An Indian university in Kolkata is offering students the chance to study Harry Potter as a new way of looking at the legal system, drawing real life comparisons to slavery, discrimination and poor prison conditions.
In December, 40 students will attend the course at the National University of Juridicial Sciences. They are expected of have read the Harry Potter series at least twice in order to understand the course fully.
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The course, named An Interface Between Fantasy Fiction Literature and Law: Special Focus on Rowling's Potterverse, is the brain child of assistant professor Shouvik Kumar Guh and will include both Indian and Wizardry laws.
The curriculum is said to include subjects such as torture, murder, legal possession of another person, broomstick rules, the alleged murder by Sirus Black, unforgivable curses, enslaving of elves and the discrimination of werewolves.
Mr Guh told The Guardian that the course is a true reflection of the kind of endemic problems in many parts of India, not limited to torture, discrimination and slavery.
"Our students believe the discrimination voiced in the Potter-verse is something they all agree is wrong. But in real life there will be things that some see as discrimination and which others do not."
It will also encourage students to think critically about every day Indian social issues a and look at real life situations differently by considering the margilisation of creatures like giants, elves and centaurs.
"Then they can see when they encounter scenarios in the real world, maybe it will help them think a little bit," said Mr Guh.
To date, over 500 million copies of Harry Potter have been sold world-wide.
Newshub.
