| Description |
xxv, 217 pages ; 24 cm |
| Series |
Contributions to the study of popular culture ; no. 78 |
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Contributions to the study of popular culture, 0198-9871 ; no. 78 |
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Contributions to the study of popular culture ; no. 78
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Contributions to the study of popular culture. 0198-9871 ; no. 78
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| Contents |
Machine derived contents note: I. READING HARRY POTTER THROUGH THEORIES OF CHILD DEVELOPMENT -- -- 1. Archetypes and the Unconscious in Harry Potter and -- Diana Wynne Jones's Fire and Hemlock and Dogsbody 3 -- Alice Mills -- -- 2. Harry Potter and the Magical Looking Glass: Reading the -- Secret Life of the Preadolescent 15 -- Lisa Damour -- -- 3. Harry Potter and the Acquisition of Knowledge 25 -- Lisa Hopkins -- -- 4. Safe as Houses: Sorting and School Houses at Hogwarts 35 -- Chantel Lavoie -- -- 5. Harry and Hierarchy: Book Banning as a Reaction to the -- Subversion of Authority 51 -- Rebecca Stephens -- -- II. LITERARY INFLUENCES AND HISTORICAL CONTEXTS -- -- 6. Harry Potter's Schooldays: J. K. Rowling and the British -- Boarding School Novel 69 -- Karen Manners Smith -- -- -- -- -- 7. Accepting Mudbloods: The Ambivalent Social Vision of -- J. K. Rowling's Fairy Tales 89 -- Elaine Ostry -- -- 8. Hermione and the House-Elves: The Literary and Historical -- Contexts of J. K. Rowling's Antislavery Campaign 103 -- Brycchan Carey -- -- 9. Flying Cars, Floo Powder, and Flaming Torches: The -- Hi-Tech, Low-Tech World of Wizardry 117 -- Margaret J. Oakes -- -- III. MORALITY AND SOCIAL VALUES: ISSUES OF POWER -- -- 10. Cruel Heroes and Treacherous Texts: Educating the Reader -- in Moral Complexity and Critical Reading in J. K. Rowling's -- Harry Potter Books 131 -- Veronica L. Schanoes -- -- 11. Harry Potter and the Rule of Law: The Central Weakness -- of Legal Concepts in the Wizard World 147 -- Susan Hall -- -- 12. The Fallen Empire: Exploring Ethnic Otherness in the -- World of Harry Potter 163 -- Giselle Liza Anatol -- -- 13. Class and Socioeconomic Identity in Harry Potter's -- England 179 -- Julia Park -- -- 14. Cinderfella: J. K. Rowling's Wily Web of Gender 191 -- Ximena Gallardo-C. and C. Jason Smith |
| Summary |
J.K. Rowling achieved astounding commercial success with her series of novels about Harry Potter, the boy-wizard who finds out about his magical powers on the morning of his eleventh birthday. The books' incredible popularity, and the subsequent likelihood that they are among this generation's most formative narratives, call for critical exploration and study to interpret the works' inherent tropes and themes. The essays in this collection assume that Rowling's works should not be relegated to the categories of pulp fiction or children's trends, which would deny their certain influence on the intellectual, emotional, and psychosocial development of today's children. The variety of contributions allows for a range of approaches and interpretive methods in exploring the novels, and reveals the deeper meanings and attitudes towards justice, education, race, foreign cultures, socioeconomic class, and gender. Following an introductory discussion of the Harry Potter phenomenon are essays considering the psychological and social-developmental experiences of children as mirrored in Rowling's novels. Next, the works' literary and historical contexts are examined, including the European fairy tale tradition, the British abolitionist movement, and the public-school story genre. A third section focuses on the social values underlying the Potter series and on issues such as morality, the rule of law, and constructions of bravery |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references and index |
| Subject |
Rowling, J. K. -- Characters -- Harry Potter
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Rowling, J. K. -- Criticism and interpretation.
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Potter, Harry (Fictitious character)
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Children -- Books and reading -- English-speaking countries.
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Children's stories, English -- History and criticism.
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Fantasy fiction, English -- History and criticism.
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Wizards in literature.
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Magic in literature.
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| Genre/Form |
Essays.
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Criticism, interpretation, etc.
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Essays.
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| Author |
Anatol, Giselle Liza, 1970-
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| LC no. |
2002032973 |
| ISBN |
0313320675 alkaline paper |
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