Unraveling Hogwarts: Understanding an Affinity Group through the Lens of Activity Theory

187 Pages·2016·3.06 MB·English

UC San Diego
UC San Diego Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Title
Unraveling Hogwarts: Understanding an Affinity Group through the Lens of Activity Theory
Permalink
https://escholarship.org/uc/item/75n554q3
Author
Pfister, Rachel Cody
Publication Date
2016

Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation
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University of California
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO

Unraveling Hogwarts: Understanding an Affinity Group through the Lens of Activity
Theory

A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree
Doctor of Philosophy

in

Communication

by

Rachel Cody Pfister

Committee in charge:

Professor Michael Cole, Chair
Professor Brian Goldfarb
Professor Mizuko Ito
Professor Jay Lemke
Professor Stefan Tanaka
Professor Olga Vásquez

2016
Copyright
Rachel Cody Pfister, 2016
All rights reserved.
The Dissertation of Rachel Cody Pfister is approved, and it is acceptable in quality
and form for publication on microfilm and electronically:

Chair

University of California, San Diego
2016
iii
DEDICATION

This dissertation is dedicated three ways:

To Amaya and Eris, for context.
To Jacob, for change.
To the Wizard, for zopeds.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Signature Page ......................................................................................................... iii
Dedication ................................................................................................................ iv
Table of Contents ...................................................................................................... v
List of Figures ........................................................................................................ viii
Acknowledgements ................................................................................................... x
Vita .......................................................................................................................... xii
Abstract of Dissertation ......................................................................................... xiii

Chapter 1: Introduction ............................................................................................. 1
1.1 Education and learning interests in affinity groups ....................................... 5
1.2 Interests, communities, and online technologies ......................................... 12
1.3 Analytic framework ..................................................................................... 16
1.3.1 Activity theory ................................................................................... 17
1.3.2 Object ................................................................................................. 27
1.3.3 Wildfire activities ............................................................................... 28
1.4 H@R and wildfire activities ......................................................................... 31
1.5 Overview of chapters ................................................................................... 33

Chapter 2: History and Methods ............................................................................. 35
2.1 H@R as a case study .................................................................................... 35
2.2 H@R interests .............................................................................................. 37
2.2.1 Harry Potter ........................................................................................ 37
2.2.2 Fiber crafting ...................................................................................... 39
2.3 Site overview ................................................................................................ 40
2.4 Research methods ........................................................................................ 44
2.4.1 Participant observation and fieldnotes ............................................... 44
2.4.2 Interviews ........................................................................................... 46
2.4.3 History ................................................................................................ 48
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2.4.4 Data analysis ...................................................................................... 49

Chapter 3: Beginnings ............................................................................................. 51
3.1 Founding of H@R ........................................................................................ 51
3.2 Collective discussions .................................................................................. 52
3.2.1 Defining H@R ................................................................................... 53
3.2.2 Building a collective activity system ................................................. 55
3.2.3 Supporting actions of H@R ............................................................... 61
3.3 First classes .................................................................................................. 64
3.3.1 Early tensions ..................................................................................... 66
3.3.2 Resolving tensions ............................................................................. 68
3.3.3 Continued development: A period of continuity in the building of H@R
..................................................................................................................... 71

Chapter 4: Transitions and New Tensions During Year 4 ....................................... 74
4.1 New leadership and growing activity system .............................................. 74
4.1.1 Honoring the old ................................................................................ 75
4.1.2 Adding the new .................................................................................. 76
4.1.3 H@R reinvigorated ............................................................................ 81
4.2 New tensions ................................................................................................ 82
4.2.1 Competitive community .................................................................... 82
4.2.2 Contradictory wildfires ...................................................................... 83
4.2.3 Work and play .................................................................................... 86
4.2.4 Contradiction of options .................................................................... 89
4.3 Resolving disturbances and tensions ............................................................ 91
4.3.1 Managing through authority .............................................................. 91
4.3.2 Managing the second disturbance ...................................................... 94

Chapter 5: Years 5 - 7: Crisis and Expansion .......................................................... 99
5.1 Year 5: Umbridge and changes .................................................................... 99
5.2 Cycle of expansive learning ....................................................................... 102
5.2.1 Analyzing ......................................................................................... 106
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5.2.2 Modeling and examining the new solutions .................................... 116
5.2.3 Implementing the new model ........................................................... 120
5.2.4 Reflection on the process ................................................................. 125
5.3 Year 5 completion of the cycle ................................................................... 128
5.4 Year 6 Status quo and changes ahead ......................................................... 130
5.5 Year 7 ......................................................................................................... 132
5.6 Year 7: Cycle cut short ............................................................................... 133
5.7 H@R Anew ................................................................................................ 136

Chapter 6: Hogwarts Unraveled ............................................................................ 137
6.1 An affinity group and wildfire activity ....................................................... 137
6.1.1 H@R as an affinity group ................................................................ 137
6.1.2 H@R as wildfire activity ................................................................. 139
6.2 Applying the principles of activity theory .................................................. 140
6.2.1 Principle 1: Activities in their network of relations ......................... 141
6.2.2 Principle 2: Multivoicedness ............................................................ 145
6.2.3 Principle 3: Historicity ..................................................................... 151
6.2.4 Principle 4: Contradictions and change ........................................... 153
6.2.5 Principle 5: Expansion ..................................................................... 156
6.3 Reflections ................................................................................................. 159

References ............................................................................................................. 164
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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1.1 An individual activity system and its six constituent components. ....... 19
Figure 1.2 The third generation of activity theory, led by Engeström, takes interacting
activity systems as its primary unit of analysis. .................................... 21
Figure 1.3 The six stages of the expansive cycle of learning. ................................ 26
Figure 2.1 H@R’s message board has threads for different Harry Potter-related classes
or locations. ........................................................................................... 41
Figure 3.1 H@R represented as an activity system. ............................................... 56
Figure 3.2 Care of Magical Creatures asked students to craft magical creatures of the
first Harry Potter book, such as owls. ................................................... 65
Figure 3.3 H@R’s activity system with a contradiction between the rules and
collective object, symbolized with a lightning bolt. ............................. 69
Figure 4.1 The H@R St. Mungo Award was given to members who were prolific in
charity crafting ...................................................................................... 77
Figure 4.2 A badge awarded for completing the Muggle Studies class. ................. 78
Figure 4.3 Year 4 included more non-crafting assignments, such as this astronomy
test. ........................................................................................................ 81
Figure 4.4 There was a contradiction, represented by the lightning bolt, between the
tools (points) and the collective objective. ........................................... 85
Figure 4.5 There were two secondary contradictions, one within the rules of H@R and
another between the rules and the collective object. ............................. 90
Figure 5.1. The cycle of expansive learning. ........................................................ 103
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Figure 5.2. H@R’s cycle of expansive learning. .................................................. 104
Figure 5.3. This same project was submitted to Herbology, Care of Magical Creatures,
and Astronomy on the same day, with only short descriptions of how the
project tied in to the assignments. ....................................................... 110
Figure 5.4. There was a contradiction, symbolized with a lightning bolt, between the
rules and collective object. .................................................................. 113
Figure 5.5. The object had shifted to become the competitive House Cup game. 114
Figure 5.6. The collective (o2) object had shifted to primarily support competitive
H@R members, leaving the more casual and sociality-oriented members
less supported. ..................................................................................... 115
Figure 5.7. KnittingPrincipal posted a single image of the malicious character Dolores
Umbridge in the “Changes are coming to H@R…” thread. ............... 122
Figure 5.8. The original object of H@R’s activity system provided a balance for its
multivoiced members. ......................................................................... 130
Figure 5.9. The Year 7 activity system had again become imbalanced, offering little
support for competitive members ....................................................... 134
Figure 6.1. H@R as an activity system. ................................................................ 142
Figure 6.2. H@R’s activity system interacts with many other activity systems. . 143
Figure 6.3. Mapping out the different voice types in H@R. ................................ 148

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