IMPORTANT: Due to low enrollments in the live classes, I encourage you to consider taking the “flex” version of this class. It contains the same content and can be taken on a flexible schedule. What’s more, I offer a “pay what you can” discount for all flex classes! Just sign up for the class and then send a message requesting your preferred discount. Here’s a link to the flex version of this course:

https://outschool.com/classes/6-week-flex-class-astronomy-astrology-greek-mythology-in-the-wizard-world-rXaLKRaI


▬▬▬▬▬▬  COURSE SUMMARY  ▬▬▬▬▬▬

This course is a Harry Potter book club, but with a specific twist: in this course, we will critically examine the literature of Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling's incorporation of astronomy, astrology, and Greek mythology. We will do this via character analysis and literary devices (such as symbolism, foreshadowing, allusion, and historical context) 

Our discussions include references to all of the different Harry Potter books and movies. I recommend that the students have at least read/watched numbers 1-3. Students do not need to watch all the movies or read all the books beforehand in order to enjoy this class, but please be aware that there will spoilers of some plot elements. Discussion of characters/events from later books will take place (although there will not be spoilers involving an deaths of major characters unless a student comments on them). 


▬▬▬▬▬▬   COURSE OUTLINE   ▬▬▬▬▬▬


🌠 Week 1: Astronomy vs. Astrology 🌠

In our first session, we will analyze two Harry Potter professors and the subjects they teach at Hogwarts. Our first character case study will be Professor Aurora Sinistra and her Astronomy Class. She teaches a core class at Hogwarts, and yet this professor and the contents of her class are somewhat of a mystery. Second, we'll study Professor Trelawney and her Divination Class. She also teaches about the stars and planets, just like Professor Sinistra, but instead of calling in astronomy, she calls it astrology. What's up with that? By the end of class, students should have an understanding of how these two topics taught at Hogwarts are the same, and how they're different.


🌠 Week 2: Planets 🌠 

This week will be a literary analysis of the incorporation of the planets in the Harry Potter books. Are these examples of astronomy, or astrology? How does J.K. Rowling incorporate allusion and the historical context of the planets in both astrology and astronomy into her works? We'll also introduce the subtle - but important - connection J.K. Rowling makes with Greek mythology, and this mythology's inseparable ties to astronomy and astrology.


🌠 Week 3: The Moon 🌠 

The moon has a great deal of symbolic value in the Harry Potter series. We'll discuss how J.K. Rowling incorporated a history of superstitions and beliefs about Earth's moon as the backdrop for many Harry Potter events. We'll examine what professors Sinistra and Trelawny teach about the moon. This week also includes a character study of Luna Lovegood and her relationship to her namesake (Luna, the Roman goddess of the moon).


🌠  Week 4: More Mythology 🌠

Our understanding and appreciation of the depth of Rowling's characters will be enhanced by our analysis of their names. For instance, Minerva McGonagall, Quirinus Quirrell, and Remus Lupin are all named after characters from Greek and Roman mythology - and the similarities to their Greek and Roman namesakes cannot be a coincidence! 


🌠  Week 5: Stars and Constellations 🌠

In this class, we'll focus heavily on J.K. Rowling's use of the star and constellation names as a means to incorporate allusion and symbolism into her works. For instance, we'll discuss Sirius Black's connection to the star Sirius (the dog star). We'll examine why Rowling chose to use the names of specific stars (those named after pureblood characters in Greek and Roman mythology) as names on the Black Family tree, in order to further emphasize the "Pureblood Pride" that the Black family valued so highly. Merope Gaunt's story from Harry Potter is exactly the same as the story of Merope from mythology; we'll discuss the intended symbolism behind the author's choice of story. We'll also tie what we're learning back to Professors Sinistra and Trelawney; how do they view the sky differently in their own fields of expertise?


🌠  Week 6: Stars and Constellations, Continued 🌠

In the final class, we will conclude our exploration of the night sky. This inscludes discussion of the literary device known as "foreshadowing" in J.K. Rowling's books. For example, Sirius' younger Regulus - why was he named after a star in a lion constellation (the mascot for Gryffindor) when he comes from a Slytherin family? Answer: because J.K. Rowling was using his name as foreshadowing! We'll also look at how Rowling used foreshadowing in the story of Remus Lupin, Delphini Diggory, and Andromeda Tonks, as well. Some other characters we'll analyze this week (all named or modeled after stars and constellations) includes Corvus Lestrange, Scorpius Malfoy, Firenze (an allusion to Chiron/Sagittarius), Fawkes the Phoenix, and possibly Frank the Thunderbird (if time). 



▬▬▬▬▬▬  SCHEDULE REQUESTS ▬▬▬▬▬▬

I create my entire teaching schedule based on schedule requests, so if you don't see a time that works for you, please put in a request! However, I can only teach live classes from 9 AM to 4 PM Arizona time. If you need to watch the class outside that time period, you can enroll in the “flex” version of this class and watch the recordings at your leisure! Here is the link:

https://outschool.com/classes/astronomy-astrology-and-greek-mythology-for-wizards-rXaLKRaI#uscBKeyeSs


▬▬▬▬▬▬   MORE WIZARD CLASSES  ▬▬▬▬▬▬

Are you interested in more classes involving the wizard world? Check out this list of all of the related classes I offer!

𝐖𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐓𝐚𝐱𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐲: 𝐌𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐁𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐟𝐲 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐦 
Live: https://outschool.com/classes/wizard-taxonomy-magical-beasts-and-how-to-classify-them-yz92E2cs#uscBKeyeSs
Flex: https://outschool.com/classes/wizard-taxonomy-magical-beasts-and-how-to-classify-them-FiyM9ZJE#uscBKeyeSs

𝐃𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐖𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬
Live: https://outschool.com/classes/divination-for-wizard-students-1ydGBjvM#uscBKeyeSs
Flex: https://outschool.com/classes/divination-for-wizard-students-R1snK5Ra#uscBKeyeSs

𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐖𝐚𝐫 𝐈𝐈 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝
Live: https://outschool.com/classes/world-war-ii-and-the-wizard-world-0aFowJzW#uscBKeyeSs
Flex: https://outschool.com/classes/world-war-ii-and-the-wizard-world-PP9y5Ppx#uscBKeyeSs

𝐀𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐲, 𝐀𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐤 𝐌𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝
Live: https://outschool.com/classes/astronomy-astrology-and-greek-mythology-in-the-wizard-world-I6ASpogH#uscBKeyeSs
Flex: 
https://outschool.com/classes/astronomy-astrology-and-greek-mythology-in-the-wizard-world-rXaLKRaI#uscBKeyeSs

𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐚𝐬 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐖𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬
Live: https://outschool.com/classes/christmas-traditions-for-british-wizards-ynMStaxW#uscBKeyeSs
Flex:
https://outschool.com/classes/christmas-traditions-for-british-wizards-EX235MUj#uscBKeyeSs

𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐈𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐖𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 (𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐱 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲)
https://outschool.com/classes/geology-of-the-british-isles-for-wizards-ZFP9pyHl#uscBKeyeSs

𝐖𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐯𝐬. 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐬: 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐋𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐬 (𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐱 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲)
https://outschool.com/classes/wizard-world-vs-star-wars-common-literary-themes-zjkOdBhu#uscBKeyeSs