Harry Potter - A Module at Durham University. Really!

Guest post by Emily Sherr, my 20 year old daughter, who is at Durham University studying Education with History,

I have just finished my second year at Durham University studying Education with History. This year, as part of my course, I was able to undertake a module entitled ‘Harry Potter and the Age of Illusion’. This module was created 3 years ago by Dr Martin Richardson and has received great media attention.

Durham is possibly the perfect place for a module such as this to be held as it is often described as Hogwarts with its beautiful architecture and ancient traditions such as formal dinners and gowns. The module is undoubtedly enjoyable and was so from the start when we were ‘sorted’ into houses in the Great Hall in the Castle.

The content of the module is ultimately about Harry Potter; the themes that emerge in the series such a love, death, prejudice and guilt, as well as asking questions such as is Harry Potter real and is he a good citizen. The series also provides an opportunity for us, and our society, to learn from the wizarding world. This is true of the education system and the module provides the opportunity to examine our own schooling through Hogwarts by looking at everyday school issue such as bullying, prejudice and friendship. This is especially beneficial for children who are able to relate to Harry and deal with their own hardships through the books.

The best thing about the module for me is the freedom it provides and the scope for pursuing your own interests within the module. If you were interested in philosophy, you could take a philosophical approach, and the same is true for religion, education (I compared Albus Dumbledore with Thomas Arnold, the famous headmaster of Rugby School in the early nineteenth century) and any other field.

I have learnt a lot more from the module than I ever expected, and despite what many think, it is not a module that teaches you about Harry Potter as if it were an English module. It allows us to think about our own society and see the series as more than mere light reading or entertainment. There is so much to learn from the books, films and the general hype surrounding Harry Potter. It truly is remarkable how great an effect one writer and one series has had on the world at large.

Durham is the first and only British University to offer a module on Harry Potter but used, taught, and understood in the correct way it can be highly beneficial, interesting and fulfilling. I have thoroughly enjoyed studying the module this year and would highly recommend it to others.

Comments

[Midlife Singlemum]

I totally understand this. I once did a Tour Educators course in Israel. It wasn't about teaching the history of each site or antiquity as a tour guide does. It was about using the themes, philosophies, and other phenomenon that the site and it's history suggests in order to explore wider contexts and learn valuable lessons. I would love to do a harry Potter course like this. When I read the books I couldn't stop thinking about the class system, the public school system, and how seven books can capture the imagination of the whole western world. Not to mention the other series that have copied the exact format of Harry Potter and also been extremely successful. Rachel Selby