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Some Feel J.K. Rowling Not Fit to Speak at Harvard

We previously informed you that Harry Potter author, J.K. Rowling, was set to receive an honorary degree and give the keynote address speech to Harvard University graduates during the commencement exercises on June 5th. However, some Harvard students feel that J.K. Rowling is not established enough for this honor. Read more to see some of what was said about Jo, and how you can show your support.

Apparently some of the students feel that J.K. Rowling is not fit to be a keynote speaker for Harvard. Past speakers include those like Microsoft founder Bill Gates and former president John F. Kennedy prior to his presidency. They feel that Jo is just a 'flash in the pan' (someone who is popular for the moment) and shouldn't be held in such a prestigious light.

One student who has spoken out is Adam Goldenberg, a Canadian student who writes for the Harvard Crimson. Goldenberg has stated, amongst other things, "Harvard seniors have every right to demand a Harvard-calibre speaker. Harry Potter – and JK Rowling – is just a flash in the pan. Writing bedtime stories is lame – just ask Tolkien and CS Lewis. The class of 2008 has been royally screwed by Harvard. A petty pop culture personality of questionable permanence will send us on our merry way, while figures of real substance wait in the wings."

Harvard does, however, have fans of the Harry Potter series, as was shown when many businesses on campus stayed open late for the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Please show your support of J.K. Rowling for this honor she is to receive by contacting Harvard's newspaper.

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by Kelly @ 28 May 2008 - 16:10

Negative criticism of Rowling appears to be a sure fire method of drawing attention to obscure and small localized news mediums. It is a subject certain to place an unknown news columnist near the top of internet news listings.
As a successful business person, Rowling and her works shall outperform the merits of most graduates of Harvard. I doubt Harvard's prestige would be tarnished by allowing the world most successful writer a podium on which to share her thoughts... after all she's not likely to destroy a nation, like Robert Mugabee, another Harvard honorary degree holder. take a look at Zimbabwe.

by The Truth @ 28 May 2008 - 05:56

Goldenberg is being sarcastic; y'all need to get out of the house more.

by Grubbly-Plank @ 27 May 2008 - 16:27

Well now, how pompous can one person get. Maybe he'd like to think of what Harry stands for & how the world would be if more people thought & behaved as he did & what a nicer place it would be! People like him make me sick. What gives him the right to think that he's so superior & a cut above the rest of us mere mortals!!

by Dave @ 27 May 2008 - 13:43

Hmm...

Bill Gates didn't finish college -- no degree for him.

As for "literary" authors...? Hemingway didn't have a degree in writing. Neither did Faulkner. Melville was essentially ignored until well after his death, as was Emily Dickinson.

Tolkien's "literary" status? A fairly recent development.

To be discussing the "hallowed halls" of higher education within the most esteemed university in the United States, methinks you doth protest too much.

I have two degrees in literarture and will begin my PhD in Rhetoric and Textual Studies this fall. I will not argue with anyone that Rowling is on par with Shakespeare -- neither is her prose always quite "poetic"; but I will argue the books have far more merit than my colleagues and peers sometimes want to admit.

Frankly, much of this reaction seems to smack of the idea that popularity must belie expressive simplicity, and that Rowling's status as a "flash in the pan" is already a given -- nevermind the fact that <i>Harry Potter</i> is now the most famous text in the English language and helping to define the notion of literature and meaning for at least the next generation of scholars and writers.

by @ 27 May 2008 - 13:10

I'll say that I found the movies very entertaining, but I was unable to "get into the groove" of reading the books. I tend to read to read the books that movies are derived from, but the writing style simply turned me off. This does not surprise me, as I fully understand that these books were supposed to be children's books, and are written for them. The style is set so that it keeps a child's attention, but we have to remember that the HP books, although a blessing in term of getting children to read, are not written in a style that college students are expected to use in their own papers. Yes, it is somewhat elitist, but you have to follow the standards you expect your students to follow. I applaud her efforts in children's literature, but I think they fall short of the requirements for college-level literature.

Keynote speakers at college graduations are intended to be shining examples of how students can apply their education and do anything.

Rowling is not a trained writer - her degrees are in French and ancient literature (Classics) studies. Writing was a side-hobby she had while living on welfare. Although wildly successful (with the help of Warner Bros), her success is based off of storytelling talent that she did not develop in school, and her degrees were of little help in getting her to the top. I think THAT is why the Harvard students are disenfranchised. You want to send your students out in the world, feeling good with the idea that their degree will take them places and open doors for them, not that a single mom on welfare with natural creative talent can earn more money than they will see in a lifetime.

Kudos to Rowling for her success, but I think lectures from her would be better suited as a special event rather than a graduation commencement speech.

by Anon @ 27 May 2008 - 10:20

Can't you guys tell that Goldenberg is being sarcastic?

by @ 27 May 2008 - 09:04

I'm in agreement, but must applaud the article for it's complete lack of bias(X-D) on its part.

Studying themes on Harry Potter is like asking you to find the sky. Love? Opposites attract - nuff said they say, I couldn't care less but it's overall integrity is simplistic in nature.

The obvious in Potter is obvious.

Give me real literature, Willy Wonka? for instance, Certainly has more to it than meets he eye.

Charles.

by Tu Right @ 27 May 2008 - 08:56

While the series hooked the imagination of the many and painted the canvas that has spawned so much fanfiction.

It sadly is popcorn entertainment, the final installments of the series showing no deeper, greater themes than that of simpler childrens tales.

Many felt disheartened with the last 2/3 books but for some it was the dawning of knowledge that it was below them. In the hands of a rather hollywood-ish film script anything-that-sells writer.
Rounding it out with a simple triumph of good over evil.

Questions were asked of ethics, fascism but not explored. No deeper undertones beneath the canon. Merely clever plot twists and reveals.

Harvard seniors have every right to demand a Harvard-calibre speaker. Harry Potter � and JK Rowling � is just a flash in the pan. Writing bedtime stories is lame � just ask Tolkien and CS Lewis. The class of 2008 has been royally screwed by Harvard. A petty pop culture personality of questionable permanence will send us on our merry way, while figures of real substance wait in the wings."

Good on him for having the audacity to say such a thing! This is no slight on JK, but on true literary Havard worthy greats out there.