In the five years between graduating from high school and starting college, I spent a great deal of time immersed in literary theory and criticism. How else was I going to spend all those late nights drinking coffee in dark, smoky coffee houses? Once at college and on my way toward a French degree, I continued to read and work deeply in lit crit. But it began to wear on me. A couple years in, by the time I reached a point where coursework had us diving headfirst into literary theory instead of just dipping our toes, by the time when it became the focus of the program, I had had enough. It had all become just so much BS.

Still is.

Sometimes, though, sometimes, it’s fun to read something like this: “Harry Potter and the Unforgivable Curses: Norm-formation, Inconsistency, and the Rule of Law in the Wizarding World.”