We started off with three student presentations on what our paper topics are so that we could receive feedback from the class. I went first and presented my ideas about whether or not Snape is a hero in the Harry Potter series. My first paper I compared Snape to other heroes throughout history, mythology, and literature. I compared him to Robin Hood, Atticus Finch, Hercules, and Achilles. My second paper is going to be about Harry Potter and Snape and whether or not motives should be separated from the heroic act and are Harry’s and Snape’s motives the same? The class had a lot of feedback for my papers and I think they gave me a lot to work with.
My friend, Matt, presented his ideas about prophecies next. He discussed whether or not people acting on the prophecies give the prophecy power. He compared Voldemort acting on the prophecy to Oedipus acting on the prophecy. Also, whether or not prophecies predict the future or determine the future.
Finally, a girl in the class presented her ideas on science and magic. She compared the magic in Harry Potter to science in real life. Her major magic abilities/objects she chose were flying broomsticks, apparition, and the invisibility cloak. They have a machine that allows for magnetic fields to left objects off the ground and “fly”. They were able to raise a frog up to five feet off the ground. As for apparition, on the quantum level they have been able to teleport matter. Finally for invisibility, they now have something called an invisibility umbrella that allows everything underneath it to appear invisible and they have light reflective body armor that makes the light go around the object and appear invisible.
After this we watched the first half of the second Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. We spent most of this time making fun of some of the situations in the movie like how Ginny and Harry will be making out in the sixth movie and how the entire school shows up in one hallway when the chamber is opened.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Wizarding World of Harry Potter
For those of you who don't know yet, check out this link about the Wizarding World of Harry Potter they are building at Universal Studios: http://www.universalorlando.com/harrypotter/
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Harry Potter vs. Voldemort Rap
Check out this hilarious video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBM-xfXXcwU
Hey There Delilah Spoof (Hey Harry Potter)
Check out this video on Youtube about Harry Potter! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ar4Mwk4ULvc
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
"It Does not do to Dwell on Dreams and Forget to Live"
Day Three
Today we started off class by discussing the asymmetry of authority and how it applies to Harry Potter. Her first point was about the institution versus the individual. Institutions have resources that individuals could not possibly have therefore institutions can gather information and crush individuals if they so choose. An example of this applied to Harry Potter would be in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets when Harry is on trial by the Ministry for violating the Decree of Underage Wizardry. They chose to do the research and use it to crush Harry and get him expelled from Hogwarts. But thankful Dumbledore comes to Harry’s rescue and this does not happen. Thus it can also be concluded that the bigger the institution the more power the institution will have over the individual. Also, an institution could feasibly last forever and individuals have a finite lifespan which restricts the power they can have. There are many examples of this asymmetry in the Harry Potter books especially in regard to Hogwarts and the Ministry of Magic.
The second main point in class today was how education is the transmission of knowledge. Therefore, those who have the knowledge have the power. Harry finds out several times in the books that the professors, especially the Defense Against the Dark Arts professors, don’t always know the subject they are teaching and therefore Harry knows that they don’t hold the power in the situation. Harry can use this information to undermine the professors which he very often does throughout the series. This power in the classrooms leads to problems within Hogwarts just like the school systems in the United States. If Obama had given his speech that he gave today at Hogwarts it would have received the same amount of criticism as it did here because parents are afraid of the agenda of those in power. The Hogwarts education revolves around the Defense Against the Dark Arts training, as opposed to Durmstrang which revolves around teaching the Dark Arts. This shows a vital stand on the education that Hogwarts wants to provide.
After this discussion we watched the second half of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. My final thought for this post will be about a topic we touched upon in class. There is a difference between misinformation and disinformation. Disinformation is actively promoting incorrect information where as misinformation is unknowingly spreading incorrect information. An example of disinformation would be Rita Skeeter as a journalist who knowingly publishes the wrong information for self gain. As opposed to an example of misinformation where people were saying that Harry was the Slytherin heir and opening the Chamber of Secrets. So what if the Ministry of Magic had published the truth about Voldemort being on the rise again as opposed to oppressing the truth? Would it have made a difference? Did their use of Misinformation lead people to their death instead of protection?
Today we started off class by discussing the asymmetry of authority and how it applies to Harry Potter. Her first point was about the institution versus the individual. Institutions have resources that individuals could not possibly have therefore institutions can gather information and crush individuals if they so choose. An example of this applied to Harry Potter would be in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets when Harry is on trial by the Ministry for violating the Decree of Underage Wizardry. They chose to do the research and use it to crush Harry and get him expelled from Hogwarts. But thankful Dumbledore comes to Harry’s rescue and this does not happen. Thus it can also be concluded that the bigger the institution the more power the institution will have over the individual. Also, an institution could feasibly last forever and individuals have a finite lifespan which restricts the power they can have. There are many examples of this asymmetry in the Harry Potter books especially in regard to Hogwarts and the Ministry of Magic.
The second main point in class today was how education is the transmission of knowledge. Therefore, those who have the knowledge have the power. Harry finds out several times in the books that the professors, especially the Defense Against the Dark Arts professors, don’t always know the subject they are teaching and therefore Harry knows that they don’t hold the power in the situation. Harry can use this information to undermine the professors which he very often does throughout the series. This power in the classrooms leads to problems within Hogwarts just like the school systems in the United States. If Obama had given his speech that he gave today at Hogwarts it would have received the same amount of criticism as it did here because parents are afraid of the agenda of those in power. The Hogwarts education revolves around the Defense Against the Dark Arts training, as opposed to Durmstrang which revolves around teaching the Dark Arts. This shows a vital stand on the education that Hogwarts wants to provide.
After this discussion we watched the second half of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. My final thought for this post will be about a topic we touched upon in class. There is a difference between misinformation and disinformation. Disinformation is actively promoting incorrect information where as misinformation is unknowingly spreading incorrect information. An example of disinformation would be Rita Skeeter as a journalist who knowingly publishes the wrong information for self gain. As opposed to an example of misinformation where people were saying that Harry was the Slytherin heir and opening the Chamber of Secrets. So what if the Ministry of Magic had published the truth about Voldemort being on the rise again as opposed to oppressing the truth? Would it have made a difference? Did their use of Misinformation lead people to their death instead of protection?
"There is no Good and Evil, There is Only Power, and Those too Weak to Seek It"
Day Two
On the second day of class we were supposed to start talking about Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s Stone, but instead we talked about how Dolores Umbridge is the most evil character in the book series. Since she has a kind exterior and an evil interior she is the worst kind of evil. She internally wants others to hurt for personal gain and personal fulfillment. After this discussion we watched the first half of the first Harry Potter movie.
So what do you think? Is Dolores Umbridge truly worse than Voldemort?
On the second day of class we were supposed to start talking about Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s Stone, but instead we talked about how Dolores Umbridge is the most evil character in the book series. Since she has a kind exterior and an evil interior she is the worst kind of evil. She internally wants others to hurt for personal gain and personal fulfillment. After this discussion we watched the first half of the first Harry Potter movie.
So what do you think? Is Dolores Umbridge truly worse than Voldemort?
"Harry Potter has come to Hogwarts"
Day One
I didn’t really know what to expect when walking in to a class about Harry Potter. The first discussion we had was a very complex analysis of the family tree within Harry Potter and how it relates to the British monarchy. So I am going to make a feeble attempt at explaining how the two are related.
Since J.K. Rowling grew up in England she would have inherently grown up learning the history of the British royal family. She probably unintentionally included these similarities, but they are still there and that might be because the monarchy is just part of the history they learn in school. My bet would be that J.K. Rowling would deny the connection. However, my professor made a very strong case with extensive research on the connections between the family trees. Some of the similarities include Richard III of York as Albus Dumbledore because they were both betrayed in battle. Also, she relates Harry Potter to Edward V of York in conjunction to the story The Princes in the Tower. Rumor has it that the two brothers were locked under the stairs in the London Tower and that one of the boys escaped. This sounds very similar to Harry Potter the boy who lived and how Harry is kept in the closet under the stairs in the Dursley’s house.
The professor for this class is clearly very dedicated to the topic. In the middle of the first class period she actually left in the middle of class without telling us where she was going. Not a minute later, she came back with the pizza delivery boy and Papa John’s pizza for the whole class! So on day one, we talked about Harry Potter and ate pizza. If you ask me that’s a pretty good first day of class!
I didn’t really know what to expect when walking in to a class about Harry Potter. The first discussion we had was a very complex analysis of the family tree within Harry Potter and how it relates to the British monarchy. So I am going to make a feeble attempt at explaining how the two are related.
Since J.K. Rowling grew up in England she would have inherently grown up learning the history of the British royal family. She probably unintentionally included these similarities, but they are still there and that might be because the monarchy is just part of the history they learn in school. My bet would be that J.K. Rowling would deny the connection. However, my professor made a very strong case with extensive research on the connections between the family trees. Some of the similarities include Richard III of York as Albus Dumbledore because they were both betrayed in battle. Also, she relates Harry Potter to Edward V of York in conjunction to the story The Princes in the Tower. Rumor has it that the two brothers were locked under the stairs in the London Tower and that one of the boys escaped. This sounds very similar to Harry Potter the boy who lived and how Harry is kept in the closet under the stairs in the Dursley’s house.
The professor for this class is clearly very dedicated to the topic. In the middle of the first class period she actually left in the middle of class without telling us where she was going. Not a minute later, she came back with the pizza delivery boy and Papa John’s pizza for the whole class! So on day one, we talked about Harry Potter and ate pizza. If you ask me that’s a pretty good first day of class!
Monday, September 7, 2009
"You're A Wizard Harry"
Welcome to my new blog about Harry Potter! This blog will follow the discussion and events in my class all about Harry Potter. We will be going through all seven Harry Potter books and movies. We are also using the books “Harry Potter and Philosophy: If Aristotle Ran Hogwarts” and “The Whys of a Philosophical Scrivener”. On top of both of those books I also bought mugglenet.com’s “Harry Potter Should Have Died” which is full of controversial views about the series. I’ll keep updating my blog as the class progresses and I hope everyone will get involved in the discussions on my blog which will be parallel to the discussions we will be having in class. I will also be posting my paper ideas on this blog for everyone to see and express their opinions. My first paper I will be writing about whether or not Severus Snape is a hero. Keep following my blog for updates and feel free to leave comments.
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