Hogwarts is a long way from North County, but Cal State University San Marcos will take you there through a study-abroad course on Harry Potter and British Culture.
The three-week program next June will take students to nearly every site that inspired novelist J.K. Rowling or was used to film the scenes in the Harry Potter series.
“Students will identify and critically analyze one significant way in which culture and location in Great Britain shaped the Harry Potter series,” according to the course description. Professor Linda Pershing, who teaches a popular folklore course at the university, will lead the trip.
Among the stops are Scotland Yard (the inspiration for the Ministry of Magic), King’s Cross Station (the location of Platform 9 ¾) and Borough Market (where filmmakers shot scenes of the Leaky Cauldron Inn). Also on the tour are Gloucester Cathedral (a stand-in for the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the first two films) and the Australia House (aka Gringotts Wizarding Bank), along with a ride through the Scottish Highlands on the Jacobite steam train used for the Hogwarts Express in the movies.
The course costs $4,900 — not including air fare — but offers three units of course credit. The course is open to students and community members through the Extended Learning program. The deadline to apply is Dec. 1.
