The Harry Potter book series has always meant a lot to me and I wanted to take a university course that looked into the series more deeply, however no such class existed in my school. I spoke to one of my favorite professors about it and she told me that she was too intimidated to take on a series like that where her students probably knew more about the story than she did. I decided to write up some of my own ideas for how to best create a Harry Potter themed University course. The course could look at:
1. Prejudices based on race and ancestry (Pure blood vs. Half blood vs. mud blood vs. muggle) and the way in witch those prejudices create bigotry and false pride. 2. Illnesses that cannot be healed: Stereo type against blood-born illnesses; Lupin is a werewolf, he contracted his ailment through blood born pathogens as a child through no fault of his own, there is no cure. This is a direct commentary on AIDS and other blood pathogens. Can be expanded to other illness stigmas, especially those that have no cure. Bill Weasley’s scars that will never heal after his attack from Greyback, Harry’s scar and the way in which that scar has marked his entire life. Mental illness and the instability it causes: Ariana is tortured and no longer able to lead a ‘normal’ life, the obscurest in Fantastic Beasts movie and the roll it plays- killing the child with the illness rather than attempting to cure him and the real world examples of this- killing disabled individuals (or sterilizing them) rather than dealing with the underlying problem or trying to get them help/ re-integrated into society, Voldemort as a mentally ill character having no loving relationships and signs from childhood of instability. Also looking at, Lockheart’s misfiring memory charm that will never heal (his mental state in the 5th book), and Nevil’s parent’s mental state due to the torture they received. 3. Differences between publication in different countries and the reason for it; Philosopher’s vs Sorcer’s Stone in the American and UK publications of the book and many other changes due to cultural lexicon (however words like blimmy, oi, trainers, and snogging all remained in the American version of the book despite them not being part of ‘normal’ American vocabulary). This entire website that details the publication problems when it comes to translating the book into different languages (eg. French), and the way in which many of the linguistic jokes and illusions are lost in translation http://www.ox.ac.uk/news/arts-blog/challenge-translating-harry-potter-frenchhttp://www.ox.ac.uk/news/arts-blog/challenge-translating-harry-potter-french (ps. This book has been translated into nearly 70 different languages, making it one of the most translated books of all time).
The importance that Latin plays in the book and it’s story telling with many names for plants, animals, spells, places, and characters being derived from Latin (also many names were derived from French and German with specific meaning intended behind them). The fact that an "adult" version of the book exists with no difference except the cover artwork and the target audience. 4. Foreshadowing and symbolism in the books (eg. Yorkshire Terriers are known to chase Otters: Ron and Hermione’s respective Patronesses foreshadow a future romance). 5. The historical influences of this book. Names of actual people throughout history are referenced in the series, as well as the history behind the mythical creatures, alchemy, and many of the plants used. 6. The ‘hype’ surrounding the franchise and the implications of that (social/ financial). There have been nearly 400-500 million books sold (it is considered to be the fastest selling book of all time), the first book in the series selling over 1 million by its-self. How does this compare to some of the other most sold books of all time like the Bible, Quran, Count of Monte Cristo, A Christmas Carol (no concrete figures exist for the number of sales made by these books due due to record keeping and public domain re-releases of the texts), Don Quxote (having sold roughly 500 million copies), A Tale of Two Cities, and Lord of the Rings, among others. As well as the cultural phenomenon that surrounds the books (eg. Many Universities have Quiddich teams that compete against other college teams - The sport was created by Rowling and has a long ‘history’ detailed in companion books to the series ei. Quiddich Through the Ages.) 7. The books are still on many banned book lists, especially in the “Bible Belt” because it is considered a satanic text due to the elements of witchcraft. Explore that ban further, and those who have challenged it, what are the implications of banning books in the modern era?
Universities like JMU, Yale, Georgetown, OSU, and many others all offer classes focused on the Harry Potter Series.
According to this website (http://www.bestcollegesonline.com/blog/15-fascinating-college-courses-for-the-ultimate-potter-scholar/) Other Colleges have tackled teaching Harry Potter related classes like:
A class looking at modern storytelling and trying to identify what draws readers to stories about “inhuman evils”.
A course comparing Christian theology to the Harry Potter series.
A class exploring the science behind the book, ie. The physics of flying, and genetics of the mythical creatures.
A course that compares the books to other media depictions of the stories like Films and Plays.
A course on the way in which the books have impacted 21st century education as well as the education system in the book itself and the ways in which the book can be used to teach “big topics like bullying, school citizenship, intolerance and the commodification”. As well as a course teaching in elementary education that uses Harry Potter to teach other subjects like Math, Science, and History.
A philosophy course that looks at the characters and analyses them based on “courage, justice, morality, and temperance”.
A class that is designed to “study how fandom has influenced American culture” and “how they generate power online”."
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