Emily Strand ‘gets’ Quidditch. Really
gets it.
Working with Dr. Amy H. Sturgis at the Mythgard Institute, Emily wrote an essay on why and how Quidditch makes sense. That essay, ‘The Second War was Won on the Quidditch Pitch of Hogwarts: Quidditch as Symbol Set in the Harry Potter Series,’ explains the details and structure of Wizards’ favorite sport as reflections and highlights of the surrounding story. I invited her to MuggleNet Academia and she explained her theory in conversation with Keith Hawk, me, and Ashley McCann, a Senior in Religious Studies at Virginia Commonwealth (see below for the link to that podcast).
At the end of our discussion, I asked Prof Strand if she had applied her global theory of Quidditch, i.e., that the two levels of action within each game (with Bludger mediators between the intersecting aerial fields) corresponds to like separation of stories in the series narrative between the Trio and the School, to each book. Does the Quidditch in each novel reflect the narrative of that book and its meaning?
She said “No, but we need to know that, don’t we?” So…
I have invited Prof Strand and a group of other Potter Pundits to a review of the Quidditch in each book and how it reflects — or fails to reflect — the story in which it is featured. Is it decorative or a dynamic symbol of the story we are experiencing? We’re meeting next Tuesday night, 29 December 2015, at 9:00 EST post meridian.
And you’re invited to this live, free webinar in which the understanding of the Hogwarts Saga will be expanded significantly, one way or the other! If you want to join us or to watch the replay, register here. Share your questions, corrections, and insights with world class Pundits live and without paying a cent.
Listen to Emily Strand talk Quidditch on MuggleNet Academia and then join us for the party next Tuesday night!
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