HogPro Profs Louise and John talk With MuggleNet’s Keith Hawk about Veronica Roth’s Divergent and the new film adaptation of Allegiant, the third book in that series. And all the connections with the Hogwarts Saga — Enjoy!

Ever wondered about the science behind personality tests, to include the Pottermore Sorting Hat? Tune in to this installment of Academia to hear Professor Laura Crysel reveal all (to include whether the tests really uncover your House colors and secret temperament…).

And Keith Hawk at MuggleNet wrote me today to invite you to participate in their ‘March Madness’ competition, with a bracket and everything:

MuggleNet is running a fantastic competition in tandem with the American NCAA Basketball March Madness tournament.

We have pitted 64 Harry Potter book chapters against each other, in four divisions named after the Hogwarts houses. Users can vote as many times as they like, and are encouraged to do so! It’s a single elimination tournament, run exactly like the Muggle sports version.

Read all about that here!

Does anyone else remember Alan Rickman’s role as Tybalt in the 1978 BBC production of Romeo and Juliet? We had to watch these for a Firehose Shakespeare course I took the spring of my senior year in high school. Professor Snape in tights… Neville could have cast out Boggarts by the dozen with these mental images, no?

Dr. Amy H. Sturgis, Emily Strand, and Shannen Michaelsen sat down with Keith Hawk and me to discuss the inspirations, influences, and imaginative links joining Harry Potter and Star Wars. Enjoy this wild and wide ranging conversation via the link below!

What’s to talk about? How Star wars helped shaped the imagination that gives us Harry Potter, how Harry Potter’s adventures in turn have influenced The Force Awakens, fan speculation about Kylo Ren playing a ‘deep game’ a la Severus Snape, Rey’s heroine’s journey, why it is a big mistake to think Disney Star Wars I (Episode VII) is just a 21st Century rebooting of 1977’s Episode IV, A New Hope. Did I mention the call to heroism in a clinically depressed culture? The rhyme and rhythm of Star Wars trilogies? Don’t miss this conversation!

And if that is not enough? Check out Dr. Sturgis’ comprehensive talk online about the literary, historical, and cinematic origins of Star Wars: “The Jedi, the Cowboy, and… Thomas Edison? Pulp Science Fiction and Star Wars.” For the shorter version, you can read “Star Wars, Remixed: George Lucas’ universe is a mashup masterwork“(Reason Magazine, January 2016 issue).