Digging through academic journals from various fields I’ve found one element that they all seem to share: the occasional linking of an author’s specialized field with some element from the über-specialized world of current fan culture / pop culture. The links are often tenuous, but sometimes there’s a real gem hiding amongst the serious papers. Sometimes the research is dubious enough to appear on an academic humor blog like NCBI ROFL, but usually the research lacks the clout or audacity needed to garner an Ig Nobel Prize. For example, here are two papers from this week’s publication listings (I’ll add more if I find them this week):
- Harry Potter’s Headaches, published in Headache: The Journal of Head and Face Pain – an attempt to categorize the titular boy wizard’s symptoms using the “Muggle” International Classification of Headache Disorders, 2nd edition (ICHD-II). I’m pretty sure they’re having a good time with this one, thankfully. (Via NCBI ROFL)
- Harry Potter and the (Re)Order of the Artists: Are We Muggles or Goblins? (.PDF), published in the Oregon Law Review. A 32-page analysis of the property rights and droit moral issues presented in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, in particular regards to the sword that Harry promises to Griphook the goblin. Literature does act as a good gateway to thinking about legal and ethical problems, so I won’t knock this one. (Via the Tarlton Law Library’s Current Copyright Legal Literature)