By Amanda Lenox
Staff Writer
Professor Linda Pershing incorporates “Harry Potter,” Disney characters and other literary and animated folklore in her classes at Cal State San Marcos.
She talked about her work in a recent interview.
Question: What is your educational background?
A: B.A. in Religious Studies from Occidental College; M.A. in Religion and Society from Princeton Seminary; Ph.D. in Anthropology and Folklore Studies from University of Texas, Austin
Q: How did you decide your field of study?
A: I was attracted to the study of folklore because of its focus on everyday expressive behavior and cultural traditions. Rather than formal, institutional culture and systems of knowledge, folklore is the vernacular, informal and often unrecognized artistic and expressive behavior that people use to convey their sense of identity and their ideas about the world around them.
Q: Is there anything you are currently researching?
A: Yes, I’ve been working with a wonderful group of very motivated and very smart students on the folklore and culture of Harry Potter. We dedicated all last spring to doing an in-depth analysis of the many aspects of J.K. Rowling’s magical world, and they are working with me this semester to develop a new course on Harry Potter, which will be offered for the first time in Spring 2014.
Q: How did you end up at CSUSM?
A: I grew up in Los Angeles and feel most at home in California. I was a faculty member at the State University of New York (SUNY) Albany for nine years, but I wanted to move back to California to be closer to my family. In 2001, I was hired as the first tenure-line faculty member in Women’s Studies.
Q: What classes do you usually teach?
A: I teach a variety of interdisciplinary courses (ID) about the politics of culture. For example, this semester I’m teaching a course on deconstructing Disney Animated Films. I also teach courses about education as social transformation, social change movements, film and media, and I’ll be teaching the new course on Harry Potter folklore and culture in the spring.
Q: What do you like about teaching?
A: I made the decision to pursue a Ph.D. and become a university professor because I love working with students and I love to teach. For me, education is the key to changing the world and making it a better place, one in which all people are valued and protected. Much of my work focuses on social justice, and all my teaching includes a feminist and social justice perspective.
Q: What do you hope students learn from taking your classes?
A: First, I want students to learn to ask the deep and often troubling questions about social structures and hierarchies of privilege and power. Critical thinking skills are central to my courses. I also work with students to develop their sense of curiosity and self-worth, and their determination to give back to the community.
CSUSM is in the process of nominating faculty members for the 2013-2014 Faculty and Staff Award. For information on how to nominate an outstanding faculty member, please visit their website at http://www.csusm.edu/president/awards/.
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