About this class
Understanding Storytelling through Harry Potter is a course in narrative craft conducted through one of the most widely read story cycles of the last generation. The course treats the Harry Potter series as a working text for studying the disciplines of dramatic storytelling: character and relationship, world-building, archetype, the hero's journey, adaptation, and the conversation between a story and its readers. Learners do not need to have read every book — only to be willing to look closely at a story they know and to talk about how it works.
Each session focuses on a defined element of story craft. The instructor introduces the week's concept with examples drawn from the books and films, and the class moves into structured discussion: comparing passages, mapping characters and arcs, examining choices the author or filmmakers made, and connecting what the series does to how stories work more broadly. Conversation is the engine of the course — learners bring their own readings, theories, and favorite moments to the table, and the group works through them together.
Learning outcomes
By the end of the course, learners will be able to:
- Identify the stages of the hero's journey and trace them through a chosen character's arc
- Analyze how character relationships drive plot and meaning across a long story
- Examine world-building — the houses, the magical system, the institutions — as a deliberate craft technique
- Recognize common archetypes (hero, mentor, shadow, trickster) and how they function in narrative
- Compare a scene as written and as adapted to film, and explain the choices behind the adaptation
- Engage with canon, fan theory, and fan interpretation as legitimate forms of literary reading
- Apply storytelling concepts learned in class to other stories — including original writing, if the learner chooses
Methodology
The course follows a dramaturgical, discussion-based seminar model: the instructor frames a craft concept, the group reads and examines passages together, and the week's reading is treated as an active object of inquiry rather than a settled meaning. The course is built on the premise that careful conversation about a shared story develops a real and transferable literacy in how all stories work.
Topics we cover
- Characters and relationships: the engine of the series
- Building a story world: Hogwarts, the houses, Azkaban, and the rules of magic
- Archetypes: hero, mentor, shadow, trickster, and how the series uses them
- The hero's journey, step by step, traced through Harry's arc
- The villain's arc: how Voldemort, Snape, and Draco are constructed differently
- Symbols and recurring motifs across the series
- Book to film: understanding adaptation and the choices behind it
- Canon, fan theory, and fan culture: how readers extend a story
Who it's for
For anyone who loves the Harry Potter series and wants to look closely at why it works as a story. Whether you've read the books once or many times, the course is built around shared conversation about the craft behind the story — and the concepts will travel to any other story you care about. No prior coursework in literature required.
Who teaches it
Amanda Berkson
New York-based theater artist and music producer trained in dramatic arts at Muhlenberg College, with credits in Off-West End producing, Equity workshop direction, and performing arts education.
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Pricing
$75 per session · 90 min per class. Register for 8 or more sessions across any combination of classes at The Grove and save 15%.
Registration is handled on our secure registration site.
Harry Potter and all related names, characters, places, and indicia are trademarks of and © Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., and the underlying literary works are © J.K. Rowling. This course is an independent educational discussion offered for purposes of literary criticism, commentary, and study. It is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., J.K. Rowling, Scholastic Inc., Bloomsbury Publishing, or any related entity. All references to the series are made under principles of fair use for educational purposes.
Classes at The Grove are non-credit, personal-enrichment programs offered by Big Apple Coaching LLC. Participation does not confer academic credit, professional certification, or licensure.