What is Hogwarts actually for? Beyond floating candles and talking portraits lies a school with deeply entrenched ideologies—one that prepares students less for life and more for assimilation into magical bureaucracy.

This episode of Critical Magic Theory critiques Hogwarts’ narrow curriculum, its implicit promotion of pure-blood supremacy, and its role in maintaining the magical world’s social hierarchies. From the house system’s siloed culture to the glaring lack of civic or ethical education, we explore how Hogwarts both shapes and limits magical identity. The episode ends with an invitation to imagine a better, more just magical education, because spells are not enough. We must teach students what to do with power.