HIST 104 - Harry Potter and the Middle Ages

Credits: (3)
You’ve read all the books; you’ve seen all the movies. Now you’re in college. Is it time to leave Harry Potter behind, along with your stuffed animals and band posters? No! It’s time to combine your love of the Potterverse with your new role as an apprentice in the modern descendant of the medieval universitas, the guild of scholars. In “Harry Potter and the Middle Ages,” we will explore the medieval historical, intellectual, and literary background to Rowling’s series of novels. The exploration of such topics as medieval magic and science, heresy and witchcraft, medieval manuscripts, alchemy, bestiaries, and medieval universities will provide us with a deeper understanding of both the Middle Ages and the Potter books.