UNIVERSITÄT TÜBINGEN SEMINAR FÜR ENGLISCHE PHILOLOGIE Christine Frasch, M.A. Landeskunde Großbritanniens und Irlands

Wilhelmstr. 50 D-72074 TÜBINGEN Tel.: 07071/29 75450 Fax.: 07071/29 5760 Email: [email protected] Website: www.intelligent-mr-toad.de

LPS: The Harry Potter Phenomenon Dienstag, 18-20

Raum 119

Beginn: 17.04.2007

Joanne K Rowling's Harry Potter novels have been an astonishing publishing success with over 300 million copies sold worldwide. Overturning the book and bestseller market, inspiring a follow-up movie series, and subject to intense marketing, they have become a global economic and cultural phenomenon. They have been translated into over 60 languages and have been ascribed such diverse effects as 'encouraging children to read', contributing to the 'cultural infantilisation' of the adult reader, and 'promoting satanism'. We will approach the Harry Potter novels in the context of the literary genres they borrow from (children's literature, the novel of education, fantasy) and in comparison with selected predecessors. We'll examine their economic and cultural impact (on the book market, bestseller literature, the internet 'fandom'), the contrast between nostalgic Britishness and global appeal, and their intertextual, social and political implications. And finally, ask ourselves along with the critics: "But is it 'literature'? Or a 'phenomenon'? Or both? Or neither?"

Literature: Please read before the beginning of term: Thomas Hughes, Tom Brown's Schooldays (cheap editions from Oxford World's Classics or Wordsworth Children's Classics) J M Barrie, Peter Pan (Penguin Popular Classics or Wordsworth Children's Classics) J K Rowling, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (1997) ---, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (1998) ---, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (1999) ---, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2000) ---, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2003) ---, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2005)

Requirements: Regular participation, an oral presentation and either a Hausarbeit of about 2500 words or a three hour written Klausur at the end of term.

Selective Bibliography: [this is a selection of useful introductions – you will find a lot more material for your projects, both books and essays, by looking at the OPAC and essay databases like the MLA.]

1. General Cawelti, John. Adventure, Mystery and Romance: Formula Stories as Art and Popular Culture. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1976. [FB] Frow, John. Genre. London: Routledge, 2006. [FB] Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 6th ed. New York: Modern Language Association of America, 2004. [FB] Hawkins, Harriett. Classics and Trash: Traditions and Taboos in High Literature and Popular Modern Genres. New York: Harvester Wheatsheaf, 1990. [UB] Hellekson, Karen L./Busse, Kristina (eds.). Fan Fiction and Fan Communities in the Age of the Internet: New Essays. Jefferson: McFarland, 2006. [FB] Jenkins, Henry. Textual Poachers: Television Fans & Participatory Culture. New York: Routledge, 1992. [FB/UB] Johnson, David (ed.). The Popular & the Canonical: Debating Twentieth-Century Literature 1940 – 2000. London: Routledge, 2005. [UB] Lewis, Lisa (ed.). The Adoring Audience: Fan Culture and Popular Media. London/New York: Routledge, 1992. [FB] McCracken, Scott. Pulp: Reading Popular Fiction. Manchester: Manchester U P, 1998. [FB] Whissen, Thomas Reed. Classic Cult Fiction: a Companion to Popular Cult Literature. New York: Greenwood, 1992. [UB] 2. Children's Literature Bonacker, Maren (ed.). Peter Pans Kinder: doppelte Adressiertheit in phantastischen Texten. Trier: WVT, 2004. [FB] Hunt, Peter. Criticism, Theory and Children's Literature. Oxford: Blackwell, 1991. [UB] Hunt, Peter. An Introduction to Children's Literature. Oxford: Oxford U P, 1994. [UB] Hunt, Peter (ed.). Children's Literature: an Illustrated History. Oxford: Oxford U P, 1995. [UB] Hunt, Peter (ed.). International Companion Encyclopedia of Children's Literature. London: Routledge, 1996. [FB] Lesnik-Oberstein, Karín. Children's Literature: Criticism and the Fictional Child. Oxford: Clarendon, 1994. [UB] Lurie, Alison, Boys and Girls Forever: Children's Classics from Cinderella to Harry Potter. New York: Penguin, 2003. [FB] Nodelman, Perry. The Pleasures of Children's Literature. 2nd Edition. New York: Longman, 1996. [FB] Reynolds, Kimberley (ed.). Modern Children's Literature: an Introduction. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005. [FB]

Bimberg, Christiane/Kullmann, Thomas (eds.). Children's Books and Child Readers: Constructions of Childhood in English Juvenile Fiction. Aachen: Shaker, 2006. [FB] Sadler, Glenn Edward (ed.). Teaching Children's Literature: Issues, Pedagogy, Resources. New York: Modern Language Association of America, 1994. [FB] Thacker, Deborah Cogan/Webb, Jean. Introducing Children's Literature: from Romanticism to Postmodernism. London: Routledge, 2002. [FB] Zipes, Jack. Sticks and Stones: the Troublesome Success of Children's Literature from Slovenly Peter to Harry Potter. New York: Routledge, 2001. [FB] 3. Fantasy Armitt, Lucie. Fantasy Fiction: an Introduction. New York: Continuum, 2005. [FB] Barron, Neil (ed.). Fantasy Literature: a Reader's Guide. New York: Garland, 1990. [UB] Durst, Uwe. Theorie der phantastischen Literatur. Tübingen/Basel: Francke, 2001. [FB/UB] Hunt, Peter/Lenz, Millicent. Alternative Worlds in Fantasy Fiction. London: Continuum, 2003. [FB] Jackson, Rosemary. Fantasy: the Literature of Subversion. London: Methuen, 1981. [FB] Mathews, Richard. Fantasy: the Liberation of Imagination. New York: Routledge, 2002. [FB] Todorov, Tzvetan. Einführung in die phantastische Literatur. München: Hanser, 1972. [FB] Tolkien, J. R. R. "On Fairy-Stories" (1964). In: Tolkien, J. R. R. Tree and Leaf. London: Unwin, 1988. [FB/UB] Tschirner, Susanne. Der Fantasy-Bildungsroman. Meitingen: Corian, 1989. [UB] 4. Thomas Hughes Bamford, T W. Rise of the Public Schools. London: Nelson, 1967. [FB] Chandos, John. Boys Together: English Public Schools 1800 – 1864. New Haven: Yale U P, 1984. [UB] Gathorne-Hardy, Jonathan. The Public School Phenomenon: 597 - 1977. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1979. [FB] Richards, Jeffrey. Happiest Days: the Public Schools in English Fiction. Manchester: Manchester U P, 1988. [FB] Selchow, Ulrich. Thomas Arnold, Versuch einer Neuwertung seiner Bedeutung als Theologe, Sozialkritiker und Headmaster der Public School in Rugby. Dissertation, Hamburg, 1982. [UB] Worth, George J. Thomas Hughes. Boston: Twayne, 1984. [UB] 5. James Barrie Birkin, Andrew. J. M. Barrie & the Lost Boys. London: Constable, 1979. [UB] Jones, Dudley/Watkins, Tony (eds.). A Necessary Fantasy? The Heroic Figure in Children's Popular Culture. New York: Garland, 2000. [FB] Rose, Jacqueline. The Case of Peter Pan, or, The Impossibility of Children's Fiction. London : Macmillan, 1984. [FB]

Wall, Barbara. The Narrator's Voice: the Dilemma of Children's Fiction. Houndmills: Macmillan, 1991. [FB] Wullschläger, Jackie. Inventing Wonderland: the Lives of Lewis Carroll, Edward Lear, J. M. Barrie, Kenneth Grahame and A. A. Milne. London: Methuen, 2001. [UB] 6. Harry Potter Abanes, Richard. Harry Potter and the Bible: the Menace Behind the Magick. Camp Hill: Horizon, 2001. [UB] Anatol, Giselle Liza (ed.). Reading Harry Potter: Critical Essays. Westport: Praeger, 2003. [UB] Blake, Andrew. The Irresistible Rise of Harry Potter. London: Verso, 2002. [UB] Bridger, Francis. A Charmed Life: the Spirituality of Potterworld. London: Darton Longman & Todd, 2002. [UB] Brown, Stephen. Wizard! Harry Potter's Brand Magic. London: Cyan, 2005. [UB] Bürvenich, Paul. Der Zauber des Harry Potter : Analyse eines literarischen Welterfolgs. Frankfurt a.M.: Lang, 2001. [FB] Cherrett, Lisa. The Triumph of Goodness: Biblical Themes in the Harry Potter Stories. Oxford: Bible Reading Fellowship, 2003. [UB] Günther, Wolfgang. Wege ins Wunderland: von Peter Pan bis Harry Potter. Frankfurt a.M.: Gold, 2006. [UB] Gupta, Suman. Re-Reading Harry Potter. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003. [UB] Neal, Connie. The Gospel According to Harry Potter: Spirituality in the Stories of the World's Most Famous Seeker. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2002. [UB] Nel, Philip. J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter Novels: a Reader's Guide. New York: Continuum, 2003. [UB] Stolzenburg, Silvia. The English Bestseller and the Bookmarket in the 1990s. Dissertation. Tübingen, 2006. [FB/UB] Whited, Lana (ed.). The Ivory Tower and Harry Potter: Perspectives on a Literary Phenomenon. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 2003. [UB] Whitney Hallett, Cynthia (ed.). Scholarly Studies in Harry Potter: Applying Academic Methods to a Popular Text. Lewiston: Edwin Mellen Press, 2005. [FB] 7. Internet Sources: http://daily_snitch.livejournal.com ['fandom newsletter'] http://www.eulenfeder.de/hpliteratur.html [extensive bibliography] http://www.fictionalley.org [largest Harry Potter fan fiction archive] http://www.hp-lexicon.org [the Harry Potter Lexicon] http://www.jkrowling.com [J K Rowling's homepage] http://www.k-state.edu/english/nelp/rowling [links to reviews, criticism online by Philip Nel] http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org [large fan site]

Programme [please read the text(s) listed for each session before the beginning of each session as it will provide background for class discussion. All essays can be found in the FB Handapparat.]

1

April 17

Introduction and Quiz

2

April 24

Discussion: The Harry Potter Novels – Reception and Criticism

READ: Johnson, David (ed.). The Popular & the Canonical: Debating Twentieth-Century Literature 1940 – 2000. London: Routledge, 2005. Introductions to Part 1 (pp. 3-12) and Part 2 (pp. 199-209). Barfield, Steven. "Of Young Magicians and Growing Up: J. K. Rowling, Her Critics and the "Cultural Infantilism" Debate". In: Whitney Hallett, Cynthia (ed.). Scholarly Studies in Harry Potter: Applying Academic Methods to a Popular Text. Lewiston: Edwin Mellen Press, 2005, pp. 175-197. "The Phenomenon of Harry Potter, or Why All the Talk?" In: Zipes, Jack. Sticks and Stones: the Troublesome Success of Children's Literature from Slovenly Peter to Harry Potter. New York: Routledge, 2001, pp. 170-188.

PROJECTS 3

May 8

Children's Literature, the Novel of Education and the School Story

READ: Hunt, Peter. Criticism, Theory and Children's Literature. Oxford: Blackwell, 1991, pp. 17-64.

4

May 15

Education and School Life in Tom Brown's Schooldays and Harry Potter

READ: Smith, Karen Manners. "Harry Potter's Schooldays: J. K. Rowling and the British Boarding School Novel". In: Anatol, Giselle Liza (ed.). Reading Harry Potter: Critical Essays. Westport: Praeger, 2003: pp. 69-87. Rubik, Margarete. "From Rugby to Hogwarts: British School Novels and the Changing Ideals of Education". In: Bimberg, Christiane/Kullmann, Thomas (eds.). Children's Books and Child Readers: Constructions of Childhood in English Juvenile Fiction. Aachen: Shaker, 2006, pp. 18-33.

5

May 22

Fantasy and the Fantastic: Peter Pan and Harry Potter

READ: Hunt, Peter. "Introduction: Fantasy and Alternative Worlds". In: Hunt, Peter/Lenz, Millicent. Alternative Worlds in Fantasy Fiction. London: Continuum, 2003, pp. 1-35. "Introduction": In: Rose, Jacqueline. The Case of Peter Pan, or, The Impossibility of Children's Fiction. London : Macmillan, 1984, pp. 1-11.

6

June 5

Harry Potter: the Market and the Book Market

READ: Tomkowiak, Ingrid. "Vom Weltbürger zum Global Player: Harry Potter als kulturübergreifendes Phänomen". Fabula 44 (2003): 79-94. Brown, Stephen. Wizard! Harry Potter's Brand Magic. London: Cyan, 2005, pp. 7-30 and 83110.

7

June 12

Britishness and Globalisation in Harry Potter

READ: Blake, Andrew. The Irresistible Rise of Harry Potter. London: Verso, 2002, pp. 1-26.

8

June 19

Harry Potter and Censorship

READ: Stephens, Rebecca. "Harry and Hierarchy: Book Banning as a Reaction to the Subversion of Authority". In: Anatol, Giselle Liza (ed.). Reading Harry Potter: Critical Essays. Westport: Praeger, 2003, pp. 51-65. Griesinger, Emily. "Why Read Harry Potter? J. K. Rowling and the Christian Debate". Christian Scholar's Review 32 /3 (2003), pp. 297-316.

9

June 26

Close Reading: the Worlds, Plots, and Characters of Harry Potter

READ: Grimes, M. Katherine. "Harry Potter: Fairy Tale Prince, Real Boy, and Archetypal Hero". In: Whited, Lana (ed.). The Ivory Tower and Harry Potter: Perspectives on a Literary Phenomenon. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 2003, pp. 89-122.

10

July 3

Politics and Society: Race, Class and Gender in Harry Potter

READ: Gupta, Suman. Re-Reading Harry Potter. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003, pp. 99-132. Schoefer, Christine. "Harry Potter's Girl Trouble". Salon Magazine (13.1.2000). [http://www.cesnur.org/recens/potter_012.htm]

11

July 10

Beyond Canon Texts: Fan Fiction

"Introduction: Work in Progress". In: Hellekson, Karen L./Busse, Kristina (eds.). Fan Fiction and Fan Communities in the Age of the Internet: New Essays. Jefferson: McFarland, 2006, pp. 5-31. Derecho, Abigail. "Archontic Literature". In: Hellekson, Karen L./Busse, Kristina (eds.). Fan Fiction and Fan Communities in the Age of the Internet: New Essays. Jefferson: McFarland, 2006, pp. 61-77. AND: one fan fiction (tba.)

12

July 17

Klausur (18.15-21.15)