The generation of readers most heavily impacted by J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series--those who grew up alongside "the boy who lived"--have come of age. They are poised to become teachers, parents, critics and writers, and many of their views and choices will be influenced by the literary revolution in which they were immersed. This collection of new essays explores the many different ways in which Harry Potter has shaped this generation's views on everything from politics to identity to pedagogical spaces online. It seeks to determine how the books have affected fans' understanding of their place in the world and their capacity to create it anew.
Harry Potter and the Millennials tells the fascinating story of how the team designed the study and gathered results, explains what conclusions can and cannot be drawn, and reveals the challenges social scientists face in studying political science, sociology, and mass communication. Specifically, the evidence indicates that Harry Potter fans are more open to diversity and are more politically tolerant than nonfans; fans are also less authoritarian, less likely to support the use of deadly force or torture, more politically active, and more likely to have had a negative view of the Bush administration. Furthermore, these differences do not disappear when controlling for other important predictors of these perspectives, lending support to the argument that the series indeed had an independent effect on its audience. In this clear and cogent account, Gierzynski demonstrates how social scientists develop and design research questions and studies.
A Wizard of Their Age began when the students in Cecilia Konchar Farr's "Six Degrees of Harry Potter" course at St. Catherine University kept finding errors in the available scholarship. These students had been reading Harry Potter for their entire literate lives, and they demanded more attention to the details they found significant. "We can do better than this," they said. Konchar Farr, two undergraduate teaching assistants, and five student editors decided to test that hypothesis. After issuing a call for contributions, they selected fifteen thoughtful academic essays by students from across the country. These essays examine the Harry Potter books from a variety of perspectives, including literary, historical, cultural, gender, mythological, psychological, theological, and genetic—there is even a nursing care plan for Tom Riddle. Interspersed among the essays are brief vignettes entitled "My Harry Potter Story," where students write about their personal encounters with the novels. Although a quick Internet search yields a dazzling number of books about Harry Potter, few are as deeply invested or insightful as A Wizard of Their Age. Written and edited by—and for—members of the Harry Potter generation, these essays demonstrate this generation's passionate engagement with the Harry Potter phenomenon and provide numerous critical insights into the individual novels and the series as a whole.
The generation of readers most heavily impacted by J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series--those who grew up alongside "the boy who lived"--have come of age. They are poised to become teachers, parents, critics and writers, and many of their views and choices will be influenced by the literary revolution in which they were immersed. This collection of new essays explores the many different ways in which Harry Potter has shaped this generation's views on everything from politics to identity to pedagogical spaces online. It seeks to determine how the books have affected fans' understanding of their place in the world and their capacity to create it anew.
As an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband, and a father, Harry Potter struggles with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs while his youngest son, Albus, finds the weight of the family legacy difficult to bear.
From J.K. Rowling, a warm, fast-paced, funny fairy tale of a fearsome monster, thrilling adventure, and hope against all odds. Once upon a time there was a tiny kingdom called Cornucopia, as rich in happiness as it was in gold, and famous for its food. From the delicate cream cheeses of Kurdsburg to the Hopes-of-Heaven pastries of Chouxville, each was so delicious that people wept with joy as they ate them. But even in this happy kingdom, a monster lurks. Legend tells of a fearsome creature living far to the north in the Marshlands... the Ickabog. Some say it breathes fire, spits poison, and roars through the mist as it carries off wayward sheep and children alike. Some say it's just a myth... And when that myth takes on a life of its own, casting a shadow over the kingdom, two children - best friends Bert and Daisy - embark on a great adventure to untangle the truth and find out where the real monster lies, bringing hope and happiness to Cornucopia once more. Featuring full color illustrations by children from across the United States and Canada, this original fairy tale from one of the world's most celebrated storytellers will captivate readers of all ages.
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.
The Harry Potter series is more than just a story about a young wizard who saves the world from He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. The seven-book saga is an excellent primer on spying, intelligence, and politics. Join spy novelist Lynn Boughey and thirty-six-year CIA veteran and executive director of the International Spy Museum Peter Earnest as they review the spy craft employed and celebrated in J.K. Rowling's bestselling books. From the invisibility cloak to house passwords to Fred and George Weasley's Extendable Ears, Harry Potter & the Art of Spying is full of spy lessons for the secret-agent-in-training in the Muggle realm. Learn how to break secret codes, gather intelligence, read character's motives, and why Severus Snape is the best double agent ever.
The impact of public narratives has been so broad (including effects on beliefs and behavior but extending beyond to emotion and personality), that the stakeholders in the process have been located across disciplines, institutions, governments, and, indeed, across epochs. Narrative Impact draws upon scholars in diverse branches of psychology and media research to explore the subjective experience of public narratives, the affordances of the narrative environment, and the roles played by narratives in both personal and collective spheres. The book brings together current theory and research presented primarily from an empirical psychological and communications perspective, as well as contributions from literary theory, sociology, and censorship studies. To be commensurate with the broad scope of influence of public narratives, the book includes the narrative mobilization of major social movements, the formation of self-concepts in young people, banning of texts in schools, the constraining impact of narratives on jurors in the court room, and the wide use of education entertainment to affect social changes. Taken together, the interdisciplinary nature of the book and its stellar list of contributors set it apart from many edited volumes. Narrative Impact will draw readership from various fields, including sociology, literary studies, and curriculum policy. Providing new explanatory concepts, this book: *is the first account on the psychology of narrative persuasion and brings together the relevant conceptualizations from within various sectors of psychology together with the major issues that concern cognate disciplines outside of psychology; *focuses on understanding the mechanisms that underlie the power of public narratives to achieve broad historical and social changes; *offers breakthroughs to the future: the role of "presence" in virtual reality narratives; the role of "zines" in females' fashioning of their selves; and the central role of imagery in transportation into narrative worlds; *explains varying roles of emotion in narrative immersion; and *addresses the growing blurring of fact and fiction: mechanisms and implications for beliefs and behavior.
After two decades of technological disruption, economic collapse, social upheaval, political polarization and a war on terror, one generation carries on its shoulders the responsibility to return us to a time of social balance and economic growth. The Hooked Up Generation was born into disruption, but is destined to lead the world into a transcendental period of tolerance and peace. They are hooked on the Internet, hooked together by the Internet, and hooking up in relationships managed and defined by the Internet. Jack Myers tells you why today s college students may prove to be the next Great Generation and possibly the greatest generation of the 21st century. The Hooked Up Generation will make you hopeful about its future and yours. Once again, Jack Myers has his fingers on the pulse on the very latest, the impulses of the kids who will one day run the whole show, and he has the statistics to back up his cogent insights. This is by turns an absorbing, disturbing and ultimately indispensable account of a hugely misunderstood demographic group that will shape our future. Myers clearly has done his homework and the result is this superb study. Ken Burns, Filmmaker At the Newhouse School, we are living with the Hooked Up Generation and experiencing the extraordinary transformation that Jack Myers has brilliantly captured. This is a must read for educators, parents and all those who care about the next generation of leaders. Lorraine Branham, Dean, S.I. Newhouse School of Communications at Syracuse University These Internet Pioneers, born between 1991 and 1995, are not like us. They absorbed the Internet like a native language while the rest of us struggled to learn it. Any time now, these pioneers will be commanding the agenda and we d better understand them. Hooked Up is the best guide to the future that I ve yet come across. Sir Martin Sorrell, CEO, WPP Group The Hooked Up Generation is rewriting feminism, sexuality, politics, education, language, relationships, and media. This accessible and fascinating book brings new insights into how our cyber-society is shaping a captivating generation. The message is clear: the Hooked Up Generation offers hope for the future of our planet. Mary Brabeck, Dean of the Steinhardt School, New York University
