Scholarly muggles head to Nimbus 2003
July 17, 2003 at 5:26 PM ET
grae
Godric's Hollow (via Calgary Herald)
As you may be aware, the Nimbus 2003 Harry Potter Symposium
will be held this weekend in Florida. Many scholarly Muggles from all over the world will be there to present their theories and offer insights into the magical world of Harry Potter, including Diana Patterson , an English and publishing teacher from Mount Royal College.
"It is supposed to be the first international conference on Harry Potter," said an excited Patterson, who takes off today for Orlando, Fla., and Walt Disney World.
She has already polished her talk, entitled Technology Meets Magic, and her full witch costume, complete with a pointy hat is packed and ready for wear.
"Basically, my talk investigates the magical objects in Harry Potter," Patterson said. "They aren't praying to the gods to use magic, it is simply a type of technology they use."
Patterson isn't the only academic enthralled with J.K Rowling's bespectacled boy.
Other speakers from as far away as the Philippines are discussing things like justice in the wizarding world, gender roles in the books, comparisons of Potter books to other fantasy literature, fan fiction writing; fantasy art; Web site administration and maintenance; and the history of Potter fandom.
The event, presented by Texas non-profit foundation H(arry) P(otter) Education Fanon Inc., is expected to draw more than 1,000 people.
"For a lot of academics, it's looking at the greater themes in the books, and what she's saying about gender relations, labour and class issues in modern Britain," Penny Linsenmayer, a Houston lawyer and Nimbus 2003 organizer, said recently.
It will be a chance of Patterson to hear others talk about her latest obsession. "Once I started reading these books, I couldn't put them down. You get caught up in the characters and the books are funny with a lot of grown up humour. There is a lot to talk about."
You can read more at the above links.