Seeking topics for SCA 201

[jducoeur]

As part of Carolingia's upcoming Novice Schola, I'm planning on teaching a new class called "SCA 201". We've had "SCA 101" for a while -- that's an introduction to the Society, aimed primarily at the true novice, giving useful information for getting up and running. This is a little different. The target audience here is people who have been around for a year or three and have their feet under them. It is intended to get into a bit more detail about life in the SCA, and how to survive and thrive within it.

To that end, I'm seeking ideas for topics. Any and all ideas will be considered, but I'm especially looking for ideas from the people who *have* been in for 1-5 years. What questions have you had in the back of your mind for a while? What would have been useful for you to know about, that you learned only through painful experience? This class has a very broad remit -- the primary constraint is that it about SCA culture, *not* about history. Don't be shy about tossing ideas into the pot, and don't be afraid of "me, too" in this case -- if a bunch of people think a topic would be useful, that will bump it up the priority list. (Just bear in mind that I only have an hour, so I can't cover everything.)

Comments

[metahacker.livejournal.com]

Awards? (what, why, who cares)
What do established SCAdians do at events, anyway? (Newbies meet new people and get dragged to activities by their friends, in my experience)
Kingdoms and Baronies and group structure? (flame topic: The BoD)
So...I want to help out. How do I do that?
So...I have stuff I want to do. How do I do that, especially if no one looks like they're doing it?
The SCA is taking over my life! (pros and cons)

I'll try to think of more.

[goldsquare.livejournal.com]

I suspect that most folks know about awards and stuff. But they don't know how to GET one.

Also, I think it would be fun to teach an "everything you know is wrong" class, comparing SCA Sociology and Culture to History. Not as a 201 class, but as a 212 elective. :-)

[jducoeur]

Good questions, all. (Although I'll probably try to steer mostly clear of the BoD hot-potato.) Thanks, and keep 'em coming if you think of more...

[new-man.livejournal.com]

I'll cover almost all of these in my class -- even the BoD, except they won't be appearing as the villains of the piece.

[kfitzwarin.livejournal.com]

I'm a little past that duration, but how about something about focus v. diversification of interests, and how you can't do *everything* at once?

[goldsquare.livejournal.com]

jducoeur is not qualified to teach that. :-)

[paquerette.livejournal.com]

This may not be as applicable in your area, but I'd want to see some stuff about households. I'm actually trying to come up with a class or two for AEthelmearc AEcademy in October and I pondered doing something about surviving in the SCA without joining a household (as I have for 5 years) or perhaps something more general about SCA politics, but I doubt I can pull it off without pissing off half of the kingdom. It's pretty widespread around here that you MUST join a household to "get anywhere" and a lot of newcomers get sucked into some pretty crappy households and fed a lot of bunk about the SCA.

I'm also thinking, a little something about the nature of fealty and chivalry (lowercase 'c'). Some stuff I've been pondering that was brought up at Pennsic. What is appropriate behaviour? Is it dishonourable for baronial officers and champions to go mercenary for the War, for example? What is the role of a landed baron/ess supposed to be? Maybe it would be interesting to talk about interkingdom anthropology about stuff like this. I have a vague idea about some things that are different in some places, but I'm always learning new things even after 5 years with a fair amount of travelling.

This is a neat idea. I'll be interested to see what you come up with. :)

[jducoeur]

This may not be as applicable in your area, but I'd want to see some stuff about households.

Actually, it's a very worthwhile idea to spend a few minutes on. Households aren't quite the hot-potato here that they are in some places, but they're a significant part of How Things Work, and the 201 class is probably a good place to talk about what they really mean.

I'm also thinking, a little something about the nature of fealty and chivalry (lowercase 'c').

Hmm. On the one hand, it's a very good topic. (Two very good topics, really.) OTOH, I think that both are probably too large to be in scope for this class. I mean, we traditionally have a "fealty thingy" once every year or three, which is an evening class/seminar/discussion just on the topic of fealty in the SCA. It's a pretty complex subject. That said, at least touching on the high points might be quite apt here. Thanks!

[chaiya.livejournal.com]

I want to know how to *start* a household, actually. Most of the ones around here are defunct, as far as I can tell.

[jtdiii.livejournal.com]

Some suggestions:

How to write a letter or reccomendation.
How polling orders really work. How to behave, getting on polling and discussion lists, etc.
Fealty relationships from the other side. How to take students, how to let them go,

[jducoeur]

Definitely yes on the first. Maybe on the second -- it's just a smidgeon high-level for this class, although shading into relevance. (People at the more senior end of the target audience are potentially at the point of getting a Manche or Crescent, although I'm mainly aiming a little younger than that.) Probably not on the third: by the time someone is taking on dependents, I hope they have more clue than that.

Heh. I think you're coming up with some very good ideas for the 301 class...

[lakshmi-amman.livejournal.com]

Ditto!

Awards:
- writing a recommendation
- the awards process and timeline from recommendation to receipt
- scrolls - how to get involved in making them
- regalia - ditto

- and something that naggles my brain on "how to receive an award" - thoughts on how it may (or may not) change your SCA experience. And what to expect during the reciept of various Eastern/Carolingian awards.

Fealty
- both taking/releasing a student/man at arms
- AND being one and getting out
- and negotiating a relationship when it isn't working.

[dreda.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'll second (or third?) the suggestion for a discussion of fealty. Perhaps the period ideal, the SCA reality, why they diverge, how that manifests, why it's important, etc.

Perhaps also something about networking? How do you find out who the "right people" are to meet for whatever it is that you're doing? Not how to climb the social ladder as such, but how to find your particular needle in the personnel haystack.

[jducoeur]

I'll second (or third?) the suggestion for a discussion of fealty.

As I mentioned in my comment above, the main problem here is that the subject is very large -- I can't do more than touch on it in this class, and it deserves more depth.

We used to have "Mara's Fealty Thingy" every year or two, a special evening session solely on the topic. Traditionally, Mara would explain the core concepts, and we would talk a bunch about the various ways it works in the SCA. It's been a while since we last had one. Maybe it would be worthwhile to revive that and do one this year?

Perhaps also something about networking?

Interesting -- not a trivial topic, but a useful one. I'll have to think about what I would say on the subject, but I might well tackle it. Thanks!

[tangerinpenguin.livejournal.com]

Interkingdom anthropology, especially how different groups (sometimes even in-kingdom) differ in custom and tradition. That's typically overkill for a 101, but starts becoming more applicable as folks get more established and start travelling (although it may be less urgent in Carolingia, surrounded by the East, than it was in Debatable Lands, where you have several other kingdoms in casual driving distance and the cultural mixed grill that is Pennsic every summer.)

[jducoeur]

Excellent point -- at least a brief overview of how things can be expected to vary. Probably best presented as "how to travel in the SCA", which involves not just interkingdom but interregional issues. (Even visiting the next Barony over often involves calling some assumptions into question.)

[cellio]

Persona: how important is it and what does it mean for me?

Finding things out: a combination of networking and finding the useful sources. E.g. I want to make garb for my period and it's not a t-tunic; now what? This is not about answering specific questions (you don't have time), but rather pointing at useful starting points and maybe raising some BS-detection awareness. (As part of that: peers are not gods. :-) )

Households and the great variety of ways they work.

For you: burroughs, baronies, neighbors, and kingdoms, oh my! (One of your barony's issues, as I understand it, is integrating the burrough folks into the larger SCA.)

[jducoeur]

Good ideas, all. (And I'm noticing some useful trends in the suggestions.)

The structural stuff is often covered in 101, at least at the general level, but I'll think about whether there is more to do at this level. And yes, the integration issues are real, and worth thinking about, although I'll have to think about what I can do here that is useful in that regard...

[lakshmi-amman.livejournal.com]

A couple (hopefully) originals:
- among the various ways to participate in the Society, may things tend to fall under the "three pillars" of the Society - arts, arms, service. Running through some of the ways to be involved within this structure might be useful.

For example, if I was focusing on the A&S community with someone who wanted to be more involved in that "track", or else who was clearly an artist or researcher who was looking for good ways to get involved, I'd probably point out that among the ways to play are:

- A&S displays/compeitions - what are the "big ones"? what's the difference? how do you enter? other points of protocol
- teaching classes - how do you volunteer? when? what makes a good class?
- writing articles - how? what types of articles are generally good?
- performance opportunities
- pure participation - wearing and using stuff you make in a medieval way
- starting or running long-term classes or guilds

I suspect that folks more focused on other areas would also have thoughts for their areas. In many of these things, there's a generally good "process" that is more likely to get you a good outcome if you adhere to it... for example - volunteering for a class at least a month in advance is "good form". Documenting the who/what/when/where/why/how is often a reasonable structure.

Another thought - Championships and Honorary Positions - they aren't "awards" per se, but some level of proficiency is involved. What are the Kingdom and Baronial Championships and how do you compete/sign up? How about the Guards (King's, Queen's, Baron's)?

On the same topics - being involved in a Royal Household. What does being "a retainer" mean? how do you do it? How about making stuff for the royalty? Or for the Barony or Kingdom? This is stuff I only started doing after I'd been around for a few years... and I only really clued in because I had friends who were in the know who filled me in on how to do it.

Households and Tourney Companies are other good ones... the whys and wherefors of joining, things to think about, as they can have their own personalities, and it could be argued that in households there's a few noticeable archetypes.


Hmm... It seems like my experience may be "not normal". I did fall in with the hardcore set pretty early on, and so I think my tenure in the SCA was pretty condensed, as I got really involved in 1999 and so it's really only been 6 years... But I'm trying to dredge up things I started caring about around years 2-4...

Looking at the clump of thoughts, I can see that you'd probably end up choosing some of these, not all. A class on "how to get involved in A&S in the East" could easily run an hour all by itself!!

[tpau]

and if he doesn't cover it, can you tell ME hwo to get involvedin retaining and makign stuff for royalty? :)

[siderea]

You may find my four modes paradigm a useful one, under the rubric of "How to survive this club with your sanity intact".

I think you may need to cover geopolitics; it's amazing but, yes, quite a number of people manage to make it to their 1-3th years without knowing their borough is in a barony which is in a kingdom.

While you don't want to cover history, I think, doing this class as you are in Carolingia, you should cover a bit about how Carolingia's history as "the scholarly barony" impacts inter-baronial relations to this day.

Likewise, some discussion about authenticity, the various ways to approach it, and how to make peace with it and with others at other levels. Seeing as you'll have a class of "sophomores" it would be lovely to seize the opportunity to pass on the "do whatever works for you, just don't lie about it" meme which was so powerful over on sca-dance. Explain the notion that being able to say, "No, this thing I am doing is not authentic, and this is how it fails to be authentic" will get you infinitely more street cred in the Society than "fudging" -- "oh, well, they had something like this I'm sure." Integrity is not just for the battlefield. "You may be the only book someone ever reads" is advice not just for laurels.

There are some things about the philosophy of the baronial orders which would be lovely and beneficial to share. The standards of "impact" and of "service to the art", are illuminating to explain, not just of the way the orders work, but of our Barony's values: this is what we choose to recognize, and why.

It may be useful to explain what an order meeting is and is like. I got such a discussion from Gwendolyn many years ago, and found it quite enlightening. I know a lot of youngsters get weird star-chamberish ideas about this closed system they are not privy to. There's no reason not to explicate how orders work and what happens at an order meeting, or even how candidates are discussed. Just the fact that discussions are generally positive is something not immediately obvious to non-members. Also, how slow the process can be, due to logistics.

[tpau]

this class in in a culture track, between sca 101 and Kali's history of the barony...

[gyzki.livejournal.com]

Topics already suggested, which I second (or third; you know, especially agree with):
households, inter- and intra-kingdom anthropology, persona v. activities

Reminder: I'm teaching a class on the history of the barony, so that's one topic that you don't need to go into in depth (but I'll plug yours if you plug mine). (Lord, that sounds dirty, of a sudden.)

Thought: Maybe the Class Wrangler could wrangle a whole separate class on the fealty issue? If not, and if your class doesn't end up covering it in depth either, I'll see to it that there's an evening's discussion at MIT this fall. Through the Philosophers if nothing else.

[jducoeur]

Okay, cool -- I'll definitely mention your class.

It sounds like the class schedule is pretty full already, and while I'll probably gloss the fealty thing, I'm certainly not going to be able to give it the depth it deserves. Frankly, I think having an evening on it sometime this fall sounds lovely...

[cvirtue.livejournal.com]

I'd tell them it's important to read whatever they're calling Corpora these days. Not memorize, not agree with, but read it, so they know it's there.

And I'd touch on some of the different flavors of SCA electronic communication -- blogs, email lists, rialto; non-SCA-specific historic email lists. And that Google Is Your Friend.

[jducoeur]

Both very good ideas, and quite apt for this level. Thanks!

[dreda.livejournal.com]

I spent some time last night chewing on the question of bringing up authenticity in this class, and I'm no further than I was, but I thought it worth mentioning anyway. I worry about giving people the impression that authenticity is somehow extra, optional, or really advanced. It's just as easy to make your first tunic out of $4 linen from Sewfisticate as out of $4 cotton-poly, and it will last longer and feel better.

I worry that it is a guaranteed way to turn people off if we say "do whatever you want for a couple of years, and when you're ready for authenticity, you'll have to chuck all that and start over, with people watching you to see if you backslide." And I feel like that's what we're saying when we say that authenticity is advanced specialty work. It is genuinely no harder to stick to pre-1600 anything if that's what you start out doing. People pine for what's on the other side of the chronological fence if they feel like they used to be able to play there, but now they have to be dressed up and on their best behavior all the time - it's like kids in scratchy formalwear.

If, for example, people start out learning Child ballads, get comfortable and happy with them, and are then told that they're only appropriate to post-revels, then of course they're going to be miffed about authenticity in music.

Dunno - it's much on my mind of late as I talk to new folks. Most people want to play medieval, and want to learn what that is. I think we do them a disservice by saying it's a sideline.

(ObDisclaimer: when I started almost fifteen years ago, I was surrounded by people who told me authenticity was stuffy and no fun and to be avoided and something that nobody bothered with. I am still shedding stuff that I learned and made then, and I wish I'd spent that energy doing it more attentively the first time around. This colours my thoughts on this subject.)

[jducoeur]

My official policy, which I often (with some accuracy) describe as the ambient Carolingian attitude, is: "You should be as authentic as you can conveniently be. It is up to you to decide what is convenient."

It's not a perfect formulation, but I find it a good middle ground for SCA purposes. It expresses that authenticity is a goal, rather than an absolute standard, and reflects the Society's lack of clear standards. It basically turns the matter into one of personal responsibility and honor, which resonates well with SCA attitudes. And it deflects the core of the fun/authenticity debate by doing so. By refusing to recognize that particular dichotomy, it takes the wind out of the argument's sails.

I actually tend to teach this attitude somewhat earlier than at the 201 level, but I might bring it up at least briefly during this class. We'll see...

[hfcougar.livejournal.com]

Quick question on the Fealty Thingy, because I'm impatient.

Protocol. Is it poor form for a person looking to become an apprentice/protege/etc. to approach a peer on this, rather than waiting to be approached?

Perhaps the question I should really ask is "Where can I look this stuff up?"

[jducoeur]

No -- it's less common for the relationship to be initiated by the protential student, but that's just because they tend to be shyer about it, and are less sure what they're getting into. But it certainly happens, and there's nothing wrong with it. (I've only been approached once myself, and I felt it was a bad fit for me on personality grounds, but I thought that the overture was entirely reasonable and appropriate.)

As for where to look it up -- I really don't know a good source on the subject. Indeed, the most central and common statement is, "It depends". Since the relationship is fundamentally personal and unregulated, everything is allowed, and not much is really discouraged. If it appears to be in reasonably decent taste, some people probably do it...