- Ms Kaye is a Tyee Builder. You can be, too.
- Mary Carlisle is a Tyee Builder. You can be, too.
- Prem Gill is a Tyee Builder. You can be, too.
- Nancy Flight is a Tyee Builder. You can be, too.
- Justin Everett is a Tyee Builder. You can be, too.
- John Westover is a Tyee Builder. You can be, too.
- Nora Etches is a Tyee Builder. You can be, too.
- Edward Henderson is a Tyee Builder. You can be, too.
- Bharadwaj Chandramouli is a Tyee Builder. You can be, too.
- Dean Chatterson is a Tyee Builder. You can be, too.
- Marius Scurtescu is a Tyee Builder. You can be, too.
- Robert Parkes is a Tyee Builder. You can be, too.
- James Murton is a Tyee Builder. You can be, too.
- Susan Doyle is a Tyee Builder. You can be, too.
- Vincent Strgar is a Tyee Builder. You can be, too.
- Helen Spiegelman is a Tyee Builder. You can be, too.
- Subir Guin is a Tyee Builder. You can be, too.
- Kimball Finigan is a Tyee Builder. You can be, too.
- Joanne Manley is a Tyee Builder. You can be, too.
- David Leach is a Tyee Builder. You can be, too.
Harry Potter 101: Final Exam
Deconstructing Harry.
Divine the truth.
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
- Raincoast Books (2007)
Instructions: please read carefully.
This examination consists of two essays of equal length. Each essay is worth 25 points (10 for depth/originality of argument, 10 for style and five for spelling and grammar).
You have three hours to complete the examination. Good luck!
Questions:
1. Third wave feminism: Hermione and the riot wizrrrrrrds
Hermione would be the star if she pushed up her bra instead of her brain. Discuss. (Include an analysis of the broom as pole dancing prop).
2. Second wave feminism: Harry Potter and the barriers of structural inequality
Discuss Hogwarts as a classic patriarchal institution. Include analysis of the symbolism of Dumbledore's staff and whether Harry's "granted" magical gifts are representative of a false meritocracy with invisible barriers to female achievement. Extra points are available for a consideration of the role of the broom as phallic substitute and the multiple axes of oppression faced by "othered" female wizards (see Chang, Cho).
3. Post structuralism: Harry Potter and the violent hierarchies of opposition
Deconstruct the Voldemort character. To what extent does he exhibit Derrida's theory of binary opposites? Include in your analysis a discussion of how "his" power is everywhere and nowhere, how He Who Should Not Be Named has no physical or solid identity and how he represents "pure" evil. To what extent is Azkaban influenced by Foucault's Discipline and Punish?
4. Marxism: Harry Potter and the chains of capitalist oppression
Discuss the role of middle class "charity" in the text. Include an analysis of Hermione's house-elf "liberation." What prevented a worker's revolution in this case? Are the house elves freer now than before?
5. Classical realism: Harry Potter and the unitary national interest
Professor Snape: Kissinger with a cauldron? Discuss. Please include a classical realist analysis of Voldemort vs. Dumbledore and the primacy of war in your interpretation.
6. Christian literary theology: Harry Potter and the only begotten son
Consider Harry as a Christ substitute (and/or Voldemort as Lucifer, Dumbledore as God, Sirius as the star, the Chamber of Secrets as Genesis). Compare and contrast the roles of prophecy, doubt and miracles in the two narratives. Bonus points for discussing the role of the lightning bolt as born-again symbolism, or how the series will end for Harry/Jesus.
7. Liberal internationalism: Harry Potter and the responsibility to protect
Imagine that Voldemort has conquered England. Construct an argument justifying a humanitarian intervention of the conquered state by outside forces. In your answer, ensure you take a stance on the spells as weapons of mass destruction debate and discuss the parallels between NATO and the Order of the Phoenix.
![[Tyee]](http://thetyee.cachefly.net/ui/img/ico_fishie.png){kind=small}
- The Gem of Canadian Science that Harper Killed
- Who Mowed Down the Premier?
- Canada's Economy, Deconstructed (by a 12 year-old)
- Death in Remand: a Tyee Inquiry
- Now Is the Time to Talk up Big Ideas
- Sexism Tinges Criticism of Teachers' Job Action
- Death In Remand: 'A Gut Feeling'
- Bill C-38: the Environmental Destruction Act
- Bias in BC's Pesticide Decision? Follow the Bouncing Verbs
- The Ethics of Addiction Studies
- The Gem of Canadian Science that Harper Killed
- Sexism Tinges Criticism of Teachers' Job Action
- Now Is the Time to Talk up Big Ideas
- The Ethics of Addiction Studies
- Bill C-38: the Environmental Destruction Act
- Alberta Fills Pipes with Corrosive Denial
- Bias in BC's Pesticide Decision? Follow the Bouncing Verbs
- How Our Immune Systems Exaggerate Fear
- BC biotech company seeks approval for GM apple
- What's Behind BC's Doors?
- The Gem of Canadian Science that Harper Killed
- Sexism Tinges Criticism of Teachers' Job Action
- Should You Run from that Medical Test?
- 'The Dictator'
- Death in Remand: Stacked Deck
- 'Moonrise Kingdom'
- From Financial Advisor to Occupier
- Seven Goals to Build the Conservative 'Dream'
- How Our Immune Systems Exaggerate Fear
- Who Mowed Down the Premier?
7
Login or register to post comments
nightbloom
4 years ago
Oy! This po-mo parody is
Oy!
This po-mo parody is causing the repressed memories of my undergraduate years at Carleton to resurface! I can't breathe...Quick - hand me my Allan Bloom reader!
I’m getting flashbacks of the paranoid glares of the campus Spartacus clique and their pallid, black-clad girlfriends from Social Work, who spent the winter semester of ‘90/’91 in the Maxwell MacOdum library working their way through the contents of the Third Floor (English Lit) with big black markers, blotting out 'offensive' text and scrawling "-ist" words across the pages.
Thank Gawd Canadian campuses have outgrown all that!
Bobbi
4 years ago
Why I dropped women's studies
Oh my, I am almost afraid to comment. This brings back the horrid memories of pretension and code work that is women's studies. Every word you use is held up for scrutiny for a different meaning and effect through a prism of relentless politcally correct gender posturing. I am so glad I escaped/graduated.
I know this is supoosed to funny, but seriously this is the sort of thing that sucks the joy out of a good story. It is also why college students come out of university as uninformed prats, who require extensive on the job training.
Frank
4 years ago
On the other hand
Its a good story.
Too bad Harry will die but what are you gonna do?
snert
4 years ago
Uh Oh! Did Raintree leaK?
Frank
4 years ago
Leaks
Even London bookies aren't taking bets on whether he dies, its who kills him that they're betting on.
I've got my daughter pretty much prepared for it. Though if Hermionie kicks the bucket too it'll be a crisis at our house.
G West
4 years ago
That's Raincoast
Mcch ado about nothing...interesting article in today's New York Times about how Harry Potter hasn't really even improved kids' reading habits very much either -
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/11/books/11potter.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
Frank
4 years ago
You heard it here first
GWest is a Death-Eater, and so's the NY Times.