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(More customer reviews)I joined the Harry Potter phenomenon late in the game. Book four had already been in circulation for over two years and at 25, I considered myself well above the normal reader age. However, once I picked up the first book in the series, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, I was (no pun intended), spellbound. I spent the rest of that long summer weekend reading the remaining books. Since then, I have read each book in the series at least 20 times apiece. Somewhere in the middle of all the reading, I began to jot down notes, questions and observations I made- little items that I wanted to ponder afterwards. Questions such as: Why did Professor Dumbledore so prize the individual merits of courage and "sheer nerve"? Did Hermione and other female students ever experience gender discrimination at Hogwarts? What defined the social structure of the wizard world (surely one exists as is evident by the influence of the well-to-do Malfoy family)? What is it about the Harry Potter books that have such universal appeal? And most importantly, what lessons can be learned?
Shortly after Pottermania began, several books appeared on the market dedicated to analyzing the phenomenon. Some addressed broad themes, while others disseminated every detail of the book, trying to decipher each and every meaning of every word of J.K. Rowling's works. Among these is Harry Potter's World: Multidisciplinary Critical Perspectives, a collection of essays written by professors and graduate students.
Harry Potter's World: Multidisciplinary Critical Perspectives is by far the most comprehensive book of this genre. Edited by Michigan State University professor Elizabeth Heilman, the book is comprised of numerous essays separated into four perspectives: Cultural Studies Perspectives, Reader Response and Interpretive Perspectives, Literary Perspectives: The Hero, Myth and Genre and Critical and Sociological Perspectives.
As a graduate student pursuing a MSEd in Curriculum and Instruction, this book has been a wonderful guide for me and enriched my understanding of the many facets of curriculum study. Not only does it provide unique interpretations of the series, but it also stimulates critical reflection and offers deep analyses of the boy wizard the world has grown to love.
While it is appropriate for college and graduate-level classes, anyone interested in exploring the cultural phenomenon of Harry Potter should read and will benefit from this. You will never look at Harry Potter the same way again.
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Critical Perspectives on Harry PotterThis thoroughly revised edition includes updated essays on cultural themes and literary analysis, and its new essays analyze the full scope of the seven-book series as both pop cultural phenomenon and as a set of literary texts. Critical Perspectives on Harry Potter, Second Edition draws on a wider range of intellectual traditions to explore the texts, including moral-theological analysis, psychoanalytic perspectives, and philosophy of technology. The Harry Potter novels engage the social, cultural, and psychological preoccupations of our times, and Critical Perspectives on Harry Potter, Second Edition examines these worlds of consciousness and culture, ultimately revealing how modern anxieties and fixations are reflected in these powerful texts. ("DISCLAIMER: This book is not authorized, approved, licensed, or endorsed by J.K. Rowling, Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., or anyone associated with the Harry Potter books or movies.")
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