Example English dissertation topic 10:

A Marxist and class critique of Harry Potter, Animal Farm and Wind in the Willows

The subject of intense contemporary academic debate, Marxist interpretations of Harry Potter have shed new light on the sub-plots within this series of books as shown for instance at the recent conference upon the matter at the University of St Andrews (June 2012). In contrast to this ‘new discovery’; the communist overtones of Animal Farm are well established. This dissertation seeks to apply the same rationale and critique processes to Wind in the Willows noting for instance the portrayal of the Weasels as the proletariat mass, the fickle bourgeoisie taste of the ‘idle-rich’ Toad and the wise ‘old guard’ mentality of Badger.

Suggested initial topic reading:

• Grahame, K. (1908 [1993]) The Wind in the Willows (New Ed edn). Ware: Wordsworth.
• Orwell, G. (1945 [2008]) Animal Farm: A Fairy Story. London: Penguin.
• Rowling, J.K. (2001) Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. London: Bloomsbury.
• Wojcik-Andrews, I. (1993) ‘Introduction: Notes toward a theory of class in children’s literature’, The Lion and the Unicorn, Vol. 17(2), pp. 113-123.