Harry Potter and Resistance

Description

Although rule breaking in Harry Potter is sometimes dismissed as a distraction from Harry’s fight against Lord Voldemort, Harry Potter and Resistance makes the case that it is central to the battle against evil. Far beyond youthful hijinks or adolescent defiance, Harry’s rebellion aims to overcome problems deeper and more widespread than a single malevolent wizard. Harry and his allies engage in a resistance movement against the corruption of the Ministry of Magic as well as against the racist social norms that gave rise to Voldemort in the first place. Dumbledore’s Army and the Order of the Phoenix employ methods echoing those utilized by World War II resistance fighters and by the U.S. Civil Rights movement. The aim of this book is to explore issues that speak to our era of heightened political awareness and resistance to intolerance. Its interdisciplinary approach draws on political science, psychology, philosophy, history, race studies, and women’s studies, as well as newer interdisciplinary fields such as resistance studies, disgust studies, and creativity studies. Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents Preface Introduction: I Solemnly Swear I Am Up to No Good: Rule Breaking as Resistance “Not a Good Kid”? The Controversies About Harry’s Rule Breaking Why Not Just Obey? What Is “Resistance,” and How Does It Apply to Harry Potter? The Value of Crime Care Ethics, Carol Gilligan, and Resistance to Patriarchy Harry, Resistance, and the Ethic of Care Traditional Political Resistance in Harry Potter Hermione as a Resistance Leader Subtler Resistance in Harry Potter A Marauder’s Map of the Book’s Geography Notes 1 “Made to Be Broken”: The Laws, Rules, and Norms of the Magical World Laws of Magic and “What’s at Stake” Quidditch Rules and Rule Breaking and the Wizarding World’s “Particular Character” Points, Punishments, and Power: The Problems With Hogwarts’s School Rules Wizard Government and Law: Inconsistency, Incompetence, and Injustice Unwritten Rules: What Is “Perfectly Normal”? Notes 2 “Filth! Scum! By-Products of Dirt and Vileness!”: “Mudbloods,” Dirt, Privilege, and Systemic Oppression in the Harry Potter Series The Dirt On Dirt in Harry Potter Disgust Sensitivity and the Wizarding World “Muggles Are Like Animals, Stupid and Dirty” Systemic Racism in the Magical World It’s Complicated “My Mother Can’t Have Been Magic, Or She Wouldn’t Have Died”: Animal-Reminder Disgust, Race, and Fear of Death Cleaning: Sometimes Repression, Sometimes Resistance Resisting Privilege—Defending and Redeeming Ron Weasley Notes 3 “How Dare You Defy Your Masters?”: Rules, Roles, and Resistance in the Potterverse’s Domestic Realm “Fair Wages and Working Conditions”: Liberal Feminism, House-Elves, and Traditional Domestic Womanhood “House-elves Have Got Powerful Magic of Their Own” “But Why Don’t You Leave? Escape?” The Problem of the Contented Slaves A Power of Their Own: House-Elf Love and Relational Feminism Sacrifice and the “Power the Dark Lord Knows Not” Notes 4 “Creative Maladjustment”: Creativity and Resistance in the Harry Potter Series Creativity as Rule Breaking “Can You Imagine?” “Harry Invented”: Lying, Rule Breaking, and Creativity “Maladjustment” and Creativity Politically Resistant Curiosity Creative Maladjustment in Action in the Harry Potter Series “Accident, Was It?”: Luck and Creativity Notes 5 “Do You Really Think this Is About Truth Or Lies?”: Honesty and Resistance in the Harry Potter Series What Is Truth? “There Will Be No Need to Talk.” Constructivism and the Potterverse’s Big Lie Truth-Telling as Resistance to Propaganda: Prophets and Quibblers Magical Culture’s Big Lie “Is this Real?” Notes Epilogue: “Mischief Managed”? The Unresolved-House-Elf Dilemma When Good Wizards Do Bad Things Notes Works Cited Index