Speaker at Manchester explores Harry Potter, The Hunger Games through lens of peace studies
The massively popular Harry Potter and The Hunger Games series create societies where young people battle the evil in their world.
Siobhán McEvoy-Levy will speak about “Entertaining Peace in Youth Cultures: From Harry Potter to The Hunger Games” at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 5 in the upper level of the Jo Young Switzer Center at the North Manchester campus of Manchester University.
It is free and open to the public.
In the books and movies, violence seems to be the prominent theme and problem-solver. McEvoy-Levy will explore how young people can use these books to explore alternatives, such as nonviolence and mediation.
An author, professor of peace and conflict studies and director of the Desmond Tutu Peace Lab at Butler University in Indianapolis, McEvoy-Levy examines popular culture through the lens of the peace studies field.
“Her presentation will address how young activists engage with pop culture to enhance our understanding of ‘peace,’ and ‘resistance’ in politics,” said Elton Skendaj, Gladdys Muir associate professor of peace studies at Manchester.
Established by Muir in 1948, the Peace Studies Institute and Program in Conflict Resolution at Manchester pioneered as the first undergraduate peace studies program in the world. Her groundbreaking program, which examined issues of interpersonal conflict and structural injustice, was so visionary that 23 years passed before another U.S. institution followed her lead.
The March 5 presentation, made possible by the Peace Studies Institute, is part of the Values, Ideas and the Arts series, which offers academic enrichment for Manchester students.
For the media
Elton Skendaj, Ph.D.: skendaj@manchester.edu
More about Siobhán McEvoy-Levy
About Manchester
With campuses in North Manchester and Fort Wayne, Ind., Manchester University offers more than 70 areas of academic study to 1,400 students in undergraduate programs,a Master of Accountancy, a Master of Science in pharmacogenomics, a Master of Athletic Training a four-year professional Doctor of Pharmacy degree and a four-year dual degree in pharmacy and pharmacogenomics. Learn more about the private, northern Indiana school at www.manchester.edu.
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Manchester University respects the infinite worth of every individual and graduates persons of ability and conviction who draw upon their education and faith to lead principled, productive, and compassionate lives that improve the human condition.
February 2020