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Obscurus Ideas, Questions, and Concerns, Ask staff what you are wondering about |
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  Jul 4 2005, 09:36 AM
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Inquiring about Double-ended Newts
Posts: 960
Joined: 5:24pm January 28, 2005
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Welcome to the Obscurus Thread for Idea generation, Questions, and Concerns. This is an 'upgrade,' or a more official version of the previous Nick's Idea Generating Thread.
To start off, here is a short description of Obscurus:
Obscurus is the place for academic analysis of the HP books, discussions of meaning, symbolism, and deeper themes in the HP series. As opposed to the other forums in Flourish and Blotts, Obscurus discussions tend to look at HP from the outside, as the literary works they are.
If you are wondering about something, this is a place you can post and ask the moderators of this forum what they think. Some of the ideas and questions you can bring up here are:
[*]Do you think this topic is a good one?
[*]Is this topic permissible under the rules?
[*]Where would I put a thread about this?
[*]Does this topic already exist?
[*]I saw this thread and now I cannot find it, do you know where it is?
[*]I would really like to see a poll in Obscurus about...
and so forth.
You can of course also send a Private Message (PM) to one of the moderators of Obscurus if you have any questions or concerns:
[*]Asphodel Wormwood
[*]The Qurious Mr. Quint
[*]Torill
[*]Paperflowergirl
[*] or you can PM any of the other Leaky Lounge staff as well.
For forum-wide suggestions, the Room of Requirement is your place, and for technical questions and problems please contact Lexicon_Bel~ , our Help Desk Witch or visit Knockturn Alley. The Rules and the FAQ are also good places to look. However, do not hesitate to post in this thread, as we will be very happy to hear from you.
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Proud to be a Hufflepuff!
Proud to be a Hufflepuff!
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Aug 10 2005, 12:50 PM
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Director of Nicholas Flamel Laboratories
Posts: 10,894
Joined: 11:06am January 28, 2005
Location: Lighting the mountain path for Llewellyn ap Gryffudd
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This one was mentioned briefly in Vault 715--the concept of revenge and how Harry's thirst for it has developed over the course of the books. By the end of HBP, he's no longer afraid--he's furious. How is revenge depicted in literature? What are the problems with the idea of revenge, from the mythological to the religious?
Just an idea.
Edit: Oh, well, there's already a thread on revenge in the Princely Nook. So much for that idea!
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Proud member: SEIKIA, Anti-BADH Club, PINUP, ADDS and OPAST
You see things; and you say, 'Why?' But I dream things that never were; and I say, "Why not?" --George Bernard Shaw, "Back to Methuselah" (1921), part 1, act 1 |
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Aug 11 2005, 11:36 AM
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Inquiring about Double-ended Newts
Posts: 960
Joined: 5:24pm January 28, 2005
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Hi Fairytalegirl
QUOTE I have heard that Harry Potter is present on several college syllabuses (syllabi?) both in Britain and in the States and I would be interested to hear more about these. What approaches do these classes take? Are they always included as either children's lit or as an element in a 'fantasy genre' course, or do they turn up on culture and literature courses in other capacities? Does anybody explore the post-modern implications of having one'e (i.e. JKR's) work in progress scrutinised by the readership DURING the process of its creation? What about the phenomenon of Fanfic? Is this explored in any University or college courses studying the Potter books?
I don't know about HP on syllabi. At my college they occasionally show up in classes about children's literature. I'd recommend checking out the Teacher's Tea-Room, which is the special section for teachers and teaching of HP. However, I don't think there is anything in there about college level syllabi. Feel free to start a thread, if you want to.
Also, you can start a thread here dedicated to the analysis of a specific book on HP, if you have one you're interested in (we already have a couple, one on John Granger and Christian Symbolism, and another one whose name momentarily escapes my memory). If there is a particular topic you'd like to discuss, (such as postmodernism and HP), you can start a thread if the discussion does not already exist. In this thread you can also ask if people know about published work on this topic. I have read a bit about HP, and there was a news-article about Harry as a postmodernist hero last fall. It is no longer online, but I can send it to you if you want (as I copied it into word).
QUOTE Also, I would be interested to know if there are any bibliographies available of any published academic articles on Harry Potter that might be used for Reading Lists by college professors.( I know it probably sounds like I'm trying to compile a quick course module on HP - I'm not, honest. I'm a full-time mum with a PhD in Folklore Studies and Cultural History and I am very interested to see how far HP has infiltrated academic bastions as a subject worthy of study - whether as culture or as Literature.)
I'd try Amazon or your local library to see what has been published on HP. Reading around Obscurus will also give you some sources on various things pertinent to analysis of HP, such as Christianity, Arthurian Legend, Alchemy, the Hero Epic, Jungian Archetypes, and other things. To be very honest, I think the discussions in here bring up more interesting stuff than most books published about Harry Potter.
I hope this helps! 
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Proud to be a Hufflepuff!
Proud to be a Hufflepuff!
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Aug 11 2005, 12:39 PM
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Director of Nicholas Flamel Laboratories
Posts: 10,894
Joined: 11:06am January 28, 2005
Location: Lighting the mountain path for Llewellyn ap Gryffudd
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QUOTE I'd try Amazon or your local library to see what has been published on HP. Reading around Obscurus will also give you some sources on various things pertinent to analysis of HP, such as Christianity, Arthurian Legend, Alchemy, the Hero Epic, Jungian Archetypes, and other things. To be very honest, I think the discussions in here bring up more interesting stuff than most books published about Harry Potter.
I hope this helps!
Maybe we should write a book! ringbearer.org did that after ROTK came out. :D
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Proud member: SEIKIA, Anti-BADH Club, PINUP, ADDS and OPAST
You see things; and you say, 'Why?' But I dream things that never were; and I say, "Why not?" --George Bernard Shaw, "Back to Methuselah" (1921), part 1, act 1 |
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Aug 18 2005, 06:01 PM
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Knockturn Alley Fingernail Vendor
Posts: 767
Joined: 5:49pm January 28, 2005
Location: A photograph at 221B Baker Street
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I have an idea for a thread, but it may be controversial, so I'd like to take it for a test drive here.
I'm having a bit of a problem with JKR's treatment of the educational system in her books. Obviously she has modelled Hogwarts to be typical of a British secondary school, and that's not where I have the problems. Even though the school systems in other countries may be slightly different, I think we would all agree that there are good and bad teachers, great and horrible classes, etc. etc.
But here is my issue. I was quite disconcerted when Fred and George just dropped out of school without even finishing year 6. Now at the end of HBP, she has Harry considering dropping out as well, to go fight Voldemort.
JKR is well aware that many thousands (millions?) of young people will be reading these books, starting at very early ages. Is this the kind of message she should be sending to these young and impressionable people all over the world? Quitting school is OK if it's done for "noble" reasons?
It would help if mods and regulars could comment on whether this is an appropriate thread topic. If the mods don't object and there is some general interest, then we could discuss it further in a thread.
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"She has the face of the most beautiful of women, and the mind of the most resolute of men."
(Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: Sherlock Holmes - A Scandal in Bohemia)
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