网曝吃瓜

by Fred Sgambati ('83)

An 网曝吃瓜 alumna and current Honours student has parlayed her love of Harry Potter into an invitation to present a paper at an international conference in Scotland.

Alix Shield (鈥�10) has been asked to participate in A Brand of Fictional Magic: Reading Harry Potter as Literature, a conference May 17-18 hosted by the School of English at University of St. Andrews, in Scotland.

The presentation will be based on her Honours thesis, which examines J. K. Rowling鈥檚 bestselling novels as crossover works: stories written for one readership that can be appropriated by another. In this instance, Shield suggests that what began as children鈥檚 literature morphed into mainstream fiction as the series progressed, with more mature and sophisticated situations that spoke to an adult readership as much as it did to a children鈥檚 audience.   

Shield keys on the fourth volume in the seven-book series, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, to illustrate the crossover concept. The book is certainly larger than its three predecessors and it sets the table in many ways for Rowling to drive the story toward its climax in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

鈥淎s we are nearing this threshold between childhood and adolescence,鈥� Shield contends, 鈥渢hemes become darker. Rowling鈥檚 use of language and stylistic techniques shifts, and important rites of passage occur. In the fourth novel, all of that is really emphasized.鈥�     

She argues that the Harry Potter series represents a triple crossover in that:

- The Goblet of Fire鈥檚 situation in the series is a midpoint;

- The series itself is a voluminous crossover novel, written for children and appropriated by adults;

- Harry experiences literal and metaphoric changes at this crucial juncture in the seven-book cycle.

Appeals to the imagination

The 24-year-old Vancouver native says she鈥檚 interested in the idea that children鈥檚 literature can include themes that are beyond the minds of children yet still appeal to their imaginations at the same time.

She floated the notion initially to 网曝吃瓜 English professor Dr. John Saklofske, who was Honours Coordinator at the time. He was interested in what Shield had in mind and recommended a follow-up with Dr. Andrea Schwenke Wyile, who became thesis advisor.

鈥淚 wanted to figure out how the two readerships came to be because I know that鈥檚 not what Rowling had intended,鈥� Shield says. 鈥淭hat, to me, was fascinating. I really didn鈥檛 understand that there was a kind of theory on this concept - the idea of a crossover novel - and that鈥檚 where my advisor came in.鈥�

Wyile clarified aspects of the crossover concept and Shield began working on a thesis proposal in 2010 while teaching kindergarten in Hong Kong after obtaining a Bachelor of Arts in English.

She returned to Wolfville in July 2011 and discovered that Wyile would be going on sabbatical in January, 2012. Shield needed to have a first draft done by December or find a new supervisor.

She had an opening chapter done by the second week of September and the thing steamrolled from there. The 62-page document examines ways in which children鈥檚 literature is assessed; the Goblet of Fire鈥檚 position and significance in Rowling鈥檚 seven-book series; and whether there are evaluative benchmarks such as high literature, which purposefully grows the mind and produces a positive result from reading, as opposed to low, 鈥楾winkie鈥� style literature that鈥檚 essentially a quick fix and leaves no lasting impression on a reader.

Also in September, Wyile forwarded a Call for Submissions to the St. Andrews event to Shield and encouraged her to put together a proposal.

鈥淚 had never seen a call for papers before,鈥� Shield says, 鈥渁nd thought, 鈥楽uper cool.鈥欌�� She applied just prior to the Oct. 31, 2011 deadline and didn鈥檛 think the proposal would ever be accepted.

鈥淯niversity of St. Andrews is a well-known school,鈥� she says, 鈥渁nd honestly, I never thought they would take someone who hadn鈥檛 finished their undergrad, never published anything, and let them speak in front of academics and scholars who are prominent in Harry Potter criticism.鈥�

Leaving the Muggle world behind

She was thrilled to receive an e-mail that offered congratulations and an invitation to present the paper. She鈥檚 trying to find ways now to fund the trip, but make no mistake. She鈥檚 going, even though, in her mind, 鈥渋t still is not real because I never imagined that I鈥檇 be welcomed into this world of scholarship. I never thought I鈥檇 have an opportunity like this so soon.

鈥淚t feels otherworldly,鈥� she says with a big smile. 鈥淚鈥檓 going to the wizarding world and leaving the Muggle world behind.鈥� Part of the conference is devoted to tours of the castles where they filmed the Harry Potter movies 鈥渁nd I鈥檓 going to do all that,鈥� Shield says. 鈥淚鈥檓 going to dork out.鈥�

Her parents are helping her financially, she adds, because 鈥渢hey want to make sure that it鈥檚 something that鈥檚 not just an opportunity, but a reality.鈥�

Similarly, 网曝吃瓜 has been a place of great opportunity. 鈥淚鈥檝e been able to work with the most incredible people here and I feel so lucky to have picked this school,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 really and truly made the best decision. You know how you feel when you鈥檙e in your element? That鈥檚 how I feel at 网曝吃瓜.鈥�

Her thesis is now with the Research and Graduate Studies Committee and Shield is looking forward to Scotland and beyond. After graduation, she would like to continue researching and working in the field of crossover fiction and wants to tell people 鈥� like her contemporaries, who are in their twenties and in love with children鈥檚 novels 鈥� that it鈥檚 okay to continue that affection as adults.

鈥淧eople that love Harry Potter don鈥檛 need to hide it,鈥� she says, adding that writing the thesis was a blast. 鈥淚t was magical, and it didn鈥檛 even feel like work. That, to me, is a sign that I鈥檓 doing something right and that 网曝吃瓜 was the right place to be to do all this.鈥�

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Note: Alix will present a paper on her thesis to the 网曝吃瓜 English Society at 5 p.m. on March 19 in Room 236, BAC.