Greetings Harry Potter enthusiasts! Whether you used the Knight Bus, floo powder, or, um, your keyboard, I’m so glad that you found your way to my guest blogging at the Hog’s Head. I’m going to be hanging with you all for a few weeks, and I’m looking forward to chatting about one of my favorite topics: the relationship between Christianity and the Harry Potter books. But before we get to that, I thought I’d start by telling you a little bit about myself.
For the past two years, I’ve been teaching a seminar at Yale University on Christian theology and Harry Potter. It’s a full semester course that provides an introduction to key topics in Christianity and asks students to analyze how those ideas are present (or not) in the series. The class has been a huge hit on campus—over 70 students have signed up each term, even though the class is capped at 18, and going through their applications is both a challenge and great fun. I’m pretty sure no other instructor on campus gets to hear about how their potential students founded Quidditch Clubs in their high schools or read Prisoner of Azkaban over and over on rainy days in elementary school. I feel like the luckiest teacher in the world because of that: I know my students are passionate about the class, and that makes me passionate too.
Of course, I have a hunch—just a hunch, of course—that when they come to class, their interest in Christianity is, hmm…how to put this, well, not as powerful as their love of Harry and his friends. This isn’t always the case, but most of the time, it’s the wizarding world that draws my students to class, not Christian theology. After all, theology sounds kind of dull, doesn’t it? Theology. Theology. It’s got ology in it. Makes it sound serious.
But the thing is, I’ve been studying theology for about seven years now, first at Yale and then as a doctoral student at Boston University, and I can’t think of a more lively topic. Where else do you get to discuss what happens when you die? Or what it means to love someone well? Or what God is like? Those kinds of questions get to the heart of what it means to be human, and regardless of whether you’re Christian or not, I think these issues are really important in our lives because they ask each of us to think about who we are in relation to each other and the Divine. In other words, they’re the basics, the fundamentals of our existence. Kind of like the metaphoric atoms of our being, you know?
Anyway, two years ago when I started offering the class, a reporter from CNN asked if he could profile the course for an article that wound up on CNN.com. It was one of the top hits on the website when it came out, and since then, I’ve had the opportunity to talk about Harry and Christian thought outside of Yale. I’ve done a few radio programs and some really fun conferences (I never in my lifetime thought I’d give a talk on the theology of death to a group dressed as Draco Malfoy—it was one of the most unique and wonderful days of my life)! I just had an essay published in Travis’s new Hog’s Head Conversations book and (then I promise I’ll be done tooting my own horn), I’m just finishing up a manuscript for my own book, God and Harry at Yale, which hopefully will be released in a few months!
Over the next few weeks, I’m really looking forward to sharing some of the things I’ve been thinking about as I’ve been writing this book. If you have anything you’d like to discuss, please post your topics here, and I’ll try to get to as many of them as I can! Possible topics include, but are not limited to, love, death, sacrifice, the Eucharist, sin, evil, the end times, grace…all the biggies! So until next week, may the force be with you! Oh wait, wrong series. Um, don’t fall in love with any vampires. Nope, still wrong! Uh, say hi to Buffy? Oh, I know! May all be well with you.
Charlie on 
Tom on 
Moe W on 
Steve Morrison on 
Moe W on 
Arabella on 
Red Rocker on 
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{ 39 comments… read them below or add one }
Danielle, welcome! This is fairly well outside my field of view, as someone who spends most of his time studying New Media and video games. So, I’m looking forward to the education.
Yes, a warm welcome, Danielle! I’ve read your excellent essay in the Hog’s Head Conversations book, and look forward to discussing questions which you will pose for us here at the Hog’s Head. Yipeeeee!
Welcome, Danielle! I haven’t had a chance to read your essay in the Hog’s Head Conversations book yet but if your excellent post above is any indication, then I must see to it immediately!
While I have an inkling of a very basic background in Christian theology, I admit it’s not really a field I am well-versed in at all. I’m also looking forward to the education and discussion. You’ve tossed out some wonderful initial themes in your post to get us started and I have no doubt that the many insightful posters here will run with them, in addition to brainstorming a few of their own.
Another warm wecome, Danielle!
“a talk on the theology of death to a group dressed as Draco Malfoy….” That really made me smile. I haven’t read your essay yet, either, but am looking forward to the discussion.
An application process to join your class… hmm, may have to implement that next time I teach Harry Potter; hopefully it will put an end to pleading emails.
To throw my 2 sickles in, I’d love to talk about the Eucharist and HP. I’m boning up on my English Reformation history for this semester and really get into the debate about transubstantiation (great word, IMO). As yet I haven’t considered how that all plays into the series.
“So until next week, may the force be with you! Oh wait, wrong series. Um, don’t fall in love with any vampires. Nope, still wrong! Uh, say hi to Buffy?”
LOL. And if I might add to the nerd factor: “So say we all.”
And live long and prosper….
Shiny.
Hey everyone! I’m so excited to receive such a warm welcome at the Hog’s Head, and I’m looking forward to blogging with you more than ever. We can definitely talk about the Eucharist, Gwen, and thanks for the Firefly reference, korg20000bc! I looooove Joss Whedon! Keep the great feedback comin’, and I’ll do my best to respond as well!
Definitely looking forward to more, Danielle!
Danielle, your avatar looks as if it has a ruler sticking out if it’s mouth. I assume you’ll use it to rap us over the head if we get unruly
LOST……BOOM!
Oh my gosh, I know! It was auto-generated! I just changed it to a much more peaceful scene of trees and sun from a Norwegian morning in Tromsø (head nod to Philip Pullman)! Hope the change is coming through at your end as well!
Elen síla lúmenn’ omentielvo, a star shines on the hour of our meeting!
Lovely, Danielle; very peaceful. No more fear of whaps on the cranium.
Goodnight, John-Boy
Welcome, Danielle. Looking forward to reading your essay in Hogshead Conversations just like I’m looking forward to reading all of them whenever I get done with this wedding I’m doing this weekend.
As for topics, I’d like to know what kind of stats Voldemort would have if I wanted to play him in a Dungeons & Dragons game. Would he have a good strength or more like a high intelligence but not so good wisdom? Would he still have a high charisma as Voldemort even though his comeliness score would be much lower than when he was Riddle? An unbelievable constitution because of his horcruxes? How many spell points would he have, etc?
Actually, anything to do with religion is good with me for discussion topics. Looking forward to any discussion. Welcome again!
Hello Danielle, welcome !
REVGEORGE!
I was just considering doing a post with my opionion of Voldemort as a D&D Lich with stats and so on. Maybe I should do a MERP/Rolemaster take. This gives me good ideas…
Danielle — I am totally proud of your accomplishment–seems like a hot topic with high interest levels which makes for a great student body and communication in class and on this blog dealeo–i am jealous, but now you gave me the push for year 20 something in teaching. I want the book and I’ll travel north to get it signed and then put it on my desk with pride. ciao jane
Danielle, I would like a discussion of evil, particularly the sort of mundane, under-the-radar evil Scott Peck writes about in his book, The People of the Lie, and its presence in WizWorld. And a discussion of grace, as well.
I’m also interested in your students–how they grapple with the Christian themes–accepting or not–and what changes they have in their perspectives on both HP and faith as a result of the course.
Korg, you & I might be the only ones commenting on such a post but it would be fun!
revgeorge and korg, I would follow from afar. D&D always completely baffled me. I never could wrap my head around it all. I tried playing it several times in grad school, and I felt like a complete moron.
Not that it’s hard to make me feel stupid or anything…
Okay, so I had to refer out to a really special outside source for this one, but here’s my take on Voldemort’s D&D scores at the beginning of book 7:
Str: 10
Dex: 12
Con: 3
Int: 18
Wis: 3
Cha: 9
As for spell points, I’d rank that quite high, but I don’t know that I could pin point a number. V has been around forever and has tons of experience, though, so he must be pretty well prepped. Care to weigh in anyone? And Arabella, I hear ya on evil and my students (who are anything but)!
Hee… I’m loving all the fun and fabulous “nerd/geek” references! Finally, proof of what I’ve “known” since grade school (and the Huey Lewis song says so eloquently): “it’s hip to be square.”
I have to give a special shout-out to my fellow BSG and Firefly fans, Gwen and korg… loved your initial responses to Danielle’s last paragraph, thanks for the chuckle!
I’m loving everyone’s ideas for discussion topics… perhaps we could throw in a bit of the symbolism/history of the symbolism angles as well? Such as how certain magical creatures – pheonix, griffin, etc. – have come to be associated as Christ symbols… that’s always fascinated me, the history behind it and such.
Hermione Luna, Travis has covered some of it around these parts before. Click the link below and you should see a list of some previous posts on those subjects.
http://thehogshead.org/categories/symbology/
Very nice stat selection. I like that you’ve illustrated V’s fatal flaws in wisdom and the way his constitution is fractured by the Horcruxes!
Also, I’ll second the request for a discussion of evil, but am looking forward to anything you come up with!
Nanoo, nanoo?
Thanks for the link, Dave, I will definitely check it out!
To take part in the nerd-fest a bit…
Hurm…
Thanks, Danielle. I’m longing to discuss evil in Potterverse, because it’s certainly not limited to the overt evil of LV and the DEs. M.Scott Peck’s book is illuminating on the subject of evil and I recommend it.
About my sign-offs here, I know they’re not all in the realm of F/
SF, but they’re classic and fun anyway. Loved the “nanoo nanoo,” axonovian, should have thought of that one!
Hermione Luna, I suggest John Granger’s book, How Harry Cast His Spell, which discusses in detail the Christ symbolism/history; he was the first to tackle this subject, to unrelenting jeers. The book will be very helpful. You could also check his archives, as well at http://www.hogwartsprofessor.com
Okay, D&D fans. Since you didn’t turn out to be evil psychopaths by playing this game, can you explain exactly what the hand-wringing fuss over it in the ’80s was about? I’m of the opinion that what one brings into a game determines the impact of a game on a person’s morality and life. What thinkest thou?
…and in case I don’t see ya, good afternoon, good evening, and good night!
A discussion on evil would definitely be a good one. I spend a chapter on it in Harry Potter & Imagination (chapter 4), and Arabella, I used M. Scott Peck’s The People of the Lie to analyze Voldemort in chapter 9.
Arabella, from what I’ve read, the controversy over D&D involved a lot of the same controversy that engulfed HP. Witches, wizards, magic, and fantasy worlds. Throw into that kids hiding in their basements to the wee hours of the morning roleplaying — lots of the same complaints against video games.
As far as games and how they impact players… Wow, that’s a HUGE discussion in my little sphere of interest. Most people would agree with you that the player’s predisposition is a significant part of her experience. Most scholars I know would make at least a similar case regarding audiences of any media. But questions about the structural elements of a game and how the player interacts with them make it all extremely complicated. A couple years ago, you could walk into a pub full of games scholars and mention the word “narrative”; then don some body armor, duck behind a table, and hope your health points hold out! Now, the body armor isn’t necessary, but keeping a nice direct, open path to the exit wouldn’t be a bad idea in some places.
Travis, hooray! I’m rereading the book right now and though LV is stamped all over it, I’m easily applying it to the Dursleys (one reason I appreciate the satirically pointed Dursley chapters so much). I look forward to this discussion. Fudge, Umbridge, Mundungus, Lockhart, and more. Rowling tackles the subject of evil from every direction.
Thanks, Dave. I kind of expected this answer. As for impact, I was pretty simplistic. I meant emotional state. But a rocky emotional state could be worsened by roleplaying. And some of the more violent games must certainly, like films, etc., give a stamp of approval on bad behavior. I hope you write a guest post on this sometime. I’ve never played such games, nor video games (just not into that kind of thing), and don’t mind saying I’m pretty ignorant about this subject.
Danger, Will Robinson!
Welcome, to the pub, Danielle.
I’ll agree with the request for a discussion of evil, both subtle and otherwise. Also would like to see a discussion of faith. Maybe sanctification? Fate versus choice would be interesting, but it seems to be a pretty divisive topic.
Wish my college was offering HP classes.
Thanks for another great recommendation, AF, I’ll be sure to check it out along with the link Dave provided – it’s an area/topic that I find interesting and want to learn more about.
I also agree that a discussion of evil and faith – or even evil vs. faith – would be just fantastic.
I’m really appreciating what both Dave and Arabella are saying about the dynamic between games and personality/predisposition… so very true and a subject that, while oft debated, doesn’t get quite the type of attention I wish it would in general mainstream discussions (i.e. less “hysterical” and more introspective/thoughtful/analytical).
Welcome, Danielle. I read your essay in HHC. It was very interesting. Congratulations on getting so many Yale college students to beg to take a course on Christian theology!
These are not the droids you are looking for!
So many good ideas. I can’t wait for discussion to begin. Miles, why not fate vs. choice? HL, you won’t be disappointed with the Peck book, I’m certain. Good one, LL.
There is nothing wrong with your television set. Do not attempt to adjust the picture.
Hi Danielle! I’m excited to read your thoughts as well. I haven’t read your piece in the new book (haven’t quite gotten around to buying the new book yet!) but I did hear you at Portus last summer. The theology content was fascinating, and I remember feeling intrigued by YOU, too, because you just didn’t fit my preconceived notion of a Yale prof!
(I mean that in a very positive way…)
I’d be very interested in the evil conversations, too. Well, the conversations about evil.
Welcome!
Joining in on the big exciting welcome. My book is still on the way across the Atlantic so I too need to catch up. Very interested in the conversation, even though I am coming from a very different religious point of view.
I am most interested in hearing your thoughts on Jo’s perception of faith and of leaving room for doubt within a religious world view.
Shimon, you might want to pop over to http://www.hogwartsprofessor.com where John Granger has two posts on the Muggletonians and what kind of faith Rowling may be writing into her HP books. It’s fascinating.
Klaatu Barada Nicto
“For the past two years, I’ve been teaching a seminar at Yale University” – - – - Good heavens! I hope they at least give you weekends and holidays off. But seriously, professor, perhaps you should choose one of the suggested topics and get the ball rolling since the conversation seems unlikely to begin until that happens.
Bob, Danielle told me she won’t be able to get her next post up till this Friday or Saturday, so eager pub patrons will have to wait with anticipation until then.