Defend OOTP against my horribly Muggle mind!

[Anne]

No: HPFGUIDX 76609

Greetings!  I'm coming out of lurk mode to make just one little 
contribution to this conversation.

Wiley said:
"I have to side with the people who feel criticizing the series is a 
bit pretentious. For cripe's sake, people...this is young adult 
literature, not Joyce or Tolkein or Hemmingway. I don't ever expect 
Rowling to be brought up in a university literature course."

My reply:
Actually, I know of at least one university English course already
that 
is specifically devoted to Harry Potter.  Dr. Philip Nel, author of 
"J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter Novels:  A Reader's Guide," teaches a 
course called "Harry Potter's Library" at Kansas State University. 
In 
addition to all the Harry texts, they also read works by Philip 
Pullman, E. Nesbit, Roald Dahl, and C.S. Lewis, among others.  

Oh, how I would love to take that course!  :)

--Anne