Harry Potter Class Has Students Spellbound as GE Course

December 10, 2014. Article by Melanie Johnson for PolyCentric. Harry Potter has the magic touch for Cal Poly Pomona students in love with the hero of J.K. Rowling’s novels. The Harry Potter literature class, which the university started offering four years ago, recently was designated as a general education course. In addition, a student who grew up reading the books has started a club on campus dedicated to all things Harry Potter. Professor Melissa Aaron, who occasionally dons a wizard’s robe, says she was a bit tentative while going through the process last year to make the class a GE course. “Mostly everybody has been very supportive,” she says. “I expected people to say, ‘Is this serious enough?’ Everybody said, ‘Can I take that course?’” The proposal passed in the Academic Senate in June, so students who take the course next fall will get GE credit. Aaron says she expects the course will be reviewed again to make sure it meets the new guidelines for semester conversion in 2018. Read more at PolyCentric.