Though it wasn’t the most important factor, University of Vermont political science Professor Anthony Gierzynski is making the claim that the Harry Potter “played a small but not insignificant role” in Barack Obama’s 2008 election.
Who knew?
After spending three years interviewing more than a thousand Millennial college students on their familiarity with the Harry Potter series, he has come to the conclusion that fans of the series are more accepting of diversity, more politically tolerant, and less likely to support violence.
35 percent of the Millennials interviewed have read the entire series, while 45 percent have seen all the movies. 60 percent of Millennials surveyed who read the Potter series voted for President Obama in 2008, and 83 percent had unfavorable views of the Bush administration.
“Attitudes in opposition to the use of violence, torture and deadly force came to be associated with the Democrats at the end of the Bush years, mainly in opposition to Bush administration policies and failures in these areas,” Gierzynski said in an email to The College Fix. “The opposition to equal marital rights for same-sex couples and immigration reform by the Republicans put those who support political tolerance … and those who are more accepting of diversity on the side of the Democrats.”
His research is available in a 136 page tome. Harry Potter and the Millennials: Research Methods and the Politics of the Muggle Generation is for sale on Amazon.
Also worth mentioning, Gierzynski holds a master’s degree in political science from Northern Illinois University.
