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Students Take Walking Tours Stonehenge, Avebury and Lacock
By Kayla Haas
On Tuesday, philosophy students traveled to three locations outsideLondon. A small tour bus driven by guide Chris took the students to each location, while he told stories from the English countryside and facts about nearby locations.
The first stop was the famous Stonehenge. Stonehenge is an ancient ring of stones built by people around 3,000 BC. No archeologist is entirely sure how or why the circle was built. Theories of use range from calendars to sacrifices.
Students who have already been to Stonehenge with Dr. Guidry were just happy the weather was nice.
Austin Urias said, “Stonehenge was much more enjoyable in good weather, though much less mystical.”
Stonehenge was considered a sacred, mystical place by Druids. Even now, new-age pagans visit the rocks, especially around the summer solstice that was last Friday. The mystical and mythical often correlates to the world of Harry Potter.
Next, students traveled to Lacock, a small village in the English countryside. It is known as a popular movie location because of its untouched architecture that makes visitors feel as if they are stepping back in time. Lacock was an inspiration for Harry Potter’s first home, Godric’s Hollow.
“It was such a cute little town. There were really cute animals,” said Chelsea Sabella.
After finishing a quick lunch, and taking pictures at a filming location in Harry Potter, students took one last trip to the town of Avebury.
Avebury is home to the largest Neolithic henge (that is a bank and a ditch) structure in Britain. To some visitors, the Avebury circle is superior to Stonehenge.
Charlotte Pitman said, “I liked Avebury more because I actually got to touch the rocks rather than Stonehenge because those are at a distance.”
The town also has culture shops, gift shops and other museums to venture into. There are various gates around the town to let visitors into the pastures that contain the Neolithic rocks. Some rocks even have names, such as the Barber’s rock and the Lover’s rock.
“It was cool even though I had already been. It was cool this time because we got to explore Avebury. It’s a nice place to just sit,” said Hannah Heurer.
This fieldtrip marked the final trip for the philosophy course. Saturday, students will travel back to Texas.
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Students Scout Out Chaos Creatures at British Museum
By Kayla Haas
Students Look for Chaos Creatures at the British Museum
On Tuesday, students of philosophy went on a hunt through the British Museum to look for five fusion, or chaos, creatures for a reflective assignment. Students were to write in their journals about each creature they found.
As Charlotte Pittman said, “Fusion creatures, well, it is a creature of chaos. It is literally a fusion beast. It’s part one thing, part another.”
Examples of such creatures are fauns, sphinxes, sirens, and griffins. A characteristic of all these creatures are that they are composed of more than one animal and feature a combination of traits—whether it be human, animal or both.
The British Museum is the perfect place to hunt for such animals. The museum contains artifacts from all locations around the world, including Greece. Greek mythological creatures are usually fusion creatures.
About the British Museum, Dr. Owen Smith said, “One of the best places in the world to visit. The Elgin Marbles are an unforgettable site. And the galleries, especially the Middle Eastern galleries, are just full of case after case of marvels.”
The British Museum is not lacking on Greek artifacts. It even contains the controversial carvings from the Parthenon in Athen that features a more familiar fusion creature, the centaur.
Dr. Anne Smith said, “I’m very excited that the students will have an opportunity to enhance what they’ve learned in the classroom by seeing the examples of the exact things we’ve been talking about. It’s one thing to talk about them in class, or even draw pictures of them on the board, but to see artifacts bearing images of these creatures is really going to enhance their understanding.”
The students understand the importance of the assignment as well.
“I saw a …sea creature, a sea monster from the Odyssey, and now I get to reflect on that and how it relates to the different concepts and myths of the class. It’s very interesting,” said James Beeks.
Apart from the assignments, students were free to wander around and see the rest of the British Museum, too. Next week, student will visit Stonehenge.
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Warner Brothers Studio Tour: Students See What’s Behind the Magic
By Kayla Haas
After discussing philosophies about feminism and the treatment of others, the Philosophy of Harry Potter class traveled to Warner Brothers Studio for The Making of Harry Potter Studio Tour.
On the bus ride to the studio, many students expressed their excitement for the upcoming tour.
“There’s nothing that I’m absolutely not excited about,” said Charlotte Pitman.
The Making of Harry Potter Studio Tour offers fans a behind-the-scenes look at sets, costumes, designs and everything that made up the Harry Potter universe.
Among the costumes and designs was the house elf Dobby. House elves were a topic of discussion in the philosophy class since they are used as servants and slaves in the Harry Potter universe.
During the tour, many of the thousands of people who helped create Harry Potter got recognition for their efforts. Students had the opportunity to read more about the set designs and hear commentary from lead graphic designers, costume designers and concept artists. The tour described the transfer of the story on page to the story on screen.
“I grew up reading Harry Potter and watching the movies,” Pitman said. “I’ve read the books at least a dozen times, I stopped counting after that.”
Not only did students take photographs with props and sets from the making of Harry Potter, they also had the opportunity to taste one of Harry Potter’s most famous drinks: butterbeer.
James Beeks said, “It tastes like heaven.”
Next Tuesday the class will visit the British Museum to supplement their conversation of identity and death from Harry Potter and Plato.
After discussing philosophies about feminism and the treatment of others, the Philosophy of Harry Potter class traveled to Warner Brothers Studio for The Making of Harry Potter Studio Tour.
On the bus ride to the studio, many students expressed their excitement for the upcoming tour.
“There’s nothing that I’m absolutely not excited about,” said Charlotte Pitman.
The Making of Harry Potter Studio Tour offers fans a behind-the-scenes look at sets, costumes, designs and everything that made up the Harry Potter universe.
Among the costumes and designs was the house elf Dobby. House elves were a topic of discussion in the philosophy class since they are used as servants and slaves in the Harry Potter universe.
During the tour, many of the thousands of people who helped create Harry Potter got recognition for their efforts. Students had the opportunity to read more about the set designs and hear commentary from lead graphic designers, costume designers and concept artists. The tour described the transfer of the story on page to the story on screen.
“I grew up reading Harry Potter and watching the movies,” Pitman said. “I’ve read the books at least a dozen times, I stopped counting after that.”
Not only did students take photographs with props and sets from the making of Harry Potter, they also had the opportunity to taste one of Harry Potter’s most famous drinks: butterbeer.
James Beeks said, “It tastes like heaven.”
Next Tuesday the class will visit the British Museum to supplement their conversation of identity and death from Harry Potter and Plato.
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Philosophy of Harry Potter Trip to Kings Cross and Diagon Alley
By Kayla Haas
Tuesday, the students of the Philosophy of Harry Potter class made their journey from Kings Cross Station’s platform 9¾ to Diagon Alley. A journey that Potter enthusiasts will recognize as being similar to the first journey Harry himself took into the wizarding world.The purpose of the course is to show how philosophy can be applied to the world of Harry Potter. Students should be able to recognize philosophical ideas from scholars such as Plato, Kant, and Aristotle, and discuss how they relate to passages and ideas within J.K. Rowling’s novels. The field trips are designed to supplement the material within the course.
Kings Cross station and platform 9¾ offered students a photo opportunity with a basket and owl cage that appears to be going through the wall. This London Underground location was used for the filming of the Harry Potter movies.
“I really enjoyed kind of seeing places in my head that had such a mystical feel…places I recognized. It was awesome for me to see them as actual places,” Austin Urias, senior nursing major, said. “I really enjoyed interacting with places that, up until then, were just images in my head.”
The real-life location of Diagon Alley offered students a few surprises as well, including the actual shops that were used in filming. Dr. Anne Smith reminded students that “Muggles,” or non-magical beings, are unable to see wizarding locations.
“I found the symbolism of the Leaky Cauldron being an eyeglasses store, that just made me giggle, and I thought it was fantastic,” Austin said.
Jerri Bourrous, a senior majoring in English, also remarked on how ordinary the movie location shops were.
“Things that were used in Harry Potter are actual, real shops here, but they don’t have anything to do with magic or wizardry or anything,” she said.
Throughout the field trip, Dr. Owen Smith reminded students of the texts that were discussed the previous class. Unit One consisted of texts from philosophers such as Plato, Aristotle, Nietzsche, and writers from the students’ two textbooks. The unit was focused primarily on what makes a tyrant, and on good versus evil—a primary element in Harry Potter.
Senior English major Hannah Heuer said, “The stuff about the tyrant, I thought that was really interesting because I was reading it and I was thinking about Voldemort and I was like yeah, totally fits it.”
Austin also said the fieldtrips brought good and evil “more to life,” and “took them more out of the page, and into the real world.”
Apart from the filming locations, students also visited a magic shop in the Underground, and a bookshop that specialized in mythology and mysticism.
In the end, students are looking forward to the upcoming field trips, the next of which will take place next Tuesday, June 11t at the Warner Brothers Studio Tour. The sights from the field trip and the city, are something that is guaranteed to impact students.
Hannah said, “Just being here, it’s just like a cultural city, there’s so much to do… it totally inspires me to want to read more and talk about English culture.”
Tuesday, the students of the Philosophy of Harry Potter class made their journey from Kings Cross Station’s platform 9¾ to Diagon Alley. A journey that Potter enthusiasts will recognize as being similar to the first journey Harry himself took into the wizarding world.The purpose of the course is to show how philosophy can be applied to the world of Harry Potter. Students should be able to recognize philosophical ideas from scholars such as Plato, Kant, and Aristotle, and discuss how they relate to passages and ideas within J.K. Rowling’s novels. The field trips are designed to supplement the material within the course.
Kings Cross station and platform 9¾ offered students a photo opportunity with a basket and owl cage that appears to be going through the wall. This London Underground location was used for the filming of the Harry Potter movies.
“I really enjoyed kind of seeing places in my head that had such a mystical feel…places I recognized. It was awesome for me to see them as actual places,” Austin Urias, senior nursing major, said. “I really enjoyed interacting with places that, up until then, were just images in my head.”
The real-life location of Diagon Alley offered students a few surprises as well, including the actual shops that were used in filming. Dr. Anne Smith reminded students that “Muggles,” or non-magical beings, are unable to see wizarding locations.
“I found the symbolism of the Leaky Cauldron being an eyeglasses store, that just made me giggle, and I thought it was fantastic,” Austin said.
Jerri Bourrous, a senior majoring in English, also remarked on how ordinary the movie location shops were.
“Things that were used in Harry Potter are actual, real shops here, but they don’t have anything to do with magic or wizardry or anything,” she said.
Throughout the field trip, Dr. Owen Smith reminded students of the texts that were discussed the previous class. Unit One consisted of texts from philosophers such as Plato, Aristotle, Nietzsche, and writers from the students’ two textbooks. The unit was focused primarily on what makes a tyrant, and on good versus evil—a primary element in Harry Potter.
Senior English major Hannah Heuer said, “The stuff about the tyrant, I thought that was really interesting because I was reading it and I was thinking about Voldemort and I was like yeah, totally fits it.”
Austin also said the fieldtrips brought good and evil “more to life,” and “took them more out of the page, and into the real world.”
Apart from the filming locations, students also visited a magic shop in the Underground, and a bookshop that specialized in mythology and mysticism.
In the end, students are looking forward to the upcoming field trips, the next of which will take place next Tuesday, June 11t at the Warner Brothers Studio Tour. The sights from the field trip and the city, are something that is guaranteed to impact students.
Hannah said, “Just being here, it’s just like a cultural city, there’s so much to do… it totally inspires me to want to read more and talk about English culture.”