At 5:40 in the talking heads discussion below, please note the reference to “the Voldemort Effect,” the inability of Western liberals and the US President specifically to name jihadist terror as evil or even to accept it as existing. Whatever your politics, there’s no denying that Harry Potter is the only YA title mentioned in this challenging discussion between a public atheist and a Muslim committed to secular values.
Shared Text: Islamicist Terror and ‘The Voldemort Effect’ on Lateline
December 1, 2015 by 2 Comments
Once More into the Games, Dear Friends, Once More! Mockingjay Part 2 Flies into Theaters
November 22, 2015 by 7 Comments
For the past four years, a wonderful local theater, the Yancey in Burnsville, has graciously hosted the readers of Mayland Community College for our own showing of the newest installment of the Hunger Games film adaptations. On Friday, November 20, once again the theater played the movie just for us, and, as we took in this, the last of the films based on Suzanne Collins’s remarkable trilogy, I once again toted my notebook and pen (along with lots of tissues) to collect my thoughts to share with you here. So, the pieces are in place; the countdown has begun. Let’s enter the arena, one last time, to see how the conclusion of this epic and complex tale survived its journey to screen. (Fair warning: this detailed review contains major plot elements.)
Blog on Psychology and Young Adult Literature
November 20, 2015 by 1 Comment
I just did my second guest post on the YAWednesday blog, (albeit in a special Friday edition for the Mockingjay premiere) on how psychology and YAL inform each other. References to Harry, Katniss and Tris abound, as well as shout-outs to reader favorites like Mugglenet Academia, the Chestnut Hill conference and Hogwartsprofessor.com itself.
This is a great blog for students, teachers or anyone interested in the most critically acclaimed YAL out there. New posts every Wednesday by scholars and writers, plus information on conferences and new publications.
A Hogwarts Psychology Professor Counts Down to Mockingjay: Part Three of Hunger Games and PTSD
November 19, 2015 by Leave a Comment
My video series wraps up with a look into the neuroscience of hijacking, and how feasible the process could be in the future. Learn about how memories are being created and re-written in laboratory mice, and how this technology can be used for good, or for evil.
A Hogwarts Psychology Professor Counts Down to Mockingjay! Part Two of Hunger Games and PTSD
November 18, 2015 by Leave a Comment
The second in my video series talks about the various attempts to cure Peeta of his hijacking, and what that tells us of modern therapies for PTSD. Will Prim, the Doogie Howser of District 13, turn out as much of a psychological prodigy as she is in medicine? View and see!
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