As part of the Humanities Students Research Conference on 08 June, Theology and Religious Studies student Alison Kerks presented her research on Harry Potter and Christian Aesthetics.
Based upon her excellent ‘Bible and popular culture’ research project for HM5000, Alison discussed the role Christian imagery, allusion and values play in the Harry Potter corpus, and the controversies which have surrounded those books (and films) in some Christian circles. Working from some of the snippets which J.K. Rowling has let slip herself, and engaging with other Potter scholarship, Alison explored the imagery of Harry as Christ figure, the repeated themes of death and resurrection, and the centrality of love as a vital and overcoming force in the stories. Alison concluded:
The Harry Potter series is more than a tale of good versus evil; it is more than life versus death; it is more than violence versus love; it is even more than love of power versus the power of love. It is above all else about love. Love for all, good and bad, the undeserving, the ‘clean’ and the ‘unclean’, the outcasts and those society accepts. There is an undeniable echo of the Third Gospel and its major ‘salvation for all’ theme. What Rowling has produced is one of the greatest love stories ever told, that of God’s love for humanity, re-imagined in such a way that the reader is often unaware that that is what they are enjoying and perhaps even experiencing.
Alison’s though-provoking presentation was very well received and stimulated interesting questions and discussion.
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