John Granger, an author and scholar best known for his books about J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter novels, will be on campus on April 14.

His first lecture will be held at 12:15 p.m. in Bulger Communication Center North 2C. He will also speak to students in Folklore and Fantasy: From Middle Earth to Hogwarts at 6:00 p.m. The class, taught by Lydia Fish, professor of anthropology, will take place in Classroom Building B106 at 6:00 p.m. Visitors are welcome.

Granger has written four books about Rowling’s Harry Potter novels: How Harry Cast His Spell; Unlocking Harry Potter: Seven Keys for the Serious Reader; The Deathly Hallows Lectures; and Harry Potter's Bookshelf: The Great Books behind the Hogwarts Adventures. Granger, who has lectured on Harry Potter as literature at schools such as Yale, Princeton, and Chicago, explains how Harry's adventures with Ron and Hermione provide the tools serious readers need to open up students’ understanding of English literature and, more important, of human life itself. With his intellectually challenging but always fun approach, Granger discusses literary alchemy, story setting, postmodern themes, the hero's journey, Christian symbolism, and narrative misdirection to reveal the mechanics of Rowling's literary magic, why her themes and symbols resonate within us, and why knowing these details are so useful in interpreting other books.