HP time

Crest done by Miriam and myself for our Colleges Yule Ball themed Ball.

I have realised that through blogging about this module I am probably going to retain a lot more of the knowledge. I’ve spent some time thinking about whether I should explain all the thoughts that are put forward within the lectures or just the ideas we investigated. I decided that I don’t want to give the lecture to others, so instead will mention some of the broader ideas and any questions to think about.

Today we explored the concept of Houses: looking at the the pros and cons of having school houses, the sorting and the reputations. We were reminded, as I think we will be every week, to avoid the Button Man (I must not have been playing attention the last two years...because I don’t recall this ever being mentioned before) and the Bible Code...in other words try and avoid making up connections that aren’t there.

So, what thought arose from this lecture?

Is the Sorting hat a philosopher? An oracle? A seer?Does the Sorting Hat make mistakes?What do the House colours, animals, common rooms, elements, etc. say about the Houses? Is the idea of four different houses for different traits that farfetched?

Can we compare the Houses of Hogwarts to the Durham Colleges? Maybe, we have all been sorted into different Colleges, Universities, and courses. Do being in any of these groupings make us any better than others?

Are Slytherin bad? As one of the students ‘sorted’ into Slytherin I had to write a ‘parchment’ about the traits of Slytherin, and spent most of it defending Slytherin from it’s bad reputation. It’s traits include things such as ambition and greatness. Some major characters have taken these too far or used them for the wrong cause, but they can be good...and at the end of the books where did their loyalties lie? With Voldemort or with Hogwarts?

We also discussed whether you are born into a house or grow into a house, that common question of nature or nurture. And were left to think about how this idea of Houses and all that comes along with them could be played out in schools...

We have only had two proper lectures so far, but I must say this is probably one of the most interesting and engaging modules I am doing, and I think there really has been a lot of work put into thinking beyond the books. :)