by Fred Sgambati ('83)

An Acadia alumna and current Honours student has parlayed her love of Harry Potter into an invitation to present a paper at an international conference in Scotland.

Alix Shield (’10) has been asked to participate in A Brand of Fictional Magic: Reading Harry Potter as Literature, a conference May 17-18 hosted by the School of English at University of St. Andrews, in Scotland.

The presentation will be based on her Honours thesis, which examines J. K. Rowling’s bestselling novels as crossover works: stories written for one readership that can be appropriated by another. In this instance, Shield suggests that what began as children’s literature morphed into mainstream fiction as the series progressed, with more mature and sophisticated situations that spoke to an adult readership as much as it did to a children’s audience.   

Shield keys on the fourth volume in the seven-book series, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, to illustrate the crossover concept. The book is certainly larger than its three predecessors and it sets the table in many ways for Rowling to drive the story toward its climax in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

“As we are nearing this threshold between childhood and adolescence,” Shield contends, “themes become darker. Rowling’s use of language and stylistic techniques shifts, and important rites of passage occur. In the fourth novel, all of that is really emphasized.”     

She argues that the Harry Potter series represents a triple crossover in that:

- The Goblet of Fire’s situation in the series is a midpoint;

- The series itself is a voluminous crossover novel, written for children and appropriated by adults;

- Harry experiences literal and metaphoric changes at this crucial juncture in the seven-book cycle.

Appeals to the imagination

The 24-year-old Vancouver native says she’s interested in the idea that children’s literature can include themes that are beyond the minds of children yet still appeal to their imaginations at the same time.

She floated the notion initially to Acadia English professor Dr. John Saklofske, who was Honours Coordinator at the time. He was interested in what Shield had in mind and recommended a follow-up with Dr. Andrea Schwenke Wyile, who became thesis advisor.

“I wanted to figure out how the two readerships came to be because I know that’s not what Rowling had intended,” Shield says. “That, to me, was fascinating. I really didn’t understand that there was a kind of theory on this concept - the idea of a crossover novel - and that’s where my advisor came in.”

Wyile clarified aspects of the crossover concept and Shield began working on a thesis proposal in 2010 while teaching kindergarten in Hong Kong after obtaining a Bachelor of Arts in English.

She returned to Wolfville in July 2011 and discovered that Wyile would be going on sabbatical in January, 2012. Shield needed to have a first draft done by December or find a new supervisor.

She had an opening chapter done by the second week of September and the thing steamrolled from there. The 62-page document examines ways in which children’s literature is assessed; the Goblet of Fire’s position and significance in Rowling’s seven-book series; and whether there are evaluative benchmarks such as high literature, which purposefully grows the mind and produces a positive result from reading, as opposed to low, ‘Twinkie’ style literature that’s essentially a quick fix and leaves no lasting impression on a reader.

Also in September, Wyile forwarded a Call for Submissions to the St. Andrews event to Shield and encouraged her to put together a proposal.

“I had never seen a call for papers before,” Shield says, “and thought, ‘Super cool.’” She applied just prior to the Oct. 31, 2011 deadline and didn’t think the proposal would ever be accepted.

“University of St. Andrews is a well-known school,” she says, “and honestly, I never thought they would take someone who hadn’t finished their undergrad, never published anything, and let them speak in front of academics and scholars who are prominent in Harry Potter criticism.”

Leaving the Muggle world behind

She was thrilled to receive an e-mail that offered congratulations and an invitation to present the paper. She’s trying to find ways now to fund the trip, but make no mistake. She’s going, even though, in her mind, “it still is not real because I never imagined that I’d be welcomed into this world of scholarship. I never thought I’d have an opportunity like this so soon.

“It feels otherworldly,” she says with a big smile. “I’m going to the wizarding world and leaving the Muggle world behind.” Part of the conference is devoted to tours of the castles where they filmed the Harry Potter movies “and I’m going to do all that,” Shield says. “I’m going to dork out.”

Her parents are helping her financially, she adds, because “they want to make sure that it’s something that’s not just an opportunity, but a reality.”

Similarly, Acadia has been a place of great opportunity. “I’ve been able to work with the most incredible people here and I feel so lucky to have picked this school,” she says. “I really and truly made the best decision. You know how you feel when you’re in your element? That’s how I feel at Acadia.”

Her thesis is now with the Research and Graduate Studies Committee and Shield is looking forward to Scotland and beyond. After graduation, she would like to continue researching and working in the field of crossover fiction and wants to tell people – like her contemporaries, who are in their twenties and in love with children’s novels – that it’s okay to continue that affection as adults.

“People that love Harry Potter don’t need to hide it,” she says, adding that writing the thesis was a blast. “It was magical, and it didn’t even feel like work. That, to me, is a sign that I’m doing something right and that Acadia was the right place to be to do all this.”

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Note: Alix will present a paper on her thesis to the Acadia English Society at 5 p.m. on March 19 in Room 236, BAC.