project will trace the appearance and development of the homme fatal – or, the archetype of the dangerous man – in early twentieth-century American crime fiction. By investigating the ways in which this archetype acts as a signifier of deviant masculinities, we can trace the resulting phenomena whereby the homme fatal undergoes a process of queering in its codification of changing conceptions around masculinity and maleness. The research will be based on, and contribute to, three main research fields: crime fiction studies (particularly of the noir and hard-boiled subgenres, though the theories will apply to a broader view of the genre), Queer studies, and the study of masculinities. This project will fill a significant research gap, for the figure of the homme fatal has not received adequate scholarly attention despite its vital bearing on, and powerful reflection of, changing conceptions of masculinity within early twentieth-century American culture.