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Re: What's the oldest modern example of the "wizard school" subgenre?

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Butch Malahide <fred.galvin@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Wednesday, September 14, 2016 at 9:36:26 PM UTC-5, Garrett Wollman wrote:
>> The last two Commonweal books are basically one extended "wizard
>> school" story, in two volumes.  And since I've been reading them
>> recently, I've gotten to wondering: where and how did this subgenre
>> get its start?  It didn't start with Rowling, of course, but the
>> earliest examples I can recall reading personally still date from the
>> late 1980s, and that seems much too late.  I'm less familiar with the
>> literature from before then (I was reading early Asimov and late
>> Heinlein in those days) -- how far back does it go?
>>
>> In the subject header I said "modern" so let's take 1875 as the early
>> time limit for what might be "modern" in a fantasy context.  And let's
>> also specifically exclude the "wizard apprentice" version where the
>> teaching is one-on-one as opposed to a class setting with multiple
>> students learning the same things at the same time.
>>
>> I gather that this is a known trope in the manga/anime world, so let's
>> also keep this to specifically written works, without pictures,
>> published in English (translations ok).
>
> Robert Sheckley's 1954 short story "The Accountant" is about a boy who is doing poorly in wizard school. You can r
ead it here:
>
> http://www.preservearticles.com/201012291903/story-on-a-boy-who-wants-to-become-an-accountant.html

From the story:

        Witchcraft had been steadily declining over the centuries.
    The old families died out, or were snatched by demonic forces,
    or became scientists.

From "Atheism is Witchcraft" thread:

        Science is witchcraft with their strange symbols and rules.

I just invented a new word: Plagiarism. :0)

Thank you,

--
Don Kuenz KB7RPU

    When you steal from one author, it's plagiarism; if you steal from
many, it's research. - Mizner

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What's the oldest modern example of the "wizard school" subgenre? wollman@bimajority.org (Garrett Wollman) - 2016-09-15 02:36 +0000
  Re: What's the oldest modern example of the "wizard school" subgenre? Cryptoengineer <treifamily@gmail.com> - 2016-09-14 21:59 -0500
    Re: What's the oldest modern example of the "wizard school" subgenre? Gene Wirchenko <genew@telus.net> - 2016-09-17 18:06 -0700
  Re: What's the oldest modern example of the "wizard school" subgenre? David Johnston <Davidjohnston29@yahoo.com> - 2016-09-14 21:07 -0600
  Re: What's the oldest modern example of the "wizard school" subgenre? Butch Malahide <fred.galvin@gmail.com> - 2016-09-14 20:34 -0700
    Re: What's the oldest modern example of the "wizard school" subgenre? Don Kuenz <g@crcomp.net> - 2016-09-15 04:04 +0000
  Re: What's the oldest modern example of the "wizard school" subgenre? djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J Heydt) - 2016-09-15 04:21 +0000
    Re: What's the oldest modern example of the "wizard school" subgenre? TB <tsbrueni@dcn.davis.ca.us> - 2016-09-14 21:37 -0700
  Re: What's the oldest modern example of the "wizard school" subgenre? Greg Goss <gossg@gossg.org> - 2016-09-15 03:34 -0600
    Re: What's the oldest modern example of the "wizard school" subgenre? Peter Trei <petertrei@gmail.com> - 2016-09-15 06:21 -0700
      Re: What's the oldest modern example of the "wizard school" subgenre? Quadibloc <jsavard@ecn.ab.ca> - 2016-09-15 08:34 -0700
    Re: What's the oldest modern example of the "wizard school" subgenre? Kevrob <kevrob@my-deja.com> - 2016-09-15 08:39 -0700
      Re: What's the oldest modern example of the "wizard school" subgenre? Robert Carnegie <rja.carnegie@excite.com> - 2016-09-15 14:18 -0700
        Re: What's the oldest modern example of the "wizard school" subgenre? Kevrob <kevrob@my-deja.com> - 2016-09-15 15:18 -0700
          Re: What's the oldest modern example of the "wizard school" subgenre? goldfarb@ocf.berkeley.edu (David Goldfarb) - 2016-09-16 21:03 +0000
            Re: What's the oldest modern example of the "wizard school" subgenre? Kevrob <kevrob@my-deja.com> - 2016-09-16 15:21 -0700
              Re: What's the oldest modern example of the "wizard school" subgenre? goldfarb@ocf.berkeley.edu (David Goldfarb) - 2016-09-17 06:35 +0000
                Re: What's the oldest modern example of the "wizard school" subgenre? Robert Carnegie <rja.carnegie@excite.com> - 2016-09-17 08:34 -0700
  Re: What's the oldest modern example of the "wizard school" subgenre? Joe Bernstein <joe@sfbooks.com> - 2016-09-15 11:06 -0700
  Re: What's the oldest modern example of the "wizard school" subgenre? "nuny@bid.nes" <Alien8752@gmail.com> - 2016-09-15 16:46 -0700
  Re: What's the oldest modern example of the "wizard school" subgenre? Dan Tilque <dtilque@frontier.com> - 2016-09-16 01:39 -0700
    Re: What's the oldest modern example of the "wizard school" subgenre? Don Kuenz <g@crcomp.net> - 2016-09-16 14:16 +0000
    Re: What's the oldest modern example of the "wizard school" subgenre? David Johnston <Davidjohnston29@yahoo.com> - 2016-09-16 09:17 -0600
      Re: What's the oldest modern example of the "wizard school" subgenre? "Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)" <seawasp@sgeinc.invalid.com> - 2016-09-16 11:56 -0400
    Re: What's the oldest modern example of the "wizard school" subgenre? "Michael F. Stemper" <michael.stemper@gmail.com> - 2016-09-16 17:40 -0500
      Re: What's the oldest modern example of the "wizard school" subgenre? Robert Bannister <robban@clubtelco.com> - 2016-09-17 08:46 +0800
        Re: What's the oldest modern example of the "wizard school" subgenre? djheydt@kithrup.com (Dorothy J Heydt) - 2016-09-17 02:07 +0000
      Re: What's the oldest modern example of the "wizard school" subgenre? Richard Todd <rmtodd@servalan.servalan.com> - 2016-09-17 13:26 -0500
        Re: What's the oldest modern example of the "wizard school" subgenre? "Michael F. Stemper" <michael.stemper@gmail.com> - 2016-09-17 14:57 -0500
  Re: What's the oldest modern example of the "wizard school" subgenre? lenona321@yahoo.com - 2016-09-16 11:31 -0700
    Re: What's the oldest modern example of the "wizard school" subgenre? "Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)" <seawasp@sgeinc.invalid.com> - 2016-09-16 15:51 -0400
    Re: What's the oldest modern example of the "wizard school" subgenre? Joe Bernstein <joe@sfbooks.com> - 2016-09-16 17:51 -0700
      Re: What's the oldest modern example of the "wizard school" subgenre? "Brian M. Scott" <b.scott@csuohio.edu> - 2016-09-17 00:12 -0400
    Re: What's the oldest modern example of the "wizard school" subgenre? Robert Carnegie <rja.carnegie@excite.com> - 2016-09-17 08:49 -0700

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