Dr. Kathryn (Katy) McDaniel is McCoy Associate Professor of History at Marietta College, in Marietta, Ohio. She has her Bachelor of Arts degree from Davidson College, where she graduated Phi Beta Kappa and Magna Cum Laude with honors in History. She earned her Master of Arts in History and Ph.D. at Vanderbilt University. She taught at Converse College (in South Carolina) and Centre College (in Kentucky) before coming to Marietta College, where she has taught since 2001.

Dr. McDaniel’s research specialty is seventeenth and eighteenth-century British history, with a focus on the history of science and the creation of the British empire. Introduced to the Harry Potter books while in graduate school, she has maintained an interest in Harry Potter scholarship, especially the political and moral implications of the series. “The Elfin Mystique,� published in the anthology Past Watchful Dragons, represents her foray into the world of Harry Potter scholarship in combination with her teaching and scholarly interests in the history of feminism. She has three small children she looks forward to introducing to the series as they get older.