Degree

BS (Social Sciences & Liberal Arts)

Faculty / School

School of Economics and Social Sciences (SESS)

Department

Department of Social Sciences & Liberal Arts

Date of Award

Spring 2021

Date of Submission

2021-08-04

Advisor

Zainab Tariq, Lecturer, Department of Social Sciences

Project Type

SSLA Culminating Experience

Access Type

Restricted Access

Abstract

The context of this paper revolves around the Harry Potter books, and the readers’ relationship with these. This thesis aims to understand the impact of Harry Potter books on readers’ attitudes and behaviors, with respect to social prejudices, familial bonds, supportive relationships, resilience as well as empathy using parasocial interaction (PSI), social cognitive theory, and Theory of Mind as guiding theoretical frameworks. This project further aims to cover the gap left by previous research, which has predominantly been done keeping in mind the interaction between the media and the media users. The focus is solely on fiction literature, with the goal to understand PSI between literary characters and readers. The target audience for this survey were people from the following age groups: 7-15, 16-22, 23-28, and 29-40 in order to gather insights from a range of age groups to understand the impact of Harry Potter books on shaping readers’ attitudes and behaviors. The methodology employed is a mix of primary and secondary research, with primary research based on textual analysis of the books as well as survey and in-depth interviews with people who have read the entire series at least once.

Pages

4, 61

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