JK Rowlings’s novels join the curriculum at a British university
In October, Durham University is to become one of the first in the U.K. to offer a 200-hour course on boy wizard Harry Potter as part of the education studies degree. Students will study “important contemporary issues, such as peer pressure, good citizenship and ideals of adulthood, and also explore ways in which the Harry Potter series has helped to re-brand Britain,” according to University registrar Carolyn Fowler. She added that, “Harry Potter is a culturally iconic phenomenon and has already been the subject of many well-regarded academic studies over recent years. It is only fitting that a leading university like Durham responds to new developments in our academic and wider social and cultural environment in developing new modules like this.” The northern city and its magnificent cathedral were the setting for large parts of the first two Potter films, with children from city schools drafted to play fellow students at Hogwarts. Interest among incoming students, who have grown up during Pottermania, is high—more than 70 have signed on so far.