Hello! I am an English professor at Emory University, and I have taught a popular course on Harry Potter since 2007. It is not infrequent that I get, in response to that information, the raised eye-brow coupled with the exclamation, “there’s a course on Harry Potter in college?”, often in a tone either of surprised envy or of barely disguised disdain. I could write a passionate defense of that choice, of the significance of these texts to understanding human nature and our contemporary culture, and of the complexity of the texts that requires skillful critical reading; however, instead, I will let my students weigh in on the matter. The posts on this blog will be reflections by students, whether positive or negative, on the value of studying the Harry Potter phenomenon, on what they’ve learned in the course, and on the ways (if any) their perspectives of Harry Potter, and of literary study in general, have changed through the course of the semester.
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