Professor Liam Ammon
November 04, 2016 3:01 AM
Which witch is which? by Professor Liam Ammon
Professor Liam Ammon. It still felt weird to say. Even stranger was hearing the Headmaster say it, though he’d omitted his first name at the opening feast. He knew he could potentially be biting off a little more than he could handle, but Liam was up for the challenge. This was his first official teaching gig, so there was a lot of pressure already, and that was before all the politics of blood purity and whatnot. The topic he chose was also a little controversial among some of the wizarding families, but he was optimistic. It was hard not to be, when all of the other areas of his life were doing so well. He spent the summer reconnecting with an old friend and consequently falling in love with her, he had a new home, and a new job in his old school. He was practically on cloud nine. All this happiness made keeping his focus on lesson planning a little more difficult than he would have liked, but he managed.Before Liam knew it, he was standing in front of his empty classroom awaiting his intermediate students. It was kind of a weird feeling teaching an elective class, particularly one where a good portion of the student body likely wouldn’t sign up. Being a muggleborn himself, Professor Ammon didn’t really see the harm in pureblooded students learning about Muggles, but it wasn’t up to him. He’d had a little inspiration for his lesson from his girlfriend, and it felt appropriate for all blood statuses, now just hoped people would actually show up.
He passed the time before class by organizing and reorganizing his teaching materials and making sure that his name was drawn neatly on the black board at the front of the class. The former Pecari would never in a million years admit it, but he was a little nervous. He’d spent more time getting ready this morning than he could ever remember, dressing in brand new dress robes and putting product in his hair so that he looked official and authoritative. He wanted his first class to go smoothly. He needed it to. The last thing he wanted was Mortimer Brockert coming down on him for being unprofessional or glorifying Muggle life. The thought made Liam shudder. Brockert was a scary looking dude. Before he knew it, and much to his surprise, students were actually arriving, and it appeared that there were more than he’d expected.
“Welcome to Intermediate Muggle Studies!” He greeted the class with a smile. “I’m Professor Liam Ammon, your guide to all things Muggle. I’d like to start by thanking everyone for coming, after all, you actually signed up to be here. While I understand that this class is often considered an easy ‘O’, I hope you all actually put some effort into it. And who knows, you may learn something yet!” Liam perched himself on the edge of his desk as he surveyed the the class before continuing. “In order to really begin to understand Muggles and their relation to the magical world, I think we should take a look at how they portray people of magic in their media. I’m going to be doing a lot of talking, for those interested, and there will be a quiz at the end, so pay attention, yeah?” He was kidding about the quiz, but he was hopeful that it might inspire his students to pay attention.
“Witches and wizards have been involved in Muggle stories since, well, forever basically. For whatever reasons though, wizards are generally old, bearded, have a penchant for big hats with stars on them, and are very wise, whereas witches... have a more negative connotation attached to them. Granted, it isn’t always that way, but there are definitely stereotypes. It’s curious though, that magical men would be glorified in a way, while women are portrayed as evil and ugly. Obviously this is not only sexist, but inaccurate.”
“There are many theories as to why all of this is, the most popular being that back before the Muggle and Wizarding worlds separated in 1692, when women definitely were not considered to be equal to men, that women with great power were demonized for it. How could a woman possibly posses talents and abilities similar to, or even greater than, that of a male? It was easier to accept when those magical women were, essentially, dehumanized. Many early portrayals show witches with green skin and warty noses riding brooms across the nights sky with the intent of eating children and bewitching men to do their bidding. It’s a striking and scary image, though not at all in touch with reality. Most of the time anyway, I think we all have that one aunt…”
“Over the years, the Muggle image of witches has changed a little. They’ve somehow adopted the idea that you could be either a good witch or a bad witch. It’s possible that there is some magical influence behind this shift, but at least it’s a positive one. Several tv shows and movies have portrayed women of magic as actually human looking ladies, that lead average lives despite their powers. Muggles still haven’t completely let go of the gnarled hag image they have, but it’s progress.”
“Hopefully you’re still awake at this point.” He said with a smile. “I promise this class isn’t always going to be a lecture. I have some fun stuff in store too, but for now, on to your assignment! Yeah, there’s not actually a quiz on the first day. Instead, I’d like for you to select a witch from Muggle culture, good or bad, and briefly describe why she is or isn’t an appropriate representation of a real witch. I’m assuming everyone is familiar with one, but if you are not, I have a terrible photo of one that you can reference. Feel free to work in groups, I think this topic deserves some discussion. Also, please let me know if you have any questions, my door is always open.”
((Welcome to Muggle Studies! Please note your house in the author line so I can award points appropriately. Also, keep the posting rules in mind, and feel free to tag Professor Ammon if needed.))
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