Adding to the dynamic of the course is that I have had students from different cultures, languages and continents. Oh, the group has been small, but quite varied. John Roche comes from California and he was the only one who had read the saga beforehand. For the others, the story was known through the media and the movies, but they only began to read the writings of J. K. Rowling in the course of the seminar. All were surprised at the depth of Rowling's account.On the other hand, all but one of the group was very well versed in the stories of Don Bosco. With this they were all able to make easy comparisons. In other words, the Harry Potter material was new for them, and the grid with which they studied Harry's story was their extensive knowledge of John Bosco's saga. I suspect that in other quarters the experience would be just the opposite, with students knowing Harry Potter and having to learn the Don Bosco themes.
Well, it has been very interesting, and I'd love to keep this going… but maybe I was more into this than any of the students. What was fascinating for me to see is how many parallels exist between the stories of John Bosco (from his childhood and from his years of working directly with young people) and Harry Potter. Both are boy wizards (ragazzi maghi) or magicians.
What also has struck me is how Harry Potter is able to excite the whole younger generation, not only into reading, but into discussing the things in life that matter to them. I was fascinated as I discovered how many websites, podcasts, and blogs are created and carried forward by teens and the very young, all thanks to Harry Potter. Like him, they form part of the hero generation.Now that the course is over, I'll have to sort through all of this. I don't know if I'll ever be able to teach another seminar like this, but it would be interesting to carry the discussion forward.
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