James W. Thomas

James W. Thomas is Professor of English at Pepperdine University, where he has taught since 1981. For many years, he has done scholarly work primarily in twentieth-century American literature, publishing a number of articles and reviews, along with Lyle Saxon: A Critical Biography, and teaching courses on Edgar Allen Poe, William Faulkner, contemporary American poetry, and American short stories.

Now a leading voice in academia for the literary legitimacy of the Hogwarts Adventures, his first readings of Rowling’s books came in 2003, after which, as he often says, he hasn’t quite been the same. In the last few years, Dr. Thomas has spoken at Harry Potter conferences in Dallas, Toronto, and San Francisco, and has been interviewed by NPR, several newspapers, and TIME magazine regarding the Potter books. Since the fall of 2006, he has taught a number of Pepperdine students, from first years to seniors, in his university classes on the Potter series.

Dr. Thomas’ most quoted line? He famously quipped in TIME magazine’s 2007 Person of the Year profile of Ms. Rowling that the Ivory Tower’s resistance to the series was based on the three ‘deathly hallows’ of the books: “They’re too recent, they’re too popular, and they’re too juvenile.”

He is the author of Repotting Harry Potter: A Professor’s Book-by-Book Guide for the Serious Re-Reader, published in January, 2009, by Zossima Press. He and his wife Kanet live in Westlake Village, California, and have three children and four grandchildren.