Harry Potter's World - Renaissance, Science, Magic and Medicine will be on display at the Champlain College Library Miller Information Commons through Oct. 15. The exhibit explores the historical roots of the popular series of books and movies about the young wizard Harry Potter and his adventures at Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Along with the exhibit, presented by the National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, the staff of the MIC have put together a special exhibit of wands, maps, books and other replicas inspired by the books by J.K. Rowling. 

A series of special events for students, including a Harry Potter movie marathon, lectures, readings, magic workshops and even a Muggle-version of Quidditch on the Aiken Lawn outside the library.

Check out the Library's Harry Potter webpage for details.

http://cosmos.champlain.edu/library/pages/exhibits/harrypotter/index.html

Brown-Bag Lunch series begins Sept. 16 at Alumni Auditorium

In conjunction with the HP extravaganza at the MIC, and thanks to the generous support of Marie Kascus and crew, Steve Wehmeyer and Kerry Noonan are hosting a series of lunchtime presentations/conversations to help students and faculty highlight connections between the Harry Potter phenomenon, academia, pedagogy, and specific themes in the Core Curriculum.

The four-week series is open to the Champlain College community.

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If You Don't Get into Hogwarts, Do You Have a Safety?

Thursday September 16, 12-1:30 pm Alumni Auditorium
Hosted by: Kerry Noonan

While Hogwarts is arguable the most famous literary magical school today, did you know that J.K. Rowling had predecessors who wrote about schools for witches and wizards? From 20th century fantasy literature to medieval legends about wizard schools, we'll explore the trope of the magical school. What does this literature tell us about our beliefs and dreams about magical schooling?

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Sorcery on the Syllabus - Do Academics Really Study Magic? And Why?

Thursday September 23, 12-1:30 pm Alumni Auditorium
Hosted by: Steve Wehmeyer

The scholarly study of magical beliefs, practices, traditions, and worldviews has been an important part of the work of a number of related academic disciplines for hundreds of years. In the past two decades, this area of interdisciplinary study has virtually exploded, with an array of new published works on the history, sociology, and psychology of magic, the formation of scholarly societies dedicated to the study of magic, and even the creation of college departments and programs that focus exclusively on this most mysterious of human beliefs and behaviors. This presentation, for students, staff, and faculty alike explores the reasons behind the rising popularity of the study of magic in the academy. Contrary to popular perception, this is not a marginal trove of obscure and irrelevant knowledge, but a robust area of inquiry that is helping us answer key historical and anthropological questions about the ways human beings look at and live in their world. We'll look at some of the most vital and intriguing currents and perspectives in the recent scholarship of magic, and explore the kinds of things we can learn from this exciting and rich branch of scholarship.

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"How Do You Know She's a Witch?"

Thursday September 30, 12-1:30 pm Alumni Auditorium
Hosted by: Kerry Noonan

Witches have captured the imagination of people for millennia. What do we mean when we say "witch?" How have our ideas about witches changed over the last few centuries? How has the witch gone from ugly, old, warty-nosed lover of the devil to beautiful, teenaged Buffy sidekick? By examining the beliefs and legends about witches, we can get some insight into what the figure of "the witch" has meant in our culture over time.

 

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"My Daemon Can Beat Up Your Patronus!" -- Visions of the Magical "Second Self" in Western Fantasy Literature, Art, Mythology, and Folklore.

Thursday October 7, 12-1:30 pm Alumni Auditorium
Hosted by: Steve Wehmeyer

This presentation explores the deep cultural roots of one of the most compelling concepts in recent fantasy literature - J.K, Rowling's protective Patronuses and Phillip Pullman's shape-shifting animal Daemons have their origins in ancient Western mythic traditions like that of the Roman Genius, the Greek Daimon, the Icelandic Fylgja, and the Anglo-Scottish Fetch. Through a multi-media presentation, we'll examine some of these lesser known traditions which modern fantasy authors have mined for inspiration, and explore some of the reasons this idea of a "Double Self" continues to fascinate and intrigue us. (This presentation, while intended to appeal to a wide general audience, is particularly suited as a compliment to the questions being raised in COR 110 - "Concepts of the Self." )