色情视频

Katherine Sciurba remembers feeling butterflies as devoted denizens of Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin filed in by the hundreds. Seats disappeared quickly and soon the standing-room spaces began to vanish, too.

An academic conference this most certainly was not.

It was during last fall鈥檚 scaled-down special edition of Comic-Con International that Sciurba 鈥� an associate professor of literacy education at 色情视频 and director of the 色情视频 Literacy Center 鈥� first nervously graced the long-running Harry Potter Fandom panel.

She was invited to discuss her past research into the Harry Potter series and its significance to young boys of color. Joining her to add his perspective was Naim Martin, a Bronx native who participated in the study as a middle schooler more than a decade ago.

鈥淚 was so relieved when I saw Naim in the hallway,鈥� Sciurba recalled. 鈥淚 was like, 鈥榃hat did we get ourselves into?鈥� I was trying not to hyperventilate."

The two were a hit on the panel 鈥� so much so that this week Sciurba and Martin will reprise their appearance before 鈥淧otterheads鈥�  at the San Diego Convention Center and experience Comic-Con in all its glory (details below).

"I expect to have 10 times as many people as last time,鈥� said Martin, now a data analyst in Arlington, Virginia. 鈥淎nd I expect to be 10 times more nervous.鈥�

Deeper themes

Thanks to Sciurba and Martin, the large audience of Harry Potter fans will explore issues that reach far beyond the walls of Hogwarts.

Sciurba found herself on Comic-Con鈥檚 radar because of research she conducted in the late 2000s while a Ph.D. student at New York University. She interviewed a group of middle school boys of color in an all-male New York City arts academy for their thoughts on two books, 鈥淭he Autobiography of Malcolm X鈥� and 鈥淗arry Potter and the Sorcerer鈥檚 Stone,鈥� the first volume in the series.

Each Wednesday, more than a dozen 12- and 13-year-olds met with Sciurba before their school day to dissect what they were reading. What surprised Sciurba at the time was the way the boys found the disparate texts 鈥� one a memoir of an iconic Black civil rights leader, the other a fictitious tale about a young white wizard 鈥� similarly empowering.

"The main idea in both is that you can't be afraid of getting in trouble for standing up for what's right,鈥� recalled Martin. 鈥淭here are different ways they went about it, of course, but at the end of the day, the main character of the story is telling you that you've got to do something.鈥�

Sciurba concluded that acknowledging the intersectionality of young readers is key to fostering youth empowerment and developing literacy practices that promote equity. The project proved to be a transformative experience that shaped her perspective on how to be a more effective literacy instructor. She is currently working on a book project based on follow-up interviews conducted with six participants 鈥� including Martin 鈥� a decade after the initial study.  

鈥淔or me, the foundation of my work is the idea that we can't always predict what a reader is going to take away from a story,鈥� Sciurba said. 鈥淲e can't predict how meaningful that story is going to be to a reader until we start asking them questions and having them articulate their ideas and perspective. I think that鈥檚 the message I bring to this panel.鈥�

Sciurba draws a parallel between Harry Potter鈥檚 salience with young readers of color with the continued meaning the stories hold for members of the LGBTQIA+ community, despite remarks by author J. K. Rowling widely criticized as transphobic.

鈥淲e can't take away all of the magic that that story has created for young people 鈥� especially young people who have been marginalized,鈥� Sciurba said. 鈥淭he LGBTQIA+ community had a large presence in the room at the panel last fall. There were very hurtful remarks made by the author, but that shouldn't take the derivative meaning and significance that they鈥檝e created from the work.鈥�

Martin is eager to share not only his thoughts on Harry Potter, but also how his formative educational experiences show a better way forward for educating urban youth.

鈥淚 take this as an opportunity to talk about the fact that everything in my life that I am grateful for stems from education,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his is my chance to say 鈥楧o it the right way.鈥� Schools need to be able to cultivate 鈥� to sprinkle a little water so the seeds can grow.鈥�

The 鈥淎re We Wizards? The Harry Potter Fandom in 2022鈥� panel is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 21, in Room 29CD.