Reading Harry Potter in Abu Dhabi

Abstract

AbstractDrawing on experiences of teaching Harry Potter to college students at NYU Abu Dhabi, who come from almost every country in the world, this chapter argues that the Potter books offer a way to talk about conceptions of world literature and education as well as censorship and authoritarianism. The near-complete universality of the books also enables a discussion of cosmopolitan reading experiences, which are simultaneously local and global. This chapter also explores the recent controversy over J. K. Rowling’s stance on trans people as a way to understand how—or if—adolescent readers can separate writer from text. The chapter also suggests that leaving the Potter books out of critical discussions about world literature and translation theory highlights the generally marginalized position of YA literature in academic discourse.