Children's Literature Studies at EMU
|Department of English Language and Literature|Pray-Harrold Hall|Ypsilanti, MI|48197|
Literature 137: Harry Potter:
Literary Allusion, Children’s Literature, and Popular Culture
General Education Knowledge of the Disciplines Humanities Course
11- 12:15 p.m. Tuesday/Thursday Fall 2007
Professor: Dr. Annette Wannamaker
Office: Pray-Harrold 603L Pray Harrold
Office Hours: 12:15-2 p.m. Tues/Thur and 5-6:30 p.m. Tuesdays
Email: awannamak@emich.edu
Personal Web Page: people.emich.edu/awannnamak
Children’s Lit Web page: http://www.emich.edu/public/english/childlit
Course Description and Rationalle: What is the purpose of this course?
Since the books in the Harry Potter series are children’s texts and a cultural phenomenon, they also have become symbols in larger cultural battles over religious values, literacy, and the role of children’s literature in shaping the next generation’s beliefs about gender, social class, race, imperialism, capitalism, and spirituality. This makes these books an ideal model to use in a classroom to illustrate the relevance of literature and literary studies to society. A close study of these novels as complex literary works that have roots in classic literature, as cultural phenomena, and as the objects of public debates can highlight for students all that is at stake in literary interpretation and cultural production. Therefore, students in this course will explore questions such as: Do the books have literary value, or are they just commercial products? Are the books dangerous for children to read, or do they benefit children? Where is the line between literature, media, and mass-produced products, and should there/can there be a line? Why are these books so popular, and what does their popularity tell us about who we are and what we, as a culture, believe ourselves to be?
Course Outcomes: What material will be covered? How will material be covered? and What are students expected to learn?
In order to think critically about these, and other questions, the class will read some of the novels in the series; classic literature, myths, folk tales, and legends alluded to in the novels; and articles covering some of the public and academic debates about the novels. Students will write regularly in a reading journal, will take two exams, and will write three essays, writing assignments that will require them to synthesize various ideas and to apply what they have learned to their own interpretations of the books. Ideally, by the end of the course, students will have a better understanding of literary terms and concepts; of the significance of literary allusion; of the role of literature in contemporary culture; of the debates that experts have about such issues as literary merit or ideology in literature; and of the ways that both the form and the role of literature are evolving within the context of Twenty-first Century global capitalism.
Students must demonstrate competence in each of the following outcomes to successfully complete the course:
- Students will discuss and write about current public debates about the novels, which can lead to an empathic understanding of other points of view and can demonstrate for students the role of literature in society,
- Students will learn basic literary terms and concepts and learn to apply these to written literary analysis,
- Students will discuss and write about current debates in the field of children’s literary studies,
- Students will learn to develop their own interpretations of various literary texts in discussion and through informal and formal writing assignments,
- Students will engage with a study of literature within a specific cultural context and the ways that context affects and reflects the meaning of a text,
- Students will learn to understand and analyze the books in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series as complex, inter-textual works of literature that borrow heavily from classical texts, mythology, legend, and folktales, and
- Students will learn about and engage in current public debates about the role of the humanities in contemporary culture, and by writing about these issues in a variety of formats, students will complete the course having gained a better understanding of the roles of literature in society, of what is at stake in the interpretation of a literary work, and of the ways that literary texts function as cultural artifacts.
Plagiarism Policy:
Plagiarism is a complicated thing: sometimes students plagiarize material because they simply do not know they are doing so (forgetting to cite paraphrased ideas, for example). Other times, students consciously plagiarize by downloading an entire paper from the Internet, “borrowing” a paper from a friend, or by copying from a book or cutting and pasting text from the Internet into an essay. Plagiarism will be handled on a case-by-case basis. I can usually tell if it is accidental or purposeful. If it is an accident, the student will be allowed to rewrite the paper. If it is done on purpose, the student will receive a 0 on the plagiarized assignment and may fail the entire course. We will go over this issue in detail in class when we are working on various essays.
Methods of Evaluation:
In order to successfully meet course objectives, students must complete all or most of the reading; they must regularly respond to the reading in their journals in meaningful and substantial ways; they must demonstrate an understanding of the reading material on the exams; and they must show the ability to apply what they have learned in three essays, which will be graded on the quality of the writing and on the sophistication of argument. The evaluation of students’ progress is measured in a variety of ways to allow students several opportunities to succeed, and the assignments are scaffolded so that one builds upon another as they increase in difficulty.
A note about “spoilers”:
Because the Harry Potter books are part of a series, which
together create one long narrative, we will at times make
references to books other than the first three listed on the
syllabus. If you haven't read all the books in the series
and don't want the plot “spoiled” for you by hearing
what happens in book VI or book VII, then please finish all
the books before class begins. This is, after all, a
college-level course concerned with literary analysis, which
means we can't curtail academic discussions simply because
some students don't want their reading experiences “spoiled.”
On the other hand, because I expect students to engage in
close readings of texts, we will try to focus our discussion
and analysis on whichever book currently is under discussion.
Required Texts and Materials:
Books: (Books and Course Packet available at Mike's
Book Store)
- Colbert, David. The Magical Worlds of Harry Potter. Wrightsville, N.C.: Lumina Press, 2001.
- Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.
New York: Scholastic, 1997.
- -----. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. New York: Scholastic, 1999.
- -----. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. New York: Scholastic, 2000.
- LITR 137 Course Packet: Contains academic essays and works of literature from various sources (All readings in the course packet are listed as CP on the Reading Schedule below).
On-line Texts: (all linked on the course syllabus posted to the web at people.emich.edu/awannnamak)
- Grimm's “Cinderella”:
http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/type0510a.html#grimm
- The Odyssey, Book 10: http://www.mala.bc.ca/~johnstoi/homer/odyssey10.htm
- “The Legend of Saint George”: http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/stgeorge1.html
Journal Materials: Folder and paper (no notebooks and no 3-ring binders),which will make up the reading/class/quiz journal (see description below).
Reading, Test, and Project Schedule:
Sept 6: Introduction to Course.
First Journal entries assigned.
Sept 11: Read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, chapts 1-7.
Sept 13: Read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, chaps 8-17.
Sept 18: Read in CP Chapter 9 from Exploring Harry Potter.
Read in Colbert, “Introduction” (15-17).
Sept 20: Read in CP Chapter 10 from Exploring Harry Potter.
Read in Colbert 123-128 (Latin) and 147-152 (names)
Oral Reports Assigned.
Essay No. 1 Assigned.
Sept 25: Read in CP Anne Alton’s essay on genre.
Sept 27: First set of journal entries due.
Read in CP Karen Manners Smith’s essay on boarding school novels.
Read in Colbert 117-120 on boarding schools.
Oct 2: Read on-line text: Grimm’s “Cinderella”: <http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/type0510a.html#grimm>
Read in Colbert 141-144 on mirrors.
Read in CP Ovid 109-116 “Narcissus and Echo”
- Oral Report 1: Narcissus
- Oral Report 2: Mirrors as literary motif
- Oral Report 3: Harry Potter as folktale
Oct 4: Read in CP Leeming 228-9 on Herakles.
Read in CP Ovid 301-303 “The Minotaur and Ariadne”
Read in CP Ovid 382-386 “Orpheus and Eurydice”
Read in Colbert 89-90 on Cerberus
- Oral Report 4: Herakles (Hercules)
- Oral Report 5: Labyrinth as literary motif
- Oral Report 6: Orpheus
- Oral Report 7: Cerberus
Oct 9: Read in Colbert 19-22 on alchemy and 85-87 on Flamel
Read in Colbert 197-207 on wizards in history
Read in CP History of the Kings of Britain 124-127 and 152-169
- Oral Report 8 on Vortigern
- Oral Report 9 on Merlin
- Oral Report 10 on Agrippa
- Oral Report 11 on Morgana
Oct 11: Read on-line text The Odyssey, Book 10: <http://www.mala.bc.ca/~johnstoi/homer/odyssey10.htm>
- Oral Report 12: Odysseus
- Oral Report 13: Circe
Oct 16: Essay No. 1 due for rough draft workshop.
Read Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, chapts 1-5.
Oct 18: Essay No. 1 due
Read Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, chapts 6-11.
Oct 23: Read Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, chapts 12-18.
Oct 25: Mid-term exam
Second set of journal entries due (keep until the midterm to use as study guide)
Oct 30: Essay No. 2 Assigned.
Read in CP Chapter 23 from The Sword and the Stone.
Read in Colbert 99-100 on Knights of the Round Table.
- Oral Report 14: King Arthur
- Oral Report 15: Knights of the Round Table
- Oral Report 16: Harry Potter as Arthurian Romance
- Oral Report 17: Sword as literary motif
Nov 1: Read in CP Ovid 159-161 “Cadmus and Harmonia.”
Read in Colbert 61-66 on dragon killing
Read in Colbert 35-26 on basilisks
Nov 6: Read in CP Ovid 210-217 “Arachne”
Read in Colbert 173-176 on spiders
Read in Colbert 81-83 on phoenix
Read in Colbert 155-166 on hero narratives
- Oral Report 22: Spiders as literary motif
- Oral Report 23: phoenix
- Oral Report 24: Harry Potter as heroic legend
- Oral Report 25: Minerva
Nov 8: Essay No. 2 due for in-class writing workshop.
Nov 13: Read in CP Hourihan chapter from Deconstructing the Hero
Nov 15: Essay No. 2 due.
Read Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, chapts. 1-9.
Nov 20: Third set of journal entries due.
Read Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, chapts. 10-22.
Nov 22: No class. Thanksgiving Break.
Nov 27: Essay No. 3 Assigned.
Read in Colbert 23-29 on animangus
Read in Colbert 43-46 on Sirius
Read in Colbert 107-110 on Hippogriffs
Read on-line text on Werewolf tales: <http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/werewolf.html#morbach>
- Oral Report 26: werewolf as literary motif
- Oral Report 27: Sirius
- Oral Report 28: person/animal transformations as literary motif
- Oral Report 29: Harry Potter as Young Adult literature
Nov 29: Read in CP Deborah Thompson essay on gender
Read online essay, “Harry Potter’s Girl Trouble”: <http://www.salon.com>
- Oral Report 30: Case that girls in HP books are stereotypical
- Oral Report 31: Case that girls in HP books are portrayed positively
- Oral Report 32: Case that boys in HP books are stereotypical
- Oral Report 33: Case that boys in HP books are portrayed positively
Dec 4: Essay No. 3 due for in-class writing workshop.
Dec 6: Read in CP Ostry essay on race and ethnicity
- Oral Report 36: Case that HP depicts issues of race and racism positively
- Oral Report 37: Case that HP is (unconsciously) racist
- Oral Report 38: Case that HP is (unconsciously) xenophobic or imperialistic
Dec 11: Essay No. 3 due.
Read in CP Borah essay on fan communities
- Oral Report 39: fan fiction as a genre
- Oral Report 40: fan communities as subcultures
Dec 18: Final exam.
Fourth set of journal entries due
(keep until the exam to use as study guide)
Course Requirements and Grading:
Assignments and Point Value:
5-7 minute oral report 100
Journals (4 sets @ 50 pts per set) 200
Essay No. 1 100
Essay No. 2 150
Essay No. 3 150
Midterm exam 150
Final Exam 150
Total possible points 1000
Grading Scale: 1000-940=A; 939-900=A-; 899-870=B+; 869-840=B; 839-800=B-; 799-770=C+; 769-740=C; 739-700=C-; 699-670=D+; 669-640=D; 639-600=D-; <600=F.
Projects: I will give out detailed written assignments about each writing assignment and we will go over these in class (see schedule). For each class day an assignment (journal set, rough draft for workshop or final draft) is late, I will deduct 10 percent from the grade for that assignment.
Tests: There will be a mid-term and a final in this course and I will do a brief review before each test. The tests will be a combination of fill in the blank, short answer, and essay questions.
Reading/class/quiz journal: Throughout the term you will complete a variety of short writing assignments—some at home and some in class—which you will collect in a folder. I will periodically collect your journals (about once a month). Some of your journal entries will be responses to the reading that you are assigned, some will be pre-writing for papers, and some will be activities to help you to study for the exams. Some of these writing assignments will take the form of in-class reading quizzes, which you will not be allowed to make up if you do not attend class, and which I will collect and grade the day you take them. Some of the assignments will be responses to lectures or in-class group activities, which you also will not be able to make up if you miss class. Please keep in mind that I have designed the course assuming that the average student will miss a day or two of class and, therefore, may lose credit for two or three assignments. Missing a day or two of class will not adversely affect your grade, and, indeed, is expected because even the best students have emergencies, family matters that need attention, or appointments that cannot be re-scheduled (see attendance policy below).
Attendance Policy: I will take roll each day for the first few weeks of class until I learn everyone’s name, but will not take roll after that. Students at EMU are adults, and therefore are able to make their own decisions about when or when not to attend a class, therefore I do not count students’ absences as “excused” or “unexcused.” This is not to say that (as in every other class) there are no consequences for missing any class: there will be many written assignments and quizzes we will do in class and that simply cannot be made up outside of the classroom. Furthermore, even if there is no quiz or writing assignment, I cover material each day that will either be on an exam or will apply to one of the writing assignments. Exchange email addresses or phone numbers with some of your classmates so that you can borrow notes when you must miss a class. Missing two or three class meetings should not adversely affect a student’s grade, but students who miss more than this will lose points, especially from their journals. The official English Department policy is that students who miss two weeks worth of a class (four classes) should expect to fail that course and should probably drop. Keep this in mind as you plan your schedule for the term. If there is an emergency and you must miss a midterm or final exam, please contact the instructor as soon as possible via email to schedule a make-up exam. The make-up should be completed as soon after the exam as is possible.
Politeness Policies:
Part of my job as a professor is to create a learning environment where students feel safe, respected, and able to get the most out of their learning experiences. I promise to treat all students with respect, but also must work to maintain a structured learning environment. I’m assuming that the following statements will seem obvious to most of you, but 15 years of teaching college students has taught me that there will be some students who need these rules of classroom etiquette spelled out in an obvious way:
Be on time.
When you come to class late, it is disruptive to everyone around you. If you cannot make it to my class on time (8 a.m., not 8:02 or even 8:01) please drop the course.
Turn off your cell phone.
It is not okay for your cell phone to ring in any classroom, ever. If you are expecting a very important call (your wife is about to have a baby, for instance) you can talk to me before class to let me know that your cell phone will be on. Otherwise, turn it off.
Be respectful of the instructor and your fellow students.
These are examples of behaviors that are not respectful: When students exhibit the following behaviors, I assume they do not want to be in class and will ask if they prefer to leave.
- doing your math homework or reading the newspaper during a lecture.
- coming to class unprepared. We cannot have a discussion about a text if students have not done the assigned reading. Since my classes are based on the assumption that students have read the assigned material, most often, you will not get a lot out of our discussions if you didn’t do the reading.
- text messaging a friend on your cell phone or blackberry; playing a game on your cell phone.
- Surfing the web or updating your Facebook profile on your laptop.
- whispering or making notes to the person sitting next to you.
- putting your books into your backpack 5 minutes before class is over.
- interrupting other students when they are speaking, telling a fellow student to “shut up,” telling a fellow student his/her beliefs are stupid, immoral, wrong, silly, etc.
- Walking in and out of the classroom during class (unless, of course, there is an emergency).
These are examples of behaviors that are okay:
- It is perfectly okay to bring some coffee, soda, or food into the classroom, as long as you pick up after yourself when you leave and as long as you are not disruptive (for example, open crinkly bags of chips before class begins).
- You can always raise your hand to interrupt me (even in mid lecture) to ask a question or ask for clarification.
- As you will soon learn, children’s literature is a controversial field of study (people have a lot invested in their children, in what they think children should or shouldn’t read, etc.). It is okay to disagree with me or with your fellow students, but you must engage in intellectual debates in ways that are polite and you must keep your mind open to a variety of viewpoints.
- Is it okay to dislike a text we are reading or to disagree with an interpretation of the text I teach (in discussion or in writing). Indeed, that is the purpose of academic writing and discussion: develop an interpretation of your own and defend it with evidence.
Web Site Maintained by Annette Wannamaker
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