Correction appended.

Andrew Slack '02, co-founder and executive director of the Harry Potter Alliance, spoke in Pearlman Lounge last Thursday about the forthcoming Brandeis chapter fo the HPA, as well as the organization's goals and initiatives in an event sponsored by the Sociology Department and the Office of the Dean of Arts and Sciences.

According to the HPA website, the organization "work[s] for human rights, equality, and a better world" by drawing parallels to J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series.

"Our goal is to make civic engagement exciting by channeling the entertainment-saturated facets of our culture toward mobilization for deep and lasting social change," the website states.

Slack co-founded the HPA in 2005. Though initially hesitant to read the Harry Potter series, the books "opened up this sense of childlike wonder" for him and "allow[ed him] to see the magic in the world," he said at the event. He grew frustrated, however, because "if Harry were in our world, he would do more than talk about Harry Potter; he would fight injustice in our world the way he fought injustice in his," he said.

According to Slack, the HPA is a Dumbledore's Army-a student activist organization from the series dedicated to fighting a tyrannical regime "despite media consolidation and government obstruction"-for "the real world." The HPA applies the methods of Dumbledore's Army to fight for parallel causes outside of the books.

According to Slack, this connection can be made in part because Rowling incorporated elements of her past work with Amnesty International into the novels.

"I am honoured and humbled that Harry's name has been given to such an extraordinary campaign, which really does exemplify the values for which Dumbledore's Army fought in the books," stated Rowling on her website.

Standing in Pearlman Lounge, Slack remarked, "my story starts here." In that room, as a first-year in 1998, Slack took what is now SOC 165A "Living and Dying in America: The Sociology of Birth and Death" with now-retired Prof. Maurice Stein (SOC). From Stein, Slack said he learned about "the power of mythology and stories to change our world" and "to renew ourselves individually and to renew ourselves collectively."

"Groups that have organized around a belief and a story have been far more effective and far more deep in what they can do," Slack continued.

He cited two additional factors that shaped him during his time at Brandeis: traveling to Northern Ireland with what is now the Sorensen Fellowship (formerly called the Ethics Center Student Fellowship), where he learned about "creating a space for peace by ... taking [one's] personal story and connecting it to the collective story;" and "Possibilities for Change in American Communities," a course he took in 2001 with Prof. David Cunningham (SOC), through which Slack gained "a sense of pragmatism on how a social movement is constructed and how you can follow the patterns of a social movement and how you can actualize it."

The HPA taps into "a culture of people who grew up with Harry" and seeks to channel the energy of fandoms-subcultures of fans of cultural phenomena such as Harry Potter-into tangible activism, Slack said. According to the organization's website, the HPA partners with other non-governmental organizations to work on issues of global warming, poverty, genocide, equality and literacy. It "[e]ncourage[s their] members to hone the magic of their creativity in endeavoring to make the world a better place."

"Fantasy is not an escape from our world, but an invitation to go deeper into it," said Slack.

The organization incorporates elements of the novels into many of their campaigns; past and present endeavors include "Wizard Rock the Vote," "The Deathly Hallows Campaign," "Accio Books!" and "What Would Dumbledore Do?" The HPA has also branched out into other fandoms, Slack said. For a recent campaign, the group partnered with Oxfam for "Hunger is NOT a Game" inspired by the Hunger Games book series written by Suzanne Collins.

Nina Hersher '13 and Undergraduate Departmental Representatives for the Sociology Department Jeff Herman '14 and Sarah Zoloth '14 are working to institute a chapter of the HPA at Brandeis. The first meeting was held last night.

"[W]e're excited to finally have a chapter of HPA at the school which the founder went to," wrote Sociology UDR Tali Smookler '13, who assisted in planning Thursday's event, in an email to the Justice.

"His model of constituent-based rather than cause-based has proven to be pretty effective in mobilizing support for important causes, and given the culture at Brandeis, where there are many Harry Potter fans as well as an emphasis on and passion for social justice, I think this will take off pretty quickly," Smookler continued.

"We are in such a unique and amazing position with Andrew as a resource," wrote Hersher in an email to the Justice. "I cannot stress how integral this will be to the club, having the founder involved!"

"It's going to be really great to have [Slack's] support one-on-one," added Zoloth in an email to the Justice.

Editor's note: Tali Smookler is a senior photographer for the Justice.

Correction: Slack founded the Harry Potter Alliance in 2005, not 2007, as originally reported.