Potterversity Episode 49: Playing Potter
<div>We're in for a bit of fun as we look at games in the wizarding world and using games to bring the wizarding world to the classroom.<br>
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Katy and Emily are joined by two more contributors to our book, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Potterversity-Essays-Exploring-World-Potter/dp/1476690537?tag=mugglenet06-20"><em>Potterversity: Essays Exploring the World of Harry Potter</em></a>. Laurie Beckoff, our producer, and Tison Pugh, Pegasus Professor of English at the University of Central Florida and author of <em>Harry Potter and Beyond</em>, both wrote chapters about games, with Laurie looking inside the series and back at medieval literature, while Tison looked outside the series at how to apply games in his <em>Harry Potter</em> course.<br>
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Both Laurie and Tison come from a medievalist background, so we discuss the connections between <em>Harry Potter</em> and the Middle Ages, particularly magic and quests. They also see games - such as tournaments, Quidditch, and chess - as playing a significant role in both medieval romance and <em>Potter</em>, especially when it comes to character development, moving the plot along, and revealing the values of a society, as Laurie discusses in her chapter, "It's All Fun and Games Until...: Leisurely and Competitive Pursuits in <em>Harry Potter</em> and Chivalric Romance."<br>
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In Tison's chapter, "Gamifying the <em>Harry Potter</em> Studies Classroom," he explains how he uses a House Cup tournament to engage his students, bringing team building and a bit of healthy competition into an educational environment. We look at performance in both chapters - how wizards and knights develop reputations and respond to their audiences as well as how Tison's students take on the traits associated with their Houses - and how power structures come into play or can be subverted.</div>
