Philip Nel

[chum1]

&@#% you.  You are an embarrassment.


http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/07/23/potter.generation.ap/

[icatmember]

He's my advisor... strange dude. Not someone you would expect to be obsessed with Harry Potter.

[chum1]

Can you pass on this message for me?

[icatmember]

He's actually on sebatical this semester so I won't see him for advising, but he's staying here for it so I'll see what I can do.

[steve dave]

Dude looks like a pedophile.  Creepy.

[Leyton]

I don't get it.  He writes semi-popular books about Dr. Suess and Harry Potter, and you hate him?  Why?  At least he's getting books published about something, which is a lot more than you can say for the vast majority of our English dept.

[chum1]

If you're an English professor, it's better not to write anything at all than write about popular culture - at least within the realm of your professional life.  How many physicists are critically examining the work of Mr. Wizard?

[steve dave]

How many physicists are critically examining the work of Mr. Wizard?

QFT

[Leyton]

If you're an English professor, it's better not to write anything at all than write about popular culture - at least within the realm of your professional life.  How many physicists are critically examining the work of Mr. Wizard?

Actually, there are probably several physics profs (http://perg.phys.ksu.edu/) at KSU who have carefully studied some of Mr. Wizard's old shows since one of the department's strengths is its physics education program.  I haven't read Nel's books.  I'm glad that he is writing books that sell fairly well, and I don't believe that he should have to restrict himself to more academic subjects.  If it's appropriate to teach courses on children's fiction in general and Harry Potter in particular as a part of, you know, an MFA program in children's literature, it's more than appropriate to write books on the subjects.  You see him as an embarrassment.  I see him as a rising star and a productive generator of publicity for a normally pretty quiet English department.  Agree to disagree?

He's also written a much more academic (i.e., not about children's books) book.
http://www.amazon.com/Avant-Garde-American-Postmodernity-Incisive-Shocks/dp/1578064902/ref=sr_1_2/002-5036381-4292055?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1185591458&sr=8-2