This University In India Has Introduced A Law Course Based On Harry Potter

Potterheads in India are now in for a treat. A law university in India is now offering a course on Harry Potter, which will encourage students to explore legal aspects of JK Rowling's magical work and its real life lessons.

The course titled, “An interface between Fantasy Fiction Literature and Law: Special focus on Rowling’s Potterverse”, is being offered as an elective to 4th and 5th-year students of the B.A LL.B (Hons) programme at the National University of Juridical Sciences (NUJS) in Kolkata.

The course is designed so as to serve as a breather from the orthodox law school curriculum. “This course is meant to be more of an experiment. It will take both me and the students out of our comfort zones," said Professor Shouvik Kumar Guha, who designed the course.

Students will learn to apply legal principles in a completely new scenario, and understand how things will work through insights into a wizarding world constantly under government surveillance. Guha decided to delve into the fictional universe, which would not create political controversies but help students learn to apply their legal knowledge to a completely alien set of scenarios. 

The course provides a unique platform for students to reflect and compare the legal situations in the wizard world with that of their own government. The course aims to cover legal traditions and institutions, crimes and punishments, economy, politics, contracts in the Potterverse.

Classes for the course are due to start this December.