SOCIAL STUDIES

Harry 'n' hobbitsNext month, a Harry Potter symposium will be held in Orlando, Fla. "The offerings at the symposium are nothing if not varied," writes Chris Mooney in The Washington Post. "Emily Katherine Anderson of Susquehanna University ponders whether Harry is a 'radically transgendered hero, one that is not entirely male or female,' while Hermione 'possesses more of the qualities of a male archetypal hero.' Cantor Amy Miller wonders, 'What's a nice Jewish boy like Harry doing in a place like this?' Diana Patterson of Mount Royal College discusses technology and magic, while Susan Hall, an Oxford University graduate and partner at a British law firm, criticizes the wizard justice system."