J.K. Rowling

I had a great time talking with the students of Pastor Priggie’s “The Postmodern World of Harry Potter” class via teleconference at Augustana College this past Friday.  The conversation was recorded, and will be appearing as PubCast #65 tomorrow by this weekend (editing is taking longer than expected).

Taking up a portion of our conversation was the question of the Ministry of Magic’s abuse of power.  We discussed what the Ministry did wrong (a lot) and right (not much, if anything).  J.K. Rowling’s scathing critique of a government’s abuse of power during a time of war is paired with the courageous actions of free individuals whose efforts, apart from and even against Ministry activity, led to the downfall of Voldemort.

Ms. Rowling said this at her 2008 Harvard commencement speech:

Imagination is not only the uniquely human capacity to envision that which is not, and therefore the fount of all invention and innovation. In its arguably most transformative and revelatory capacity; it is the power that enables us to empathize with humans whose experiences we have never shared.

We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: we have the power to imagine better.

Per Pastor Priggie’s request, this post is for you to comment on for class.  (Regular Hog’s Head patrons – please give this thread some time, a week or so, before responding, so that all students in the class can complete their assignment.)

This is an exercise in imagination. Comment on one of the following:

• Imagine yourself in the place of one of the oppressed groups in the Wizarding World.  Given an opportunity to address the Minister of Magic, what would you say?  (Place yourself in the role of house-elf, centaur, giant, goblin, Muggle-born, and address the Minister from that point of view.)
• Consider one action the Ministry of Magic took during the war against Voldemort that was an abuse of its power.  Explain how it was counterproductive to the war against Voldemort, despite the intention of Ministry officials to thwart Voldemort.  Then, imagine and describe what the Ministry should have done instead and how it would have been more effective in combating evil.
• Voldemort has fallen, and the Wizarding World, including the Ministry of Magic, is being put back together.  You have been commissioned to create a fountain or statue to replace the one set up by Pius Thicknesse, which was promptly torn down by Kingsley Shacklebolt after Voldemort’s demise.  In effect, you are now in control of what will become one of the most prominent cultural symbols in the Wizarding World.  This is significant, in light of Hunter’s thesis that cultural wars take place at a symbolic level. What does your fountain or statue look like?

To the right of this post, in the sidebar, I’ve linked this post, because it will undoubtedly get lost in other posts in the coming days.  I will leave it linked there, so it is easy for you to find, until all students have completed their assignment.  I will then open the discussion up for regular Hog’s Head patrons, so be sure to check back and see what the regulars have to say!

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