jezebel.com: Are you tired of the same old boring college classes that try to teach you useless shit like "History" and "Underwater Basket Weaving?" Don't you wish you could just jump into a good book and live in a fantasy world of magic and improbable plot lines forever? Then, boy, does California State San Marcos have all the answers to your prayers!
11 comments:
This just sounds like a typical study abroad program for British literature with some fun trips to Harry Potter sites. It actually sounds like a way to spend money for people who are getting degrees in British history and MAYBE others who are studying film. Otherwise, this just seems touristy. At the same time I want to know, is this $5,000 on top of the price of tuition, because if not, that actually does not sound like such a bad deal. I would be interested in seeing how many students do this program and what they are studying. I don’t know any people who go to that school already. It would be cool if that study abroad program would then follow up with film courses to funnel the students into the movie business. The school is in California, and the study of popular film making would be useful for those students.
Honestly, this sounds a lot like a publicity move on the part of this college, rather than a legitimate attempt at real education. Harry Potter is interesting to study as a part of our culture. I don't know of any other series that so many people of our generation read, and that is so deeply ingrained in our cultural consciousness. However, to be honest the books themselves aren't great literature. They're entertaining and well-written, but they're not certainly not James Joyce, and I'm not sure how identifying the "similarities and differences between the novels and films" requires a study abroad trip, or a college class devoted to it in general. I'm a little disappointed in this college- it seems like they made this class as a publicity move to say "hey look at the cool classes we offer!" rather than really being concerned with the educational needs of their students. I think that sadly some kids might end up going to this college mainly because they offer this class, which is a bad reason to choose any school and might lead to some serious regrets down the road. I could certainly be misinterpreting this whole thing- it seems like a pretty cool class, I just question whether it would be worth the time and money. Perhaps instead if it was a class on modern British literature that included a section on Harry Potter, it would be more educationally valid and I would support it more.
Who is taking this very seriously? It sounds like an incredibly cheesy advertisement to get people to go to their school because they are big Harry Potter fans. It is such a popular series and people are so obsessed with it that they will do anything to be a part of it. I am a huge fan of Harry Potter but I do not think this would be a thing that I would want to pay $5,000 for three credits to talk about Harry Potter with other people. I can do that here for free and can instead use that $5,000 to take my own trip and explore the same places, and more. The article itself was also totally written for students who don't want to take real classes and will convince students to get their parent to pay for it.
I have to give it to this school, this was a brilliant move. So many students are going to apply to go here just for the option to take this course and spend a stupid amount of money to go do MORE obsessing over Harry Potter. The cool part here is the opportunity to immerse extremely fortunate students who can afford to do this into another culture...which may or may not be effective while touring the film studio.
As someone who is pretty pumped about Harry Potter on a relatively regular basis, I would not waste three education credits, and $5000 on this. I'd much rather just go to London or Scotland and take a tour of the studio. I wonder how J.K. Rowling feels about this or what kind of input she had into this program.
I think this is just a way for the school to make headlines without any substance behind them. It's clearly a UK cultural studies or literature course that just happens to use the Harry Potter series as a way to connect to the students and create a more relatable environment. It could be fun, but I think that the students who attend this course are going to either have very lowered expectations ("this is a Harry Potter class, which means a super easy A") or very diehard fans who protest when the course moves slightly from its loose Harry Potter themes.
I have to agree with everyone, this sounds more like a publicity stunt to get a lot of people to sign up. It seems like the only parts that really are about Harry Potter are the travel sites. The "inequality, race, and gender" parts relate to Great Britain, not Harry Potter specifically. I think the students who take this course will be disappointed to find that it doesn't solely talk about Harry Potter. After all, in order for a course to be a real course that can replace other courses it has to pass certain requirements and a course that only focuses on Harry Potter would be hard pressed to meet all the requirements without deviating from Harry Potter.
I this were something that was completely devoted to examining the text, film production, and other aspects of the franchise, I would be more intrigued. Like everyone has said, t's just a way to drag people into a few skimpy credits and a not that interesting course. I'd love to take a course that was devoted to talking about the role Harry Potter has played in our generation and society, but I don't think this is that kind of course, and more just a scam to take a relatively crappy class. And the fact that the article is so obviously trying to appeal to college students makes it look pathetic and unreliable.
I've been to Cal State San Marcos and let me tell you, that campus definitely needs some excitement in its life, so maybe this Harry Potter study abroad thing will help them in the long run. I think Harry Potter was great at getting kids who didn't like to read finally interested in a book that is full of adventure while also being really well written, but there is so much more out there. When someone tells me that their favorite book is Harry Potter, I die a little bit inside. Don't get me wrong, I love the books and spent years waiting for that final 7th book, but Harry Potter is just a stepping off point for literature. Not only do I think that this study abroad course is a waste of time, but I think its limiting students in their way of thinking. College should be a time to put down the children's books and embark on a new and more intellectually stimulating journey.
I'm at a loss. The title sounded way more interesting. I agree with may of the other comments, this really sounds like CSU try to publicize themselves and attract the Harry Potter fanbase. And it is $5,000 for three credits! Just what?!? I rather just fly myself and go exploring with friends and visit my family. But $5,000 to take a really pointless sounding class? Wow, people read more and learn more. If you're going the UK, do something more than read Harry Potter!
In my undergrad, University of California: Santa Cruz.We had a Harry Potter class as well. Ours was an english literature class thought by a graduate student about identifying the notion of the "other" in literature and how people were identified as outsiders by not falling into the typical social norms or the perception of social norms, IE muggle born wizards, students from poor families, students who were lacking in skills or social presence, etc. It was an interesting way to look at how our society functions, and how that is even replicated in children literature. This is a trend that happened at my school fairly frequently, using modern literature and television to explain literary tropes and conventions or to examine new literally trends. I wonder if this manifested simply because I went to a liberal school or if this is something schools around the country are tying to accommodate
I don't know if I am more disappointed with this article or the class being offered. A class that uses Harry Potter as a vehicle to speak about British history, social society and literature is an amazing idea, but it sounds like in this case it is more of a tourist attraction than an actual learning experience worth a students time. There is so much potential in the idea of using pop culture to teach about grander things, but this is an example of that concept being exploited. I also did not find this article helpful because it attacked the idea of Harry Potter being a useful learning tool in general as opposed to just attacking this instance of exploitation.
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