Wizards vs. Muggles : essays on identity and the Harry Potter universe

Harry Potter has given the critical study of popular culture quite an extraordinary platform for exploring the nature of human identity across cultures and around the world. Potter Studies is rapidly developing into a vibrant, interdisciplinary collection of scholars from a wide range of university and non-university environments. This intersection, between the multidisciplinary study of identity and Harry Potter as a cultural artifact is where this collected volume finds its home. Issues surrounding race, class, gender, sexual orientation, and personal virtue, both in the wizarding world and in our own real world, are introduced and examined here. The ways in which these issues manifest in the practices of fans, fandom cultures, and real-world schools and businesses are also interrogated. Ultimately, this collection of essays should provide an extensive and varied array of meanings, contexts, and connections to and/or around identity issues for both scholars and non-scholars who can see our world mirrored in that of Harry Potter.