Although it is primarily a young adult fantasy series, the Harry Potter books are also focused on the battle against racial purification and the threat of a strictly homogeneous magical society. This thesis examines the intricacies and depth of the racial ideologies presented in the books, as well as how they can be equated with historical and real world issues. More specifically, this thesis will study the delineations of human and non-human beings, and how the institutional biases they struggle against are supported by traditional principles. Though these are important ideas worthy of discussion, I also hope that further examination of these aspects within the seven book series will add to the series’ literary merit.
","abstract_html":"<p>Although it is primarily a young adult fantasy series, the <em>Harry Potter </em>books are also focused on the battle against racial purification and the threat of a strictly homogeneous magical society. This thesis examines the intricacies and depth of the racial ideologies presented in the books, as well as how they can be equated with historical and real world issues. More specifically, this thesis will study the delineations of human and non-human beings, and how the institutional biases they struggle against are supported by traditional principles. Though these are important ideas worthy of discussion, I also hope that further examination of these aspects within the seven book series will add to the series’ literary merit.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Walters, Tiffany L"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"English","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Dr. Kia Jane Richmond"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2015,"date_issued":"2015-05-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2015-05-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:23:34Z","subjects":["Harry Potter","racism","classism","ideology","historical","house-elves","goblins","Children's and Young Adult Literature"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://commons.nmu.edu/theses/42","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Dr. Kia Jane Richmond"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Walters, Tiffany L"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2015-04-02T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["English"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Harry Potter","racism","classism","ideology","historical","house-elves","goblins","Children's and Young Adult Literature"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://commons.nmu.edu/theses/42"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Although it is primarily a young adult fantasy series, the Harry Potter books are also focused on the battle against racial purification and the threat of a strictly homogeneous magical society. This thesis examines the intricacies and depth of the racial ideologies presented in the books, as well as how they can be equated with historical and real world issues. More specifically, this thesis will study the delineations of human and non-human beings, and how the institutional biases they struggle against are supported by traditional principles. Though these are important ideas worthy of discussion, I also hope that further examination of these aspects within the seven book series will add to the series’ literary merit.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Not So Magical: Issues with Racism, Classism, and Ideology in Harry Potter"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Dr. Kia Jane Richmond"],"dc:creator":["Walters, Tiffany L"],"dc:date.available":["2015-04-02T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Although it is primarily a young adult fantasy series, the Harry Potter books are also focused on the battle against racial purification and the threat of a strictly homogeneous magical society. This thesis examines the intricacies and depth of the racial ideologies presented in the books, as well as how they can be equated with historical and real world issues. More specifically, this thesis will study the delineations of human and non-human beings, and how the institutional biases they struggle against are supported by traditional principles. Though these are important ideas worthy of discussion, I also hope that further examination of these aspects within the seven book series will add to the series’ literary merit.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://commons.nmu.edu/theses/42"],"dc:subject":["Harry Potter","racism","classism","ideology","historical","house-elves","goblins","Children's and Young Adult Literature"],"dc:title":["Not So Magical: Issues with Racism, Classism, and Ideology in Harry Potter"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["English"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:23:34Z"}