Pottermore+Project

“Are You Magical?” This is a first question that the online world of //Pottermore// asks. The semester project for this course will be an ongoing project for the whole term. On the first day of class, I will ask everyone to sign up for a membership to the online “game” //Pottermore//, based on the Harry Potter books. We will be treating this online experience as a piece of digital literature, and I have structured the semester so that our digital literature unit is last. This will give us plenty of time to really explore the world of //Pottermore// and hopefully lead to good discussion/presentations the last day of coursework. As a piece of digital literature, make sure to pay close attention to the textual element of this piece. J.K. Rowling has written and shared information about certain characters that has never been previously released. It is in these textual sections that you will see how some people are viewed and placed into specific categories that perhaps we may want to challenge. Throughout the entire semester I am asking you to chronicle your personal experiences engaging with this text in a journal of your own choosing. If a physical notebook works best for you that is fine, if you are more comfortable creating a blog, or making an electronic Word document, that it fine as well. The journal should consist of entries based on the experience of working through this text, and exploring the different magical realist components is offers. Part of the experience is engaging with other players. You and your peers will be sorted into the 4 houses of Hogwarts, each given a digital wand, and are given opportunities to “duel” another wizard in a chance to test your skills. I am asking each of you to write about the challenges, frustrations, excitement, and any other aspect that engaging with this text might offer. Each entry should be a couple paragraphs in length. I am expecting that the further along in the semester we are, the more the entries should start to include certain vocabulary that we have come to associate with magical realism. I also want to see some of the theory that we have been reading incorporated into these journals, as a way of inserting your own thoughts into ongoing critical conversations. Use the theory especially when looking at the treatment of certain “deviant” characters or any of those characters who are not a part of the “inside” group at Hogwarts and the wizarding community at large. The journal will be due the day we all look at //Pottermore// in class. You will be divided into the different houses that you have all been sorted into and will have a chance to compete for…The House Cup! More exiting explanation to follow! **Semester Project is worth 150 pts and is due 12/6.** 
 * __Semester Project: __**