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  • About
  • The Global ETD Search service is a free service for researchers to find electronic theses and dissertations. This service is provided by the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations.
    Our metadata is collected from universities around the world. If you manage a university/consortium/country archive and want to be added, details can be found on the NDLTD website.
41

The Secret World of Harry Potter : The Literary Laws of Fantasy Applied to the Novels by J. K. Rowling

Watts, Robin January 2007 (has links)
My intentions with this essay has been to examine the World in which the story of J. K. Rowlings Harry Potter takes place, the structure, narrative and restrictions, in order to place the suite of novels in the tradition of the Fantasy genre. Since the release of the first book Harry Potter has become a household name, possibly more than any other contemporary literature written for children. Various readings concerning gender, etymological, linguistic aspects and so forth have been done, and in most cases the books are placed in the genre of Fantasy without distinguishing what in fact makes the novels Fantasy. I wanted to see which specific sectors of the books that place them in the genre, and, assuming that it would in fact fit into the Fantasy genre, in which ways it diverges from the tradition of the genre in means of the structure of the world/s of the story. I also looked at the faults in the logic within the novels to see if the inconsistencies in the rules of the world have an impact on the agency of the story. I found the novels to be a part of the fantasy tradition, not only by having many intertextual relations and similar features to other fantasy-novels but also in the fundament of the story, its basic conditions such as the supernatural elements and the hidden places in the world of the books. The minor inconstancies that I found where to small to disrupt the narrative, and the fact that some of the aspects of the books drift slightly away from the logic of the world within the story have reasonable explanations such as making the story easier to relate to.
42

Einfach phantastisch! übernatürliche Welten in der Kinder- und Jugendliteratur

Gerstner, Ulrike January 2008 (has links)
Zugl.: Magisterarbeit
43

De-demonising universality : transcultural dragons and the universal agent in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and David Eddings' The Belgariad

Steenkamp, Janka 12 1900 (has links)
Thesis (MA (English))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This dissertation provides a reading of the fantasy novel series Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling and The Belgariad by David Eddings. In particular this dissertation endeavours to recuperate a literary critical methodology rooted in Myth Criticism. Further, it seeks to demonstrate the continued relevance and necessity of this form of criticism in our postmodern era and to refute some of the commonplaces of postmodern critical theory, specifically the poststructuralist scepticism towards the idea of universal truth and individual agency. Using Jungian theory, myth critics ranging from Laurence Coupe to Joseph Campbell and incorporating various postmodern theorists, like the contemporary Marxist theorist Terry Eagleton, and fantasy critics like Brian Attebery and Ursula LeGuin, this dissertation aims to give a well-rounded analysis of the merits of looking at fantasy as a legitimate field of literary study. Moreover, this dissertation seeks to illustrate the fact that fantasy is capable of informing readers’ interaction with the ‘real’ world and that this genre allows for insight into identity formation in present day reality. The chief structure used to explore these claims is an analysis of the Hero’s Journey. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: This dissertation provides a reading of the fantasy novel series Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling and The Belgariad by David Eddings. In particular this dissertation endeavours to recuperate a literary critical methodology rooted in Myth Criticism. Further, it seeks to demonstrate the continued relevance and necessity of this form of criticism in our postmodern era and to refute some of the commonplaces of postmodern critical theory, specifically the poststructuralist scepticism towards the idea of universal truth and individual agency. Using Jungian theory, myth critics ranging from Laurence Coupe to Joseph Campbell and incorporating various postmodern theorists, like the contemporary Marxist theorist Terry Eagleton, and fantasy critics like Brian Attebery and Ursula LeGuin, this dissertation aims to give a well-rounded analysis of the merits of looking at fantasy as a legitimate field of literary study. Moreover, this dissertation seeks to illustrate the fact that fantasy is capable of informing readers’ interaction with the ‘real’ world and that this genre allows for insight into identity formation in present day reality. The chief structure used to explore these claims is an analysis of the Hero’s Journey.
44

The enslavement of the House-Elves : A comparative study on the depiction and the treatment of the house-elves in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter novels with an anti-racist focus on empathy in the EFL classroom

Papo, Filip January 2018 (has links)
This essay explores the hierarchy amongst the characters in J.K Rowling’s Harry Potter novels with a theoretical focus on Critical Race Theory. The representation of the house-elves will be examined in relation to racism and slavery, which will be compared to values that have been influential in the past and that still shape society today. The result reveals that racism and slavery is presented throughout the novels and has a distinct connection with the British Empire as well as with Great Britain today. Counter narratives exhibit a new truth that is unveiled through the stories of the house-elves and create better understanding regarding discrimination. A pedagogical analysis has in addition been conducted on the novels to enhance the counter narratives through empathy. The student will with the novels, receive different perspectives that can help them to develop their empathic abilities.
45

Antropocentrism och samlevnad i Harry Potter-böckerna / Anthropocentrism and coexisting in the Harry Potter books

Nilsson, Lina January 2018 (has links)
In this essay I have studied the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling from an ecocritical point of view. The main theorist is Timothy Morton and his concepts of the Mesh and Strange Strangers. The analysis shows that the books are anthropocentric, and that Culture has a higher status than Nature in the magic world. The analysis also shows that the witches and wizards of the books have a similar way of looking at nature as the real world has, which can be used to open up discussions about nature. The books are anthropocentric when it comes to animals and how they can be used. The analysis also focuses on coexisting, and how the magic world deals with Strange Strangers. The Strange Strangers that the analysis deals with are both humans and other entities.
46

"Satanic Harry": How a Wizard Has to Fight the Church

Scheffer, Susanne January 2009 (has links)
The paper's aim is to show the fight of the church against the Potter book series of Joanne K. Rowling and the actual situation which is presented in the books. This fight is based on the acrimonious claims and heated-up discussions which were made by some church members who sued the books as "being evil" and a "seduction to the bad side" for children as well as "having a satanic content" etc. At the same time, positive comments of several church leaders and the author's declared opinion are stated. Finally, book four "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" is interpreted regarding the claims of the church and a neutral observation of the story.
47

Dumbledore, Remembrall and OWLs : Word formation processes of neologisms in the Harry Potter books

Prené, Emma January 2012 (has links)
This thesis investigates the word formation processes of the neologisms in the Harry Potter books by JK Rowling. The aim is to find the frequencies of these processes and then discuss why the frequency looks this way. By collecting and analysing the neologisms with the help of the classification of Plag (2003) and Ljung (2003), the frequencies of the different formation processes is established. The reasons why the distribution of word formation processes looks this way is then discussed and compared to the background information about the author. The conclusion is that compound is the most frequent word formation of this sample. The arguments why the distribution looks this way could be that the semantic meaning of the Harry Potter words is important and that many of the neologisms are based on humour, mythology and folklore.
48

The Harry Potter phenomenon literary production, generic traditions, and the question of values

Glover, Jayne Ashleigh January 2004 (has links)
This thesis is a study of the first four books of J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. It accounts for the widespread success of the novels by examining their publication and marketing histories, and their literary achievement as narratives including a sophisticated mix of generic traditions. Chapter One looks at the popularity of the novels, comparing their material production and marketing by Rowling’s English language publishers: Bloomsbury in Britain and Scholastic in the United States of America. The publisher’s influence on the public perception of each book is demonstrated by comparative study of its mode of illustration and layout. Further, the design of the books is linked to their strategic marketing and branding within the literary world. The second chapter considers Rowling’s debt to the school story. It concentrates first on the history of this relatively short-lived genre, briefly discussing its stereotypical features and values. Traditional elements of setting and characterisation are then examined to show how the Harry Potter novels present a value system which, though apparently old-fashioned, still has an ethical standpoint designed to appeal to the modern reader. Chapter Three focuses on the characterisation of Harry as a hero-figure, especially on how the influence of classical and medieval texts infuses Rowling’s portrayal of Harry as a hero in the chivalric mode. The episodes of “quest” and “test” in each book illustrate specifically how he learns the values of selflessness, loyalty, mercy and fairness. Chapter Four surveys the contribution of modern fantasy writing to the series. It shows how Rowling creates a secondary world that allows us to perceive magic as a metaphorical representation of power. This focus on the relationship between magic and power in turn has a bearing on our assessment of the author’s moral stance. The thesis concludes by suggesting that Rowling’s unusual mix of genres is justified by the values they share, and which are inscribed in her work: the generic combination forms a workable, new and exciting mode of writing that helps to account for the phenomenal popularity of the series.
49

Smrt autora v kontextu sociálních sítí / Death of the Author in the context of social media

Procházková, Pavlína January 2021 (has links)
This thesis explores how the presence of authors on social media sites influences the way that fans perceive their work. The main goal of the analytical part was to determine, whether and primarily how the presence of an author on social media sites changes the relationships of readers with a complete (and therefore no longer open) text, as put forth by Roland Barthes in his The Death of the Author essay. The theoretical part of the thesis starts out by exploring the historical evolution of what an author is, differentiating between time periods and dominant theoretical approaches, with focus on postmodern authors such as Roland Barthes or Michel Foucault. The theory then focuses on the digital revolution, technological determinism and the rise of social media influence, including its impact on literary marketing and the concept of the celebrity author. Lastly, the theory summarizes studies that analyze the relationship between fan communities and current authors, specifically when it comes to the authors and their social media presence, focusing on the Harry Potter fan community and J. K. Rowling. The analysis itself is done through looking at semi-structured interviews conducted with fans of the Harry Potter saga. The analysis begins with focusing on the early relationships of fans with the saga,...
50

J. K. Rowling’s tweets following and regarding the Parkland School Shooting – A Critical Discourse Analysis

Wachter, Lisa Katharina January 2018 (has links)
The Parkland School Shooting in February 2018 caused a flood of empathy, grief, and anger on Twitter. Having gained popularity and a reputation for her political commentary on US American events on the social media platform, the British author J. K. Rowling published a variety of intriguing tweets following and regarding the Shooting. The pur-pose of this study is to characterise Rowling’s tweets, to relate them to the discursive Twitter practice, and to look for correspondences with the concept of celebrity advocacy. To do so, this thesis offers an adaption of critical discourse analysis in order to examine the structures, meanings, and stances behind Rowling’s tweets following and regarding the Shooting. To grasp the underlying ideologies and motives, theory of discourse, repre-sentation, celebrity advocacy, spectatorship of suffering, and othering is consulted. The study brings to light that Rowling’s tweets are characterized by dialogue, exploitation of voices, othering, and discursive constructions of distance and proximity. Moreover, the findings stress Rowling’s tweets in the light of self-presentation and performance of altru-ism. Ultimately, the study reveals that Rowling’s tweets exhibit a highly mediated form of celebrity advocacy empowered by the practical circumstances of Twitter as social media platform.

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