Holls

[hhardy3-blog]

Progress Blog 10

Well, this is it. We are about to wrap up our online English 1302 class. Being a freshman, I am completely new to the concept of having all semester-long classes and coming back in 2017 to a completely new schedule. I am nervous but excited. Getting back on topic, I cannot believe how much I have learned in this English class. I have always been good at English, but this class was unlike any I’ve ever taken. First, I really enjoyed the experience of taking a completely online class and meeting new people through the web. The whole curriculum of the class was absolutely exceptional as well. I loved getting to learn about a seemingly-mundane subject such as literacy through the eyes of a fandom. Learning through these fandoms was an excellent way to get the class both engaged and excited about “coming” to class. I am so grateful for Professor Phifer as well, who was always apt and ready to answer and clear up any questions we had. I hope she continues this class for years to come because as challenging as it may have been at times, I learned a lot and hope I am able to really earn my grade for English 1302. It’s been a great semester, let’s finish strong!

[hhardy3-blog]

Progress Blog 9

I have created a survey to gather information about Harry Potter literacy on Google forms and have sent it out to three of my favorite Harry Potter blogs I follow on Tumblr in the Potterhead fandom. I only expected to get MAYBE two of them back, but what I got back instead astounded me. All throughout the day after I sent out my survey, I got SIX responses! Flabbergasted at how I was getting more than three responses, I went back to Tumblr to consult my direct messages. One of the accounts I sent the survey link to shared with me that she would love to help out by sending my survey out to her friends in hopes of giving me exceptional results.

I am so in awe of the members of the Potterhead fandom and am so blessed to be a part of a fandom as genuinely caring and compassionate as the Potterheads.

[withered-rose-with-thorns]

Many called her beautiful. She was not beautiful. She was red and terrible and red.

[hhardy3-blog]

This reblog is a Harry Potter gif set. This gif set is of Bellatrix Lestrange - a minor, but crucial, character. She is most noted for the murder of Sirius Black, Harry’s godfather, in the 5th book Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. The quote with this particular gif set is “Many called her beautiful. She was not beautiful. She was red and terrible and red”. This quote is extremely powerful in describing Bellatrix Lestrange for who she really is. Many DID call her beautiful, because outwardly she was a wildly beautiful woman. On the inside, however, she was wicked. She was one of Voldemort’s biggest supporters and was indeed terrible. The two mentions of ‘red’ cannot be coincidental. On one hand, red can represent the evilness that dwells within her. On the other, it can quite literally refer to the blood of all those who have died by her wand. There exists deep symbolism in this quote about Bellatrix Lestrange, symbolism that is deeply comprehended in the Potterhead fandom. 

[whycantijustbegoodenough]

Why does Voldemort have a nose in the first movie, when he’s in the back of Quirrel’s head, but not in the 4th movie when he returns?

[hhardy3-blog]

This reblog is of a text post in the Harry Potter Potterhead fandom. This text post is movie-specific, as it makes reference to Lord Voldemort’s nose (or lack thereof). This post is assumed to be a kick starter for further discussion and analysis in the Potterhead fandom regarding the state of Voldemort’s nose. This question is fandom-specific, as it deals with an exclusive character and their appearance. 

[hhardy3-blog]

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone: Swish and flick. Swish and flick. If you don't do this the whole spell can be messed up! ! !

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: let me just run full speed and throw my wand backwards a few times. That should work nicely

This reblog is a text post in the Harry Potter Potterhead fandom. The text post is a type of meme, describing different wand practices by students and faculty at Hogwarts. In the first book, professors (as well as Hermione) were very gung-ho on proper wand form to correctly cast spells. By the end of the series in the last book, during the final battle at Hogwarts both teachers and students can be seen blindly throwing their wands in every direction and firing spells. This meme shows humor and Harry Potter-specific details about wands and spell casting and the standards upheld for such practices over the years.

[hhardy3-blog]

Progress Blog 8

We are coming close to the end of our ethnographic research and I cannot believe it is almost over. I admit I would be lying if I said I wasn’t relieved. As much as I dislike usual English classes, I am so happy I got the opportunity to study the Harry Potter ‘Potterhead’ fandom as my ethnographic study in this course. It definitely made my time here more bearable! Everyone I have corresponded with has been nothing but kind and I am so glad I decided to stick with this class despite my doubts I had at the beginning!

[hhardy3-blog]

Progress Blog 7

It is safe to say that I have actually learned more about Harry Potter than I thought was possible. Already coming into this assignment being a Potterhead, I was sure writing papers and field notes would be a breeze, but oh was I in for a rude awakening! I had no idea how much time it was going to take to really learn how to properly study ethnographic research in the Harry Potter fandom. Countless hours of scrolling through tumblr, just trying to find that perfect picture for fan art, has shown me just how tedious research can be!

[hhardy3-blog]

the number of times I hold out my hand and say "accio" when I need something far away isn't even funny

English 1302: Field Notes - Potterheads

The text of this object is derived from the Harry Potter (book/movie) fandom. It serves as a form of a joke (although personally speaking, the line is no joking matter as I have done this many times). The participants are simply any fellow Potterheads who reblog and/or like this post. The motivation includes a humorous approach at Harry Potter terminology.

I chose to reblog this for my research as it ties in perfectly to fandom-specific terminology. Here, the word “accio” is used, which in the world of Harry Potter is from a magic spell. To summon an object, a wizard must, using their wands (correctly, I might add), say “Accio ____” to summon the specific item. This is an example of fandom “slang” in literacy terms.

[shayalonnie-deactivated20210610]

Mses Shaya, Lady, Bookworm, and Kitten, Purveyors of Fics to Magical Marauder Lovers—are proud to present: The 2016 Marauder Medals! 

While we all love general fanfic awards, and others that focus on the more popular ships, sometimes our beloved Marauders get lost in the plethora of Harry Potter fanfics. So it’s time to give them their proper recognition!

The Marauder Medals are hosted by the Shrieking Shack Society, a group that shares in the love of all things Marauders and Marauders Era.

Please fill out the form in the link to nominate your favourite Marauder fanfictions and authors! 

Nominations will be open from November 1st thru the 11th. 

Voting will begin on November 15th and will be open until December 5th.

Winners will be announced on December 10th.

Rules when nominating:

1. Please read each category carefully and write all required information.

2. As Marauder fics are lower in number compared to other parts of the HP fandom, you are allowed to nominate as many fics as you want; just resubmit the nomination form repeatedly. Do not try to fit every nomination on each line. Just resubmit the form. If there are just too many (unlikely) the voting dates will be adjusted to include a semi-finals round to narrow down the favourite fics.

3. You may only nominate fanfics that were written in 2016. If they began in 2016 or were updated at any point in 2016, then they qualify. The Debt of Time (for instance) does NOT qualify, as it was completed in April 2015. Yes, you may nominate fics that began prior to 2016, so long as they have been updated within the past year. Yes, you may nominate works in progress.

4. You may NOT nominate anything written by Shaya Lonnie. While she appreciates your love, she’s the admin of the Shrieking Shack Society, and has requested to not be a nominee for any potential award.

When submitting nominations, please include title of the fic AND the author’s name. To nominate your favourite fics and authors, go here: https://goo.gl/forms/GhM7nf9IONy8fKLm2

[hhardy3-blog]

This reblog is of the Harry Potter (book/movie) fandom. It is advertising a form of awards for a specific type of fanfic in the Potterhead fandom. As mentioned, the participants include nominees and nominators of the awards, as well as the hosts. The motivation is to create a fun and memorable way to celebrate and provide recognition for many talented and inspiring writers of HP fanfic in the Potterhead fandom.

I chose to reblog this post for my fandom research because it describes fully well an example of fanfic in the Potterhead community. This group hosts a form of awards for a select type of Harry Potter fanfiction, thus drawing on the literacy of writing and communicating in the fandom.

[hhardy3-blog]

Progress Blog 6

I have always heard of and seen bits and pieces of Comic Con, however I have never had the pleasure to participate in this convention myself. I have recently been searching through various tags on Tumblr to get a taste of just how crazy Comic Con is – and let me just say, it is EPIC. While it is somewhat difficult to find Harry Potter cosplayers, as Suicide Squad is currently taking over, once I did find some I felt like I hit the jackpot. These cosplayers do NOT play when it comes to creating and showing off their character’s costumes (pun intended? That’s for you to decide). The way these cosplayers go all out only strengthens my admiration for Potterheads and Harry Potter as a whole. My favorite cosplay (and admittedly the most cliché) is the trio of Harry, Ron, and Hermione. I love seeing groups of 3 dress up as the tight knit friends, and I must say I love it even more when the people portraying Harry and his friends look like the characters. It is so satisfying seeing people who have taken the time to create such well put together costumes. I have the utmost respect for cosplayers and hope to one day attend Comic Con myself.

[hhardy3-blog]

Progress Blog 5

I have further delved into the world that is the Harry Potter fandom in the past few weeks. I have recently come to find out that I actually really enjoy Harry Potter fan art. The fan fics and the cosplays are still totally great, but for some reason I have become much more intrigued with the fan art side of the Potterhead fandom. Fan art is open to so much personal interpretation and the possibilities are endless, and I believe this is why I appreciate it so very much. I love looking at the various forms of Harry Potter fan art. A few of my favorites are hand drawn sketches, animations, and water color paintings. When you read a book, and get really into the story, it almost impossible NOT to picture characters in your head according to your own preferences. With Harry Potter fan art, you get the opportunity to see what other people interpret the characters as and view how the story looks from their personal perspective and I absolutely love that. On the flipside, seeing these new characters is not only a cool way to connect to other Potterheads, but can also create a refreshing alternative from seeing the usual characters from the movies. Not that Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint are not great, but seeing characters in a new way is rewarding in itself.

[hhardy3-blog]

Progress Blog 4

I have slowly but surely begun to start my research on the Harry Potter fandom. Whilst scrolling through my new Tumblr blog, I have come across several intriguing accounts in which I would love to study to help polish up my research. I have started reading multiple fanfictions, all with wild pairings of different characters as well alternate universe story lines. I had no idea how creative people got with coming up with completely different scenarios of story lines for Harry and his peers! Some of these fics are definitely more ‘M’ rated, usually the intense romance ones, whereas others are definitely kid-friendly and simply offer a strangely refreshing alternate ending to the beloved Harry Potter story line. I have also begun to dabble in the observation of different HP cosplays and fan arts. Some Potterheads choose to do basic makeup and plastic wand cosplays and others choose to go all out in donning a Hogwarts school uniform complete with makeup, wigs, circular rimmed glasses, fake lightning scars, and even real wood wands. On top of all of this, these cosplayers even go so far as to attend ComiCon decked out in their Pottermore-chosen house’s apparel. As for fan art, many Potterheads are super creative in their sculptures, sketches, paintings, and even music/movie productions. I am so excited I chose to research the Potterhead fandom and I can already tell I made an excellent choice!

[hhardy3-blog]

Progress Blog 3

So we have started our initial research for our English 1302 ethnography unit. I have chosen to study the Harry Potter fandom, otherwise known as the Potterheads. I have to admit, choosing this fandom was not exactly a difficult decision, as I have been a devout Potterhead since the fifth grade when I began reading the series. I remember going to our elementary school library and telling the librarian I was interested in starting the famous J.K. Rowling series. She said all the books were checked out so I would sadly have to be put on a waiting list. Not one hour later did she interrupt my math class to inform the teacher she had a very important book for one of her students. She came to my desk and promptly handed me a paperback version of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. By the end of my fifth grade year, I had already finished books one through four. I finished the series in sixth grade and it changed my life. Every time I finished a book, I would go to the local library to check out the movie version to watch and compare it to what I had read. I did this up until there were still new movies to be made, so I had no choice but to wait on them. So, long story short, my love for all things Harry Potter related has only grown over the past eight years. I am so incredibly excited to be researching and studying different aspects of the Potterhead fandom to both increase my knowledge of the wizarding world and have fun at the same time!

[hhardy3-blog]

Progress Blog 2: Making ACTUAL Progress

I had been working so hard on reading and attempting to comprehend the vast concept of literacy that I completely forgot all the fun I was about to be having with our next assignment: choosing a fandom. As soon as I learned of this assignment, I immediately thought of my love for all things Harry Potter and chose to study the Potterhead fandom, hands down. Just setting up this new Tumblr blog and decorating it with Slytherin pictures and following HP fan accounts has been so fun for me! I am so excited to begin studying the fandom deeper and find out new things I did not even know! The three different types of fandom activities I decided to delve into are fan art, fanfiction, and cosplay. I have always had an adoration for fandom related works, so getting the opportunity to study these AND get college credit is like a dream come true for me! I have already started reviewing different fan arts and cosplays; it is easy to say I am more than impressed with all the work and effort Potterheads put into their costumes/art! I am going to start reading some popular fanfictions very soon and cannot wait to see what I will get from learning about my favorite fandom.

[hhardy3-blog]

Progress Blog 1: Getting the Hang of Things

These past couple weeks have definitely been nothing short of a whirlwind in college. The stress of finding my classes and getting to them on time was a nightmare in and of itself. I was, however, blessed to be put in an online English 1302 class instead of an in class one. I perceived this class to be fairly difficult and I was right, but I am not letting that stop me. I aim to give 110 percent in this class and strive to use my full potential. Over the past couple weeks, I have been working on reading our excerpts from our two textbooks, Ethnographic Inquiries in Writing and FieldWorking. It is safe to say that initially, I had no idea what I had gotten myself into. Just looking at the broad question of ‘what is literacy?’ and that I was supposed to write a three to five page paper on it was nothing short of overwhelming. I have been slaving away at this paper, trying to make sense of what I was reading and writing, and I can actually say I have slowly but surely been grasping more and more of the concept of what literacy really is and the many different aspects associated with it.