In an attic apartment during my last year of graduate school at Yale, I ate pizza with two friends and crafted a syllabus for the Harry Potter and Christian Theology course. My plan: de-emphasize witchcraft -- which previously dominated Christian perspectives on the series -- and focus on a variety of other topics in theology, including forgiveness, salvation and grace. Reframing would allow for richer, deeper analysis, letting students visit not just one small country but the entire globe of theology so that they could decide for themselves whether the books supported a Christian worldview.
But the proposal initially met with skepticism. Popular culture isn't often included in a liberal arts curriculum, nor is an introduction to theology typically taught alongside literature many perceive to be for children. In fact, one student who participated in the selection process said of my idea: "The committee had a good laugh over the Harry Potter proposal" because it was "not something you could talk about for 13 weeks."
And yet, between 2,000 years of theologians with their fast-firing synapses, logical savvy and critically constructed thoughts, and seven volumes of J.K. Rowling's nuanced prose, there is more than enough fodder for discussion. Consider, for instance, whether there's a God-figure in the series. This is the first issue my students question and it becomes the fundamental one in the course. Classical theologians define God using three characteristics: omnipotence, omniscience and omnibenevolence (otherwise known as the Three Os). Yet it's hard to think of a person within the series who possesses all three qualifications.
To read more, click here.
No comments:
Post a Comment