Syllabus

Course Syllabus

Race, Class, and Wizardry:

J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter Series*

Mills College

Professor Ajuan Mance

amance@mills.edu

 Spring 2017

TA: Kathleen Waligore

kwaligore@mills.edu

Required Books:

  • Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (26 June 1997) by J.K. Rowling
  • Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2 July 1998) by J.K. Rowling
  • Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (8 July 1999) by J.K. Rowling
  • Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (8 July 2000) by J.K. Rowling
  • Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (21 June 2003) by J.K. Rowling
  • Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (16 July 2005) by J.K. Rowling
  • Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (21 July 2007) by J.K. Rowling
  • Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (1 March 2001) by J.K. Rowling
  • Quidditch Through the Ages (1 March 2001) by J.K. Rowling
  • The Tales of Beadle the Bard (4 December 2008) by J.K. Rowling

Course description:

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.

This course meets the Core Curriculum requirements for Race, Gender, and Power; and Creativity, Innovation, and Experimentation

 *meets Saturdays (10:00-5:00), Sundays (11:00-4:00): 01/28-29, 03/04-05, 04/08-09

Course Goals:

  • To engaged critically with the novels of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series.
  • To explore and analyze the ways that these novels engage with questions of race, gender, power, and identity.
  • To explore and engage critically with the ways that readers and fans from marginalized racial, ethnic, gender, and sexual orientation groups have used video, audio, and internet-based media to write their identities into the books of the series.
  • To create interactive web-based resources that evaluates critically the way that a specific race, gender, or sexual minority group has engaged with and written themselves into the Harry Potter universe.
  • To combine critical analysis with creativity and experimentation in using a web-based platform 1) to develop an argument related to trends in race- gender- sexuality- or nation-based engagement with the Potter universe and 2) to present a substantive argument using a visually-based, interactive platform..

 

First Weekend

January 28, 2017

  1. Attendance and Introduction
  2. Lecture: Entering the Wizarding World
  3. Keyword Exercise: Small and Large Group Discussion: Making Your Acquaintance
  4. Film: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
  5. Discussion

Homework: Before Sunday’s class meeting, watch either Planet of the Ood OR Measure of a Man 

January 29, 2017

  1. Lecture: Setting, Space, and Place
  2. Small and Large Group Discussion: Wizarding Places
  3. Big Concepts: Servitude and Slavery
  4. Small and Large Group Discussion: Caste, Class, and the M-Word
  5. Review of Upcoming Assignments
  6. Activity: Organize Presentation Groups

 

Second Weekend

March 4, 2017

Annotated Bibliography Due

  1. Identities, Ideas, Intersections (Group Presentations)
  2. Big Concepts: Time Travel
  3. Film: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
  4. Discussion

March 5, 2017

  1. Identities, Ideas, Intersections (Group Presentations)
  2. Keyword Exercise and Small and Large Group Discussions: The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black and the Ministry of Magic
  3. Guest Speakers: Bayana Davis and Robyn Jordan of the #WizardTeam podcast and the Black Girls Create online community

 

Third Weekend

April 8, 2017

Written analysis due

  1. Identities, Ideas, Intersections (Group Presentations)
  2. Big Concepts: The Origin Story
  3. Keyword Exercise and Small and Large Group Discussion:
    • Professor Slughorn
    • Cormack McClaggen
    • The Riddle Family
    • Ginny Weasley
    • Lavender Brown 
    • Representations of gender, sex, and attraction
  4. Film: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
  5. Discussion

April 9, 2017

  1. Identities, Ideas, Intersections (Group Presentations)
  2. Big Concepts: Death and the Hero
  3. Guest Speaker
  4. Final Celebration
Completed web page is due at 11:59pm on Saturday, May 6, 2017.

Requirements:

  • Attendance and Participation: 10%
  • Oral Presentation: 15%
  • 5 Response Analyses: 5% per analysis
  • Annotated Bibliography: 25%
  • Final Web Project: 25%

Attendance: Regular attendance and participation are required. If you have the flu or flu-like symptoms, then please stay home and rest until your symptoms have abated (roughly 7 to 10 days). Because you are expected to remain at home if you have a fever or flu, I strongly advise that you use your absences very carefully, and only if absolutely necessary (due to illness). Students who miss more than 3 classes for any non-medical reason will be penalized one full grade for the semester. For example, if your assigned work averages out to a B+, but you have missed 4 classes over the course of the semester, then you will earn a final grade of C+.

SSD Accommodations: If you anticipate issues related to the format or requirements of the course, please meet with me.  I would like us to discuss ways to ensure your full participation in the course.  If you determine that formal accommodations are necessary, it is important that you register with the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities so that accommodations can be arranged for this course and your future classes here at Mills.  Please call 430-2130 for an appointment.

Gender Inclusion: I am committed to conducting this course in a way that acknowledges and affirms the diverse identities of Mills College students. If you would like to be identified by a name and or/pronouns not apparent on the course roster, please let me know. I will honor your stated gender identity in all official and unofficial communications and in all classroom activities.

Deadlines and Extensions: Paper assignments will be distributed in sufficient time to enable you to complete assigned work by the deadlines listed on the syllabus. Extensions are offered only in the event of a documented medical emergency. Late papers will be penalized one full grade. For example, a paper that would normally earn a grade of B will be recorded as a C if it is submitted late. Any paper submitted more than one week after the deadline will not be accepted.

Format and Citations: All papers, including response papers, must follow the MLA (Modern Language Association) guidelines. It is recommended that all students purchase and use the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. Although a number of online resources identify themselves as guides to the MLA format, such resources are often either incomplete or out of date.