First Australian Harry Potter conference planned
August 20, 2003 at 12:10 PM ET
Cheeser
MuggleNet (via The Advertiser)
Flinders University in South Australia is hosting a Harry Potter conference
in January, the first of its kind down under. The academic-themed event will feature papers and presentations "from any discipline" in relation to the Harry Potter world, complete with morning and afternoon tea.
It's being organized by PhD students Brooke Thomas, Joanna Coward, and Amanda Muller:
HP turns usually mild critics razor-sharp or passionately defensive - even those who couldn't less about the series want to jump in and say so. Joanna Coward, doing her PhD on HP at the University of South Australia, has found that "most people have an opinion" when informed about her topic.
Amanda Muller, a Flinders PhD English student, looked intensively at Rowling's writing style in the recent Flinders 'Potterism' seminar. "My paper was on how [JK] Rowling takes figurative language, such as metaphors, literally," she told Campus Review.
The conference has become popular enough the organizers have had to change venues to accommodate attendees:
Ms. Thomas admitted she was thrilled the university was leading the way nationally with Australia's first Potter conference. "It really surprised me that nobody has done this already," she said.
Harry Potter Goes to University will be held January 15-16, 2004 in South Australia. Visit the official site for more information.