Transformative Readings: Harry Potter Fan Fiction,Trans/Queer Reader Response,and J. K. Rowling

The politics of children’s literature and the actors surrounding it have never been more visible than they are now, in the digital age. As one of the first children’s series to gain widespread popularity concurrently with the spread of the internet, the Harry Potter septet arrived on the global stage at the perfect moment to develop an avid, connected fandom. But the fandom has laid bare the many conflicting ideologies of the fans themselves and of the actors surrounding the texts. This article examines the contentious issue of gender nonnormativity and its relation to the Harry Potter texts, the queer/trans reading practices and political resistance common to the fandom, and the ongoing disagreements over gender, made visible on social media, between Rowling and the fans of her series. The article discusses the Harry Potter novels’ varied and conflicting ideologies; queer/trans readings of the Potter septet, including both invitations and resistances to queer/trans reading by Rowling herself; how gender is queered and queried in and through fan fiction; and finally, the recent hostilities between Rowling and her fans. It concludes by discussing the worsening relationship between Rowling and her fans and highlighting how fans are using their collective power to undermine Rowling’s gender politics through fan fiction. By doing so, the article traces the complex politics of the reception of books for young people in the digital age, demonstrating that authors’ powerful voices continue to shape readers’ responses to texts long after their publication but showing, too, that readers often resist authors’ attempts to influence not only their textual interpretations but their politics.

     

What has <Emphasis Type="Italic">Harry Potter</Emphasis> Done for Me? Children’s Reflections on their ‘<Emphasis Type="Italic">Potter</Emphasis> Experience’

This article reports findings from a small-scale focus-group study funded by the British Academy. Drawing on Herbert Marsh and Richard Shavelson’s notion of “Academic Self-Concept” and David Barton and Mary Hamilton’s view of literacy as context-specific social practices, the authors examine what young British Harry Potter enthusiasts perceive as the influence of the novels on their subsequent reading behaviour and academic development. Specifically, they consider whether these children feel that Harry Potter has helped improve their literacy skills and whether they think the books have changed their attitudes to reading. Moreover, the article sheds light on the role of the films and the possible effect of gender. The authors conclude that the Potter enthusiasts they have interviewed see the series as formative in terms of their literacy. However, regarding gender, intra-group variation (differences among individual readers in a group of either boys or girls) is far more significant than inter-group variation (differences between single-sex groups of boys and girls).     

The Survival of Engaged Reading in the Internet Age: New Media, Old Media, and the Book

This article explores questions of paratext and spin-off text through an investigation of websites and other forms of satellite texts relating to three series of novels for young people: the Harry Potter novels by J.K. Rowling, His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman, and the Discworld novels of Terry Pratchett. Much of this material, which is often perceived as competition to the book, actually trades on a powerful assumption that the reader has already read the books in question. Extended reading is supported rather than undermined by many of these associated texts.     

充满魔力的哈利·波特

Fans of the Harry Potter series of books have flocked(聚结)to Harry’s second big-screen adventure,Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. And for director Chris Columbus,the deci—sion to use both digital and traditional special effects in themovie appeared to have helped make the magic come alivefor Harry fans.     

Literature analysis on Harry Potter series under the perspective of post-modernism

Harry Potter series books are not only the children’s books that show clear good and evil forces and heroism,but also carrying strong postmodern features.This paper is to analyze the feature of post-modernism in Harry Potter series in terms of magical realism,postmodern feminism and pluralism and so on for the purpose of offering a different perspective of studying the books.     

奇迹蕴涵的审美期待——《哈利·波特》成功探究

充满魔幻色彩的《哈利·波特》系列无疑是当代文坛的一大奇迹,其影响远远超越了儿童文学的范畴,形成旷日持久的“哈利波特热”和令人瞩目的“哈利波特现象”。是什么成就了这一文坛神话？它蕴涵着现代人怎样的阅读期待和娱乐心态？通过梳理和故事的解读,从情节的离奇曲折、英雄的现代阐释、隐含悲剧意识的凸显等方面入手,对此作理性评析和深度探索。     

基于目的论的归化与异化策略——评《哈利·波特》系列专有名词的翻译

自《哈利·波特与魔法石》问世以来,《哈利·波特》系列小说受到了读者的广泛青睐。《哈利·波特》系列小说有很多新词,这些新词以及新词翻译为研究者提供了一片新天地。既要翻译得原汁原味,又要能重现词汇的意境。文章从目的论的角度出发,探讨《哈利·波特》系列小说中专有名词翻译的归化与异化问题。     

Once Upon a Time: Parent–Child Dialogue and Storybook Reading in the Electronic Era

Early experiences with books predict later reading success, and an interactive shared reading style called “dialogic reading” is especially beneficial to emergent literacy. Electronic console (EC) books, CD‐rom books, and e‐book apps are designed to teach preschoolers preliteracy skills, but research has yet to systematically explore the impact of these types of books on established predictors of positive literacy outcomes. This research fills that gap with two studies investigating dialogic language and children's story comprehension in a total of 165 parent–child dyads reading battery‐operated, touch‐sensitive children's electronic console books or traditional books. Results revealed that parent–child dialogic reading and children's story comprehension were both negatively affected by the presence of electronic features. Ways in which e‐books may be altered to better serve as educational tools in this new era are discussed.     

The Magic of Harry Potter: Symbols and Heroes of Fantasy

This article suggests that the worldwide, multiage appeal of Harry Potter may lie in the way these stories of magic meet the needs of readers to find meaning in today's unmagical contexts. The imaginative appeal and symbolic efficacy of the books for children are examined in terms of Bruno Bettelheim's The Uses of Enchantment. The development of Harry Potter as a hero in the mythic/fantasy tradition, which allows young adults to grasp a sense of hope for meaning and triumph, are explored in terms of Joseph Campbell's Hero With a Thousand Faces. Case studies are included to illustrate.     

从魔幻世界到现实社会——哈利波特系列小说价值观浅析

在《哈利波特》系列小说中,J.K·罗琳借用一个魔幻世界,来讲述一个＂人＂的故事。而在这个魔幻世界的故事里,作者真情流露出了她对真、善、美的追求和对邪、恶、丑的憎恨,让读者看到了她所拥有的价值观。本文将通过分析小说主人公哈利波特的成长经历,探讨小说中所蕴涵的价值观及其对青少年的影响和启示。     

Using Picture Books as Paired Texts to Teach Educational Theories

Picture books, when used thoughtfully and artfully, can teach theories to graduate students in literacy and foreign language education. In this article, the authors described how a pair of picture books is used to teach Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development and Krashen's Input Hypothesis in the fields of literacy education and applied linguistics. The authors first introduced the theoretical foundation and rationale of using picture books as paired texts to teach educational theories. Then, from a macroperspective, they described the procedures of designing a class activity with paired picture books. Next, they provided language teachers and educators with a specific sample in which materials, objective, and specific instructional steps are clearly listed. In the end, the authors explained how the article contributes to the field from three perspectives: first, it offers a helpful strategy to language educators who make instruction of theories to graduate students easier; second, it provides insights to language and content area teachers on teaching across the curriculum by using picture books; third, it suggests how teachers can pair other learning mediators with picture books to improve student learning.     

Understanding Harry Potter: parallels to the deaf world

Every so often there are stories that take the world by storm and make such an impact that they become part of our everyday world. These stories, characters, and themes become established elements of cultural literacy. This is exactly what has happened with J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. Harry and his cohort of wizards, witches, and their adventures have become an indispensable part of popular literature and popular culture. We have developed an innovative way to ensure that Deaf children, their families, and anyone studying literature (Deaf or general) gain a deeper understanding of this phenomenon. In fact, we go further by demonstrating how using a Deaf Lens provides the greatest insight into the fascinating world of Harry Potter. Utilizing a Deaf Studies Template and a Deaf Lens, we capitalize on the experiences of Deaf people everywhere while celebrating the valuable role American Sign Language has in academic programming.     

《哈利·波特》研究综述

《哈利·波特》系列图书出版后,很快在世界范围内掀起一股“波特风”,形成“哈利·波特现象”,也引起了广泛的争议。“哈利·波特现象”经历了“文学经典／文化幼稚病”之争后进入了回归文本、走向多元的学术研究时期。十年问《哈利·波特》研究已经形成百花齐放、百家争鸣之势,学者们已经从文本内外对《哈利·波特》做了较深入的剖析,下一步在往纵深继续发展的时候,也应注重联系,走向多层次的互文研究。     

Harry Potter and the Border Crossing Analogy: An Exploration of the Instructional Use of Analogy in a TESOL Methods Course

ABSTRACT

The following exploratory study examines the effects of a Harry Potter–inspired “border crossing” analogy (HPBCA) on preservice teachers' (n = 25) Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) content knowledge and disposition toward English language learners (ELLs). The analogy capitalizes on the prior and shared background knowledge many preservice teachers have of J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter novels, the related films, and discourses that surround the Harry Potter phenomenon. Study results suggest mild agreement among participants of the perceived positive impact of the HPBCA on their TESOL content knowledge, although a slightly less than neutral response toward the perceived impact on their disposition toward ELLs. The results hold implications for the pedagogical use of analogy in teacher education beyond mathematics and science, as well as the role of prior/shared knowledge in teaching and learning.     

Decoding Snake Images in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

In recent years,the study of Harry Potter series has enjoyed great popularity.One of the charms of the books is that there are a lot of vivid and lively animals in them,both real ones and fictional ones.Among these animals,snakes are the most important ones.The paper attempts to discover the deep meaning of snake images in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by connecting them with world culture.The dominant snake images not only enrich the plot,but also help readers to have a better understanding of the story's themes and give them new insights and inspirations.     

《哈利·波特》与蛇的形象

在《哈利·波特》系列小说中,蛇的形象被作者一再强调,并不断地以各种形式出现,而且在故事的情节发展中起着重要作用。借助原型批评理论来分析《哈利·波特》,可以发现蛇的形象的不断出现和作者对这一形象的描述并不是偶然的,而是西方传统文化的显现,其中的形象设置具有其深刻的人文意义。     

Implementing a disciplinary-literacy curriculum for US history: learning from expert middle school teachers in diverse classrooms

In recent years, educators in the USA have emphasized disciplinary literacy as an essential path forward in cultivating adolescents’ understanding of subject matter in tandem with literacy practices. Yet, this agenda poses challenges to teachers who have been tasked with its implementation. Here, we examine two expert US history teachers’ efforts to implement curriculum that integrates reading, writing and thinking in history with academically diverse eighth graders. We conduct qualitative analyses of teacher observations and interviews as well as student work. This analysis provides insight into several issues that emerge in efforts to teach disciplinary literacy in history classrooms: the nuances of teachers’ use of curriculum materials created by people other than themselves, teachers’ appropriation and adaptation of curriculum materials and teachers’ understanding of curriculum materials and disciplinary literacy goals. We find that teachers’ knowledge of the discipline and attention to students’ ideas allowed them to skillfully adapt the curriculum to better meet students’ needs and push students’ thinking. Orienting teachers toward disciplinary learning, ensuring a foundational understanding of their discipline and providing teachers with tools to teach disciplinary literacy are important steps to help students meet the demands of the disciplinary literacy agenda.     

What would make children read for pleasure more frequently?

Regular recreational reading offers benefits across a range of literacy outcomes, as well as supporting learning in other subject areas, offering cognitive benefits, and potentially fostering empathy. Therefore, increasing frequency of engagement in recreational reading can play an important role in addressing inequity in literacy outcomes once independent reading skill has been achieved. While previous studies address how to increase children's engagement in reading for recreation, few allow children's viewpoints to take primacy. The 2016 Western Australian Study in Children's Book Reading collected data from respondents across 24 schools, seeking to determine how educators and parents may best support young people to read with greater frequency. Interview participants from Years 4 and 6 were asked what would make them read more. The five recurring themes of finding engaging books, series adherence, challenge seeking, skill deficit, and time availability indicate optimal avenues for future research and educational intervention to foster increased engagement in reading.     

Exploring the litblog: how literary blogging can be used to guide readers in the selection of new books

Examining how readers choose books when reading for pleasure is an important step towards understanding literacy practices that occur outside of the traditional domain of the education system. This article explores the possibilities that literary blogs offer as a form of reader guidance. It analyzes the content of seven literary blogs and three library‐run blogs (all focusing on adult fiction), and identifies features of these blogs that may be valuable to avid readers and to those who serve as advisors to readers, such as librarians and educators.     

《哈利·波特》的成功对中国儿童文学的启示

《哈利·波特》是一个经典,他已经成为了一种现象,一种力量。这种力量可以唤醒所有人尘封已久的想象力和阅读的兴趣,从而让越来越多的人为他着迷。而《哈利·波特》成功的秘密,不仅在于作者的大胆的想象;还在于她让真实的世界和魔法世界之间的转化显得如此真实;在于作者高超的写作技巧和丰富的人生阅历;在于作品的深层的思想内涵、丰富的人物情感。一部作品带给人的不能只是吸引,还应该有思考和感动。《哈利·波特》不仅仅是一部小说,更是一种商品和文化。这对打破中国儿童文学狭隘的题材视野和单一的表现手法,起到启示作用。并为这个时代的儿童文学和奇幻文学竖起了一面旗帜,流行并且经典。