APSU May class to discover literary magic behind Harry Potter series
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. 鈥 This May, the Austin Peay State University Department of Languages and Literature will journey to the fictional wizarding school of Hogwarts thanks to an innovative summer class, 鈥淗arry Potter: Contexts and Criticism.鈥
During the three-week, online class, students will read four novels in the series and discover how literary works by Jane Austen, Thomas Hardy, J.R.R. Tolkien and others influenced the world of Harry Potter.
鈥淲e鈥檒l spend a lot of time on close readings and analyses of the texts themselves,鈥 Dr. Dan Shea, APSU professor of English, said. 鈥淚 knew the stories were great already, otherwise I wouldn鈥檛 have taught a whole course on them. But I truly began to appreciate them only when preparing to teach the class and when discussing them in detail with students.鈥
Shea developed the class in 2018 for the University鈥檚 Maymester, and he offered it again in 2019 as part of a four-week study abroad trip to London. Many of his students were familiar with the books, having grown up reading them, but he designed the class for them to understand the series鈥 place in a larger historical and literary context. How are J.K. Rowling鈥檚 books, written for children and young adults, similar to William Shakespeare鈥檚 鈥淗amlet鈥 and 鈥淎 Midsummer Night鈥檚 Dream鈥?
鈥淭he books get better and better the closer you look,鈥 Shea said.
The class鈥 required 鈥渃lose readings鈥 will also reveal problematic elements within the texts because the books are also snapshots of the historical and cultural moments of their original publishing. Something written in the late 1990s will often land differently with readers in 2021.
鈥淚 really want the students to leave with a better understanding of scholarly approaches to children鈥檚 and young adult literature, and to popular literature and culture in general,鈥 he said.
For information on Austin Peay鈥檚 Department of Languages and Literature, visit .
- Ashleigh Songer, APSU communication intern
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