About Professor Julian Wamble, Ph.D.
In an attempt to share the fun Julian and his students were having in the classroom, he started posting snippets of the class on TikTok, mostly for his friends who wanted to be in the class but were less inclined to pay tuition for the sake of seeing him rant and rave about Harry Potter. As it turns out, it wasn’t just his friends who wanted in, and after a year of stalling and answering comments and DMs demanding a larger platform for others to participate on, Critical Magic Theory was born. While his class and the podcast both dive deeply into the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Critical Magic Theory allows for the voices of the listeners to guide the conversation. Through survey responses for every episode, Professor Wamble and listeners dive deeply into the characters that we love so much to understand who they are, why they are, and how they navigate the world they’re in.
Professor Julian Wamble, admittedly, hates writing about himself or drawing attention to himself in any way, but as with everything involving this podcast, he’s stepping out of his comfort zone. It seems important that you all know who he is as it is his voice to which you are listening. Also, it is weird to write about oneself in the third person, but here we are.
Where were we? Oh right! About me… um… him.
Julian started reading Harry Potter when he was 10 years old and hasn’t stopped. He is a proud Slytherin whose favorite book is Harry Potter and the Halfblood Prince, and whose favorite movie is Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1. Julian holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Maryland, College Park and is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the George Washington University in Washington, D.C where his research focuses on the intersection of identity, particularly race, and politics.
At GW, Julian teaches classes on race and politics, political behavior, and a course that is a growing favorite amongst undergrad political science majors entitled, “Harry Potter and the Politics of Social Identity.” In this class, Julian turned his knack for making anything he enjoys deeper (much to the chagrin of many of his friends) into a course where he and his students use Harry Potter as a way to discuss the myriad ways identity influences the political and social lives of those in the Wizarding World and our own.
Our Values
The phrase, “loving something doesn’t mean you can’t be critical of it,” is the guiding principle of Critical Magic Theory because so often we are told that if we love something, we simply need to let it be what it is and ask nothing more of it. This podcast shunts that mentality in exchange for the fascination of investigation, the love of nuance, and the magic found in going beyond.
Accio Praises!
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"Brilliant! Smart, funny, thought provoking and so much more…Dr. Julian Wamble has a unique gift and perspective on one of our favorite magical series of all time. Bringing his highly sought after collegiate course material to the world’s ears is one of the greatest gifts to the interwebs. Extremely well done!"
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"As someone who has read, reread and relistened to the books a million times and won *a lot* of deep cut Harry Potter based trivia nights, this podcast puts a whole new spin on old information and forces you to look at these characters and their actions in a completely different way. Absolutely love this podcast and will be eagerly listening for more every two weeks!"
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"Engaging with my favorite book series through critical thinking and academic exploration brings a new level of understanding that is just absolutely precious to me. I appreciate the frameworks Dr. Wamble brings to this discussion and the stories he weaves. 10/10 will wait (im)patiently for each new episode."
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"Love it! I’ve been waiting for this podcast! Each episode is a delight to listen to, discussing the layers of the characters and themes, and not taking things at face value. It’s a great mix of nostalgia, critical thinking, and magic."
