Harry Potter in the Age of Activism: Why S.P.E.W. Failed and Dumbledore’s Army Thrived

More recently in the Muggle world, activism and social movements have played a major role in our everyday lives. When examining the wizarding world, the Harry Potter series provides two great examples of activism movements, one a failure and the other a success. Within this presentation, we will explore the activism strategies of both S.P.E.W. and Dumbledore’s Army, challenge the personal and wide-spread relevance each movement had within the wizarding world, and compare these lessons to the activism movements we see today.