Legilimens!

Perspectives in Harry Potter Studies

Edited By: Christopher E. Bell

£39.99

Legilimens is the spell to see into another’s mind. This collection brings together anthropologists, theologians, historians, and rhetoricians to see into the Harry Potter texts, deliberating over the greater scholarly significance of these rich works.

The current state of scholarship surrounding Harry Potter is both vibrant and varied. One of the reasons scholars continue to be attracted to the series…

The current state of scholarship surrounding Harry Potter is both vibrant and varied. One of the reasons scholars continue to be attracted to the series as an artifact is the colossal range of disciplinary foci that can find treasures to unearth in its pages and films. In the Harry Potter series, “legilimens” is the spell that allows a wizard to see into another person’s mind, reading the subject’s thoughts. As such, it is an appropriate moniker for the attempt of scholars to see into the Harry Potter texts and search for greater meaning. Legilimens!: Perspecives in Harry Potter Studies contains the work of anthropologists and theologians, of historians and rhetoricians. The collection is a wide-ranging discussion of the Harry Potter texts (and the meanings contained within) among scholars from broadly disparate fields, coming together to deliberate over the greater scholarly significance of these rich and fertile texts.

Dr Christopher E. Bell is the Director of the Center for Excellence in Communication and an Assistant Professor of Communication at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs. He specializes in the study of popular culture, focusing on the ways in which race, class and gender intersect in different forms of media. Dr Bell’s primary research areas are young adult culture and fandom practices. He serves as the chair of the Southwest Popular/American Culture Association’s Harry Potter Studies division. He teaches both theory and methodology courses in critical analysis of popular culture, rhetorical theory, representation theory and mass media. Dr Bell is a nationally-touring speaker on issues of race, class and gender in the media, and has presented work at regional, national and international conventions and conferences.

Sabine Behringer, Elizabeth Clark, Lindsay Clifton, Deanna Day, Elizabeth Goering, Masha Grigoryan, James Harmon, Andrea Krause, Bryce Langford, David Rosen, Sarah Rosen, KJ Swanson, Meri Weiss