SOCI 350 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Muggle, Essentialism
Document Summary
Like orientalism, the way wizards think of muggles (let"s call this mugglism) is born primarily of ignorance and many other factors. There is no differentiating between muggles; all non-magical folk are muggles and all muggles are the same. Similarly, the east (or orient) suffer from the same type of umbrella classification. The creation of mugglism serves a purpose greater than merely one of differentiation. By creating and cultivating a specific image of. Muggles, the wizards are able to situate themselves as the upper class. Marx, there is an oppressed, and there is an oppressor except this "tension" between the two goes further than class differences. Then what, do you ask, is the purpose of distinguishing the. By juxtaposing the wizarding folk and the muggles and creating the image of muggles as an "unchanging abstraction" (pg. 8), the wizards are able to view themselves as a dynamic society that is constantly on the rise.