In this course, we will read all seven of the novels in British author J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter Series, as well as the three supplemental texts she produced during and shortly after the publication of the series, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Quidditch Through the Ages, and The Tales of Beedle the Bard. The focus of our reading and analyses of these texts will be upon the ways the novels and supplemental texts portray, challenge, and address issues of class, race, gender, and sexual orientation. We will also explore the ways these topics have shaped the critical and popular response to Rowling’s work. We will examine academic writings on the Harry Potter series as well as those critical essays, books, and even podcasts produced by the broad, deep, and very diverse Harry Potter fandom. In addition to reading the ten texts listed, students will be asked to write a short critical response paper for each novel, and annotated bibliography of academic and fan-based responses to the series, and a final project.