Will HP become classic?

[Philip Nel]

No: HPFGUIDX 38142

Regarding Eileen's (lucky_kari's) response to Hana:

> --- In HPforGrownups at y..., "Hana" <gohana_chan02 at l...> wrote:
> >  abigailnus said:
>
> > In terms of it being a classic, I think it depends on the context to
> some extent.  There is a university in western Canada (the University
> of Calgary I think, but I don't really remember) that is offering an
> >honours course about the Harry Potter phenomena.
>
> The University of Alberta in Edmonton. Very cool.

This comment (or "these comments," I should say) points to the role that "the Academy" -- i.e., Colleges and Universities -- play in whether or not a book becomes a classic.  It's true that there are courses devoted to Potter, and in the interests of full disclosure, I should add that I'm teaching one of those courses (syllabus can be found here: <http://www.ksu.edu/english/nelp/engl.s02/440.html>).  And, what's more, _Potter_ can be found in general children's literature courses and even in British literature courses.  Furthermore, there are several _Potter_ essay collections in the works -- at least one of those collections will be out this fall.  (Again, in the interests of honesty, I must admit to having an essay in one of the collections.)  One often sees papers and even entire panels on _Potter_ at
conferences.  The "Harry Potter" panel at last year's MLA (Modern Language Association) conference -- the *big* annual conference for English and Language profs. in North America -- was packed.  There were people sitting on the floor.  I'd guess that a room that holds one hundred was hosting about 150 people for that session.

The role that Professors play in creating literary canons is, of course, a separate question.  However, I'd be willing to cite the prominence of Potter in academe as evidence of its eventual status as "classic."  Why does it appeal to profs?  Because it's literary (love those allusions!), there are many layers to the novels, and because it's fun to read.  I could add a longer list, but I've got to run.  Just my two cents (or knuts, if you prefer).

Cheers,

Phil
--
Philip Nel
Assistant Professor
Department of English
Denison Hall
Kansas State University
Manhattan, KS 66506-0701
U.S.A.
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http://www.ksu.edu/english/nelp/
philnel at ksu.edu