ADMIN: New Discussion Topics (Nel revived)

[Debbie]

No: HPFGUIDX 125653


Our biweekly CHAPTER DISCUSSIONs have come to an end, with five long 
months remaining until we have new chapters to discuss.  What to do? 

To help pass the time, and to keep our grey matter engaged until new 
canon arrives, the elves have decided to
offer once again (updated for OOP) a series of discussion questions
that were first published in JK Rowling's Harry Potter Novels:  A
Reader's Guide, by Dr. Philip Nel.  Dr. Nel is a professor of
children's literature at Kansas State University and an occasional
poster in the early days of this list.  The list first tackled Dr.
Nel's questions in the spring of 2002.  Since then we have new canon,
and while the questions remain relevant, our perspectives on the
issues may have changed.

The complete list of  questions can be found in the files section 
here:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/files/Discussion%
20Summaries/

As before, the post introducing each discussion topic will present the
questions in their original form.  The discussion leader will then add
additional follow-up questions, which reflect what was revealed in
OOP, and offer links to relevant past discussions of the topic,
including the 2002 discussions.

And, yes, we would love volunteers to introduce each of the topics. 
If you're interested, email me at elfundeb at comcast.net.

Here's the planned schedule:

March 7 - Question 4:  Class and Elitism
March 21 - Questions 1 and 2:  The House Elves' Enslavement
April 4 - Questions 3 and 9:  Racial and Gender Politics
April 18 - Question 5:  The Mystery of Severus Snape
May 2 - Question 6:  Loyalty and Betrayal - The Case of Peter 
Pettigrew
May 16 - Question 7:  Loyalty and Betrayal - The Case of Percy Weasley
May 30 - Question 8:  The Rule of Law and Breaking the Rules
June 13 - Question 10:  Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
June 27 - Question 11:  Will HP become a Classic?
July 11:  Question 12:  Cross-book foreshadowing and HBP Prediction 
Derby 

And here are links to the introductory posts from the earlier 
discussions:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/37242 (Percy)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/37577 (Snape)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/38049 (classic HP)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/38289 (good vs. 
evil)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/38500 
(rulebreaking)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/39094 (house 
elves)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/41210 (class)

I will post the first discussion topic, Class and Elitism, this 
afternoon.  Stay tuned!

Debbie (newly rechristened Speedy Elf)
for the List Elves