Hogwarts academics
Blood status and prejudice Dark Magic Muggles

Muggle Studies Class

"But it'll be fascinating to study [Muggles] from the wizarding point of view."  -- Hermione Granger (PA4)

Muggle Studies is a course in the history, culture, and psychology of non-magical people. The class attempts to help young witches and wizards understand the difference between the way Muggles think and the way wizards think. When Ron calls a telephone a “fellytone,” Hermione tells him she should consider taking Muggle Studies (PA22).

Students typically begin taking Muggle Studies in their third year. Muggle Studies is a prerequisite for jobs in Muggle relations. According to Percy, the students consider Muggle Studies to be a "soft option," meaning that it's an easy class. However, he says, he personally thinks "wizards should have a thorough understanding of the non-magical community, particularly if they're thinking of working in close contact with them." (CS13) Ernie MacMillan apparently took Muggle Studies in his third year, since he informed Ron that Hermione never missed one of the classes, even though "half of them are at the same time as Divination, and she's never missed one of them either!" (PA12). (This tells us that no other Gryffindor in her year took the subject, since all the others took Divination.) Hermione passed Muggle Studies with a 312% grade in her third year, but dropped the course to give herself a more reasonable schedule in her fourth. Muggle Studies is offered through OWL level, and there is an OWL examination in the subject. It is unknown if there are NEWT-level Muggle Studies classes.

Classroom:

The Muggle Studies classroom is located on the first floor. We know this because to get to her Muggle Studies exam, Hermione stops at the first floor while Ron and Harry go on to the seventh (PA16)

Curriculum and classroom activities:

The teacher for this class is Charity Burbage. Her class curriculum was described as teaching "children of witches and wizards all about Muggles...how they are not so different from us." (DH1)

Assignments given out:

essay in third year: "Explain Why Muggles Need Electricity" (PA12)

Links
Fanfiction: Muggle Studies textbook

 

Commentary

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Tags: classes culture (Muggle) cultures history Muggle technology studying thinking wizard technology

Editors: and