Muggle Studies

"Professor Burbage taught the children of witches and wizards all about Muggles...how they are not so different from us..."

- Lord Voldemort's scorn for Muggle Studies

Muggle Studies is part of the non-magical studies curriculum at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It is exactly what the name implies - the study of the daily lives of Muggles and how they cope with electricity and not magic. This class aims specifically to acquaint wizards and witches who do not have direct contact with Muggles with the way they live; one known essay topic was "Why Muggles Need Electricity." It is an optional subject, taught from the third year to the seventh.

Muggle Studies is considered by some to be a soft option, but others, such as Percy Weasley, think it is important for magical people to have an understanding of the non-magical community, especially if they work closely with Muggles, such as in the Ministry of Magic; his father being a case in point.

Before 1990
Quirinus Quirrell taught Muggle Studies at Hogwarts until 1990, when he took a year-long sabbatical and spent time abroad before returning to Hogwarts and becoming the professor of Defence Against the Dark Arts. The position was taken over by another wizard.

1990-1993
In 1990, a wizard took over from Quirrell as Muggle Studies Professor. In 1992, Harry Potter came looking for him with a torch for him to add to his collection. Unfortunately, he was not present and the professor's student assistant took the torch and added it to the collection for him. He presumably left by 1993.

1993-1997
Hermione Granger took Muggle Studies, as well as every other class, in her third year, despite being Muggle-born. By this time, Charity Burbage had taken over from the former teacher. She wanted to study Muggles from the wizards' point of view, and excelled in the class, but dropped it at the end of the year when she found her schedule too demanding. Ernie Macmillan also took the subject.

1997
In 1997, Professor Charity Burbage was captured by Death Eaters and brought to Malfoy Manor, where Lord Voldemort murdered her with the Killing Curse, because she wrote a positive and impassioned piece about Muggles and Muggle-borns for the Daily Prophet. Before her death, she begged Severus Snape to free her and tell Voldemort to let her go. Severus Snape ignored her, and then she was put to death. Her corpse was then consumed by Nagini. Voldemort took over the Ministry of Magic soon afterwards, and Death Eater Alecto Carrow was appointed professor of Muggle Studies, with Professor Burbage noted as "resigned" in the newspaper. The subject was made compulsory, and instead of teaching students accurate facts about the non-magical community and encouraging understanding and tolerance, Carrow taught that Muggles were "like animals, stupid and dirty" and that they "drove wizards into hiding by being vicious toward them," and "how the natural order is being restored," This was an attempt to brainwash wizarding children into hating the Muggle world, and join Voldemort and the Death Eaters. Neville Longbottom would defy such teachings by asking how much muggle-blood the professor and her brother got.

Post-war
After Voldemort's defeat and the end of the Second Wizarding War, Alecto Carrow was presumably imprisoned and Muggle Studies restored to accurate and unbiased teaching. It is not known who took over Muggle Studies after the war.

Known O.W.L.s

 * Arthur Weasley
 * Barty Crouch Jr
 * Bill Weasley
 * Percy Weasley

Known professors

 * Quirinus Quirrell (?-1990)
 * Male teacher (1990-1993)
 * Charity Burbage (1993-1997)
 * Alecto Carrow (1997-1998)

Appearances

 * Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
 * Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
 * Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1