Abstract The questions of this essay are: <ol type="1">What is Richard Abanes’s criticism against occult elements in the Harry Potter books? How can Abanes’s – from a Christian point of view - religiously motivated criticism of the four first Harry Potter books be seen as an expression of moral panic and the construction of folk devils according to Cohen's scientific theory in popular culture? The questions are answered through a content analysis of Richard Abanes's book Harry Potter and the Bible: the menace behind the magick based on Stanley Cohen's theory of moral panic and folk devils. The aim is thus to develop a religious-scientific understanding of religiously motivated criticism of popular culture. The result of the essay shows that the biggest criticism Abanes has against the occult elements in the Harry Potter books is that the occult becomes glamorized, normalized and packaged in a box of fun, adventures and excitement. But according to critics like Abanes and the Christian Right, this is dangerous to children and young people as the occult pulls them away from God and closer to the devil. They can develop an interest in the occult and Wicca and later seek out occult sects and religious communities. According to Abanes, the Harry Potter books are dangerous as the author has mixed innocent imagination with real events, people and objects. Because of this, the boundaries are blurred and children can find it difficult to discern what is reality and fantasy. The moral panic of the Harry Potter books is created primarily by the Christian Right, as the concerns and fears of the actual threat the books issue are magnified. Whatever the truth of their statements, Abanes and other critics create fears within the Christian community so that Christian parents won’t allow their children to read the Harry Potter books, because they can contribute to the curiosity of the occult and an attraction to the devil, and can twist their morals. The deviant behaviors in the Harry Potter books that are not appreciated by the Christian Right are to lie, steal, and to be evil, something that Harry and other good characters do, therefore could Abanes's criticism contributes to the creation of moral panics and folk devils. Also, criticism against J. K. Rowling's character, morals and way of life has made her a folk devil.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-10T11:21:41Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 VIVIANE MARTINS DE MOURA NOBREGA.pdf: 5861500 bytes, checksum: 8c86fffcd0bebee08fb8d44e530ce2ac (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-08-18 / Facing the numerous possibilities of discussions, presented by the material traces of the Historical Archaeological Site Maria Mendes, located in Campo Limpo, Goias, it was chosen for this essay the possibility that best represents the context of the site. The possibility of, through the diversity of printed decoration on the site s pottery, understanding the decorative expressions as a form of socio-cultural representation, brokered by the potter, during their life trajectory, from Africa to Brazil, within the historical context of the Province of Goiás, in the early nineteenth century. Brokered from their influences, which have been resignified and printed on ceramic through a sensitive and creative style. Possibility that splits from the main objective, also to understand the roles of indigenous, African and European influences on the end result of the product of the potter. Given the presence of Africans signs, belonging to different groups and there, in the ceramic set, it seems to have found ways to coexist the identification of decorative expressions belonging to the Guarani people in an area of the province of Goias historically occupied by the Kayapo Southern people, two culturally distinct groups, also in view of the similarities between some fragments, ceramic plates and pots, and the forms and decorations of European crockery and vessels. These understandings are against the interdisciplinary way to understand the culture, proposed by the theories of Cultural History, which enabled a dialogue between History and Archaeology in a less compartmentalized way or limited to the use of a science by another one just as a source. / Diante das inúmeras possibilidades de discussões, apresentadas pelos vestígios materiais do Sítio Arqueológico Histórico Maria Mendes, localizado no município de Campo Limpo de Goiás, estado de Goiás, foi escolhida para este trabalho a possibilidade que melhor representa o contexto do sítio. A possibilidade de, através da diversidade da decoração impressa na cerâmica do sítio, entender as expressões decorativas como forma de representação sociocultural, agenciadas pelo oleiro, no decurso de sua trajetória de vida, da África para o Brasil, dentro do contexto histórico da Província de Goiás, do início do século XIX. Agenciadas a partir de suas influências, que foram por ele ressignificadas e impressas na cerâmica através de um estilo sensível e criativo. Possiblidade que se divide, a partir do objetivo principal, para também entender os papéis das influências indígenas, africanas e europeias sobre o resultado final do produto do oleiro. Tendo em vista a presença dos signos africanos, pertencentes a grupos diferentes e que ali, no conjunto cerâmico, parecem ter encontrado meios de coexistirem, a identificação de expressões decorativas pertencentes ao povo Guarani em uma área da província de Goiás historicamente ocupada pelo povo Kayapó do Sul, dois grupos culturalmente distintos, tendo em vista também as similaridades entre alguns fragmentos, de pratos e panelas cerâmicas, e as formas e decorações de louças e vasilhas europeias. Esses entendimentos vão ao encontro da forma interdisciplinar de entender a cultura, proposta pelas teorias da História Cultural, que possibilitou um diálogo entre História e Arqueologia, de uma forma menos compartimentada ou limitada ao uso de uma ciência pela outra apenas como fonte.

Submitted by William Justo Figueiro (williamjf) on 2015-07-10T21:05:30Z No. of bitstreams: 1 32b.pdf: 2594508 bytes, checksum: 030317d1490a5082903bb435463e7a22 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-07-10T21:05:30Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 32b.pdf: 2594508 bytes, checksum: 030317d1490a5082903bb435463e7a22 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-02-28 / CAPES - Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / As apropriações dos fãs sobre a narrativa Harry Potter assumem direcionamentos variados. O seguinte trabalho tenta dar conta dessas relações que ocorrem na continuidade do consumo, da recepção. Esse enfoque de pesquisa toma como princípio a fundação de novas relações comunicacionais, entendidas no conceito ainda inacabado de midiatização. Em nossa tarefa optamos pelo método abdutivo, juntamente das operações de analogia e homologia, com vistas a descobertas criativas, não-tautológicas. Trata-se de um estudo de múltiplos casos de pesquisa ancorados numa perspectiva qualitativa. Ademais, assumem-se como perguntas de horizonte os questionamentos sobre as matrizes presentes nos dispositivos selecionados: a sócioantropológica, a semio-discursiva e a tecno-tecnológica. O sentido do que os admiradores da série fazem atravessa exemplos distintos, impulsionados pela consolidação da internet. Para compreender essa relação contemporânea selecionamos três dispositivos que reinterpretam o enredo original: dois sites de fanfictions – fanfiction.net e Floreios e Borrões, duas páginas do Facebook – A Varinha e Harry Potter – e um fã-clube baseado em Porto Alegre, os Herdeiros de Sonserina. Primeiramente faremos descrições e breves apontamentos sobre o funcionamento dos casos. Analisa-se então, por analogia e homologia, a relação que mantêm entre si, dentro da lógica de práticas dos fãs. Dessa reflexão encontramos alguns indícios que qualificamos como a verticalização dos dispositivos, a prevalência do valor de culto e as limitações interacionais das estruturas formadas. Contudo, essa formulação exige questionamentos de ordem comunicacional para se tornar completa. Assim, ao final desenvolvemos novas abduções, ou seja, elaboramos hipóteses sobre o sentido das criações com relação à série original. Nossas pistas refletem a partir dos fenômenos observados como: a expansão dos circuitos de fãs; a coexistência com paradigmas de comunicação anteriores; a preocupação em formar programas de apropriações; a legitimação dos produtos canônicos; o pacto da indústria com as apropriações dos fãs; a delimitação das criações pelas estruturas e hierarquias dos dispositivos; e as qualidades temporais das derivações. / The appropriations of fans on the Harry Potter narrative assume varied directions. The following work attempts to explain these relations occurred at the continuity of consumption, beyond the first stage of reception. This approach takes as principle the foundation of new communication relations, understood at the unfinished concept of mediatization. In our task we have chosen the abductive method, along the operations of analogy and homology, looking for creative, non-tautological, discoveries. This study is based upon multiple cases of inquiry anchored in a qualitative perspective. Furthermore, we selected as basic questions three matrices present in the selected devices: the socioanthropological, the discursive-semiotic and the techno-technological. The sense of what the admirers of the series makes cross distinct examples driven by the consolidation of internet. To understand this contemporary relationship we have selected three devices that reinterpret the original plot: two websites of fanfictions - fanfiction.net and “Floreios e Borrões”; two Facebook pages – “A Varinha” and “Harry Potter”; and a fan club based in Porto Alegre, the “Herdeiros de Sonserina”. First of all, we will make descriptions and brief notes about the functioning of the cases. Then we can analyze, by analogy and homology, the relationship they maintain with each other, within the logic of practices of fans. We found evidence such as formation of hierarchies, prevalence of cult of the series and the limitations formed by selected structures. However, this formulation requires questionings of communication order to become complete. Thus, at the end we have developed new abductions, in other words, we have elaborated hypothesis about the meaning of creations related to the original series. Our inferences from the observed phenomenon perceived such processes: the expansion of fan circuits; the coexistence with previous communication paradigms; the intentions on forming appropriation programs; the legitimacy of the canonical products; the pact of the industry with the appropriations of the fans; the delimitation of the creations by the structures and hierarchies of devices, and temporal qualities of poaching activities.

The purpose of this study is to examine how women’s reading of the Harry Potter books can be understood on the basis of gender theory and reader-response criticism. The empirical data is gathered through qualitative interviews with six female Harry Potter readers between the age of 21 and 35, and is analyzed through several theories regarding gender and reading. The results show that the readers are critical towards many aspects of the books, especially when it comes to the stereotyped depiction of women and men. The books are said to reproduce the gender dichotomy, the gender hierarchy and the heteronormativity in society. At the same time, the readers deeply appreciate many aspects of the books. Not only are these positive opinions more than the negative ones, they also deal with the same things to a great extent. For example, the books are said to also challenge gender dichotomy, gender hierarchy and heteronormativity in many respects. The results further show that the readers oppose the books’ negative aspects, including the gender stereotypes, by their interpretations, ideas of heroes and identification during the reading. Finally, the study shows that the books serve several important functions for the readers, for example resistance to and compensation for the gender order. The study’s conclusions are that women’s reading of the Harry Potter books can be seen as an active transaction between reader, text and society, where the negative aspects are compensated by the positive parts of the reading experience. This means that the gender order affects, but does not determine, the women’s reading of these books.

The aim of this Master’s Thesis is to study readers and authors of Harry Potter fan fiction, in order to answer the question of why they read and write fan fiction about Harry Potter, and which factors determine what kind of fan fiction stories they read. The empirical material consists of three qualitative interviews with fan fiction readers and authors, and a textual analysis of four internet forums for discussions about Harry Potter and fan fiction. The theoretical background is based on reception theory and reader-response criticism. The results show, that commitment to, and interest in, the source material is an important reason as to why the participants of the study read and write Harry Potter fan fiction. At the same time, most participants also feel frustration and dissatisfaction with the source material. Also, the results show that fan fiction can be a way of practising writing skills. Reading and writing fan fiction also attracts because it is fun, and because it gives an opportunity to explore how other Harry Potter fans have interpreted the source material. There are many factors that determine which stories the participants choose to read. Characters, and how they are paired with each other, play a vital role, as well as genre, rating, plot and the author’s language and writing style. Many participants read popular stories, and have favourite authors. Personal interpretation of the source material is a very important factor, since it will determine what a participant likes and is willing to accept in fan fiction. / Uppsatsnivå: D

Föreliggande studie är en genusanalys av karaktärerna Harry Potter och Hermione Granger i Harry Potter och de vises sten. Harry Potter-serien har haft ett stort genomslag på bokmarknaden och är en av de tre största fantasyserierna i modern tid (Alkestrand, 2016:28). Detta gör det relevant att kritiskt granska boken för att sedan använda den i klassrummet, både på högstadie- och gymnasienivå. Syftet med studien är således att granska boken utifrån ett genusperspektiv och problematisera eventuella stereotyper. Centralt i studien är en jämförelse mellan hur Harry och Hermione skildras och hur skildringarna reproducerar eller ifrågasätter normer kring genus. Studien utgår från ett didaktiskt perspektiv och en av frågeställningarna utgår därför ifrån vad litteratur kan ha för påverkan på våra förutfattade meningar och hur detta kan uppmärksammas i en klassrumssituation. Studien visar således att karaktärerna i Harry Potter och de vises sten uppfyller många stereotyper om vad som anses vara manligt och kvinnligt. Harry tillskrivs rollen som den modiga, aktiva pojken och Hermione som den passiva, duktiga flickan som utsätts för negativa konsekvenser när hon bryter mot normerna.

The popular Harry Potter series serves as the basis for my study of the oracles that appear throughout the series. By focusing specifically on Professor Sybill Trelawney, Ron Weasley, and the Sorting Hat, I show the relationships between Harry Potter and the Oracles. I also focus on a few of Trelawney's various methods of Divination and her prophecies.

This thesis proposes that the current popularity of heroic fantasy arises from the genre's capacity to reveal "meaning" to the alienated subject within late modernity. While consumerism potentially undermines the subject's sense of stability both as an individual and as a member of a coherent and unified social group, the hero's journey conveys a compelling model for attaining a purposive subjectivity by acting on behalf of the broader community. However, this "healing" message is in turn appropriated by multinational corporations and nation states for financial advantage. Heroic fantasy can thus be read at various points of its production and consumption as both legitimating and contesting dominant institutions and ideologies.With particular reference to the books and films of The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter, ontological security is discussed at both individual and collective levels across three horizons: commodification, gender, and nationalism. A combination of close textual analysis and the application of core concepts from cultural studies - particularly ethnographic study, hegemonic power relations and political economy - provides the methodological flexibility necessary to trace consumers' contradictory and ambivalent responses to the three themes: the anti-materialist message incorporated in the genre's moral economy is jeopardised by the rampant commodification of the texts; the normative masculinity and emphasised femininity common to the genre is contested by female readers; and the utopic visions of a secure and homogeneous community are exploited by the New Zealand government rebranding the country as Middle-earth. These arguments are oriented toward a New Zealand perspective; interviews with readers of Harry Potter and a discussion of the World Premiere of Peter Jackson's film adaptation of The Return of the King in "Wellywood" contribute to this specific context.This thesis therefore asserts that once heroic fantasy is placed in the contexts of production and reception conflicting trends are revealed, suggesting that the social impacts of heroic fantasy are complex and equivocal. Although the genre is readily commodified by the very system that it retaliates against, analysis suggests that heroic fantasy resists reification into a single dominant discourse as appropriation is never absolute.

<p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p><p>The concept of outsiders has been argued to be one of the main themes in childhood fairy tales in general and in J.K. Rowling's <em>Harry Potter</em> novels in particular. Severus Snape is one of the most evident outsider characters in the novels, described as an unpleasant, ugly man presented as a double agent with uncertain allegiances. When the truth is revealed, in the very last pages of the series, he is discovered to have been an undercover spy for the good side all along. This essay examines Snape as an outsider, and analyzes his effect on the novel, especially his relation to the three characters with whom he interacts most: Dumbledore, Voldemort and Harry. All three of these characters are main characters and are also outsiders themselves in different ways. Examining the relations between good and evil and showing that these concepts are closely tied to choices and reactions towards being an outsider, the essay argues that the analysis of Snape as an outsider helps distinguish between aspects of good and evil in the novel. By focusing on Snape and the concept of the outsider, different dimensions of the novels become visible. Snape is here an instrumental character on his own, and may well be seen as the main character. Although the series in some aspects has been described as a fairy tale, the complex character of Severus Snape gives the novels a further depth appealing not only to children, but to adults as well.</p>

This paper considers the influences of fate and free will in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. Current scholarship on the topic generally agrees that Rowling champions free will by allowing her characters learning opportunities through their choices. By using Friedrich Nietzsche’s philosophy on fate and free will and by more closely examining the Harry Potter texts, this paper demonstrates fate’s stronger presence in Rowling’s fictional world. Certain strong-willed characters rise above their peers’ fated states by embracing their personal fates and exercising their wills to create themselves within fated destinies. The paper also explores the possibility of an authority directing fate.