Given the content of the Potter books it is not difficult to see their thematic relevance to the modern world. One of the most common descriptions of the process of globalization is that it is shrinking the world by annihilating spatial and temporal obstacles. Divergent beliefs and people are more proximate, the friction between defenders of traditions and modernity more intense.
This relevance is not lost to most young readers. Many in the West are quick to evoke Harry Potter's message against the racial precepts of fascism or radical nationalism. Perhaps race is indeed what Rowling had in mind. "Mudblood," the pejorative word for Muggle-born people, is as taboo in the novels as racial slurs today and certainly has strong connotations of race. Thus a bi-racial student at Purdue University describes the solace she finds in Harry Potter when her Navajo heritage imparts a sense of "otherness" against the backdrop of white American mainstream culture. She identifies with the half blood children of mixed Wizard-Muggle families who sense discrimination despite their capacity to perform magic like any pure blood wizard. Hermione, she explains, dazzles her classmates at Hogwarts with her wizarding abilities despite being muggle-born. On the other hand, Neville--a pure blood wizard--can hardly perform the required magic to get through daily life. "This is a case that shows that just because you are born into a culture, it does not mean you are automatically better than someone who is taught the culture"[1]
Several million Chinese youth would agree.
