MuggleNet Academia: Medieval Motifs

July 15, 2015 by 10 Comments

Lakehead University Professor Rhonda Dubec joins, Keith Hawk, myself and two MuggleNet staffers to discuss the Medieval Motifs in Harry Potter, a class that she teaches live in Thunder Bay, Ontario, and online via her university’s distance education program. We all agreed during this animated conversation that we wish very much that the course were available to those South of the Border — as I think you will, too! Tune in and let me know what you think.

Filed Under: MuggleNet Academia

Comments

  1. Louise M. Freeman says
    July 15, 2015 at 7:52 pm

    Great show… thanks for the shout-out for the Divergent stuff.

  2. Margot Robinson says
    July 17, 2015 at 2:44 pm

    If Dr Dubec ever writes a book about this topic, I would be happy to buy it. This was a look at the subject matter in a way that I didn’t know about.

  3. Beverly Bradley says
    July 19, 2015 at 5:11 pm

    Loved listening to this discussion/presentation. I second the idea of offering this course on Coursera, iTunesU, or however, to go “south of the border.” On a side note, there was a discussion between Prof. Dubec and Aaron about Referentiality and Music. That sent me down the rabbit hole of Google and immediately found an article on jester.org: “The Development of Referential Meaning in Music” by Laurel J. Trainor and Sandra E. Trehub. I may be mistaken, but perhaps this is a helpful response to Prof. Dubec comment re wanting help in looking up references to Referentiality and Music.

  4. Beverly Bradley says
    July 19, 2015 at 5:41 pm

    John, Your question to Prof. Dubec at 1:07 in the podcast harkens back to your Book Binders article in Touchstone, “What I Learned about the Great Books & Harry Potter,” to wit, “a shared text and a profound one operating on many levels.” Great podcast!

  5. Renee says
    July 22, 2015 at 9:26 pm

    Loved this podcast! It took me back to my Middle Ages courses in college.

  6. waynestauffer says
    July 24, 2015 at 6:58 pm

    Agreed, as an English Lit major, this was riht up my alley. Thank you Dr. Dubec.

  7. waynestauffer says
    July 24, 2015 at 6:59 pm

    *right* up my alley

  8. Michael says
    July 30, 2015 at 7:37 pm

    An especially rich episode. Many thanks to all involved. Dr. Dubec made an excellent guest. In lieu of expanding Dr. Dubec’s course duties, would maybe a list of works she’s relied on in her own studies or found especially beneficial be possible? Thanks again to all involved.

  9. John says
    July 31, 2015 at 5:02 pm

    Straight from Dr Dubec, Michael! Enjoy!

    A. Some Specific Resources: A Basic Starter Pack
    1. The Language of Flowers: What They Mean (L-Z; follow links for flowers earlier in the alphabet)
    http://pioneerthinking.com/home/the-language-of-flowers-what-they-mean-l-z

    2. The Meaning of Shapes: Developing Visual Grammar
    http://www.vanseodesign.com/web-design/visual-grammar-shapes/

    3. A (Short) Glossary of Traditional Symbols in Western Literature
    http://mrquale.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/traditional-symbols.pdf

    3. Harry Potter and the Tarot Cards
    http://harrypotterforseekers.com/articles/tarot.php

    5. Patristic Exegesis (Four Levels of Meaning)
    http://public.wsu.edu/~delahoyd/medieval/exegesis.html

    6. The Medieval Bestiary: Digital Text Library
    http://bestiary.ca/etexts.htm

    7. Chart of Correspondences (with the Stages of Alchemical Transformation)
    http://alchemylab.com/correspondences.htm

    8. Magick Correspondences; Big Elemental Correspondences Chart (with the Elements)
    http://magickcorrespondences.blogspot.ca/2009/09/big-elemental-correspondences-chart.html

    B. General (Large) Resources (book-length works)
    1. A Dictionary of Literary Symbols by Michael Ferber
    http://www.mohamedrabeea.com/books/book1_4209.pdf

    2. Medieval Art: A Topical Dictionary by Leslie Ross
    http://ir.nmu.org.ua/bitstream/handle/123456789/137708/f85b59bdb901f4533022429212e5b6e3.pdf?sequence=1

    3. A Dictionary of Symbols by J. E. Cirlot
    http://www.izidor.cz/wp-content/uploads/ffsd4gsd47s8fe89eee.pdf

    4. Online Dictionary of Symbolism
    http://www.umich.edu/~umfandsf/symbolismproject/symbolism.html/?PHPSESSID=4e1fba103021c3e4249fc168de22fc1b

    5. Dictionary of Biblical Imagery: An Encyclopedic Exploration of the Images, Symbols, Motifs, Metaphors, Figures of Speech, and Literary Patterns of the Bible (General Editors are Leland Ryken, James C. Wilhoit, and Tremoer Longman III)
    http://www.friendsofsabbath.org/Further_Research/Typology/Dictionary%20of%20Biblical%20Imagery.pdf

  10. Michael says
    August 1, 2015 at 8:52 pm

    Thanks a ton!

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