SC - OOP Passover

[Seton1355@aol.com]

> Is the addition of the word 'European' to Corpora a new thing? IIRC, 
> 'western culture' was the wording before. The word 'European' may have 
> been added in  the last couple of years but I do not have a new version 
> of the Corpora to compare to.

No ...
This discussion has been had before. I was very involved with one here in 
the East 4 years ago, which debated these very issues. I was given to 
understand at that time, that the topic was a frequent recurrence.

The Corpora is usually used to refer to the governing documents of the SCA, 
but these actually consist of the Bylaws, the Corpora, and the Governing and Policy 
Decisions. 
In corpora the relevant statements are :
"A. SOCIETY EVENTS DEFINED. The term "Society event" refers to 
tournaments, feasts, and other activities whereby participants can display 
the results of their researches into period culture and technology in an 
environment which evokes the atmosphere of the Middle Ages and 
Renaissance." 
 - -This passage specifically refers to the "Middle Ages and 
Rennaissance" which were inarguably European phenomena. 

"D. REQUIREMENTS FOR PARTICIPANTS. Anyone may attend 
Society events provided he or she wears an attempt at pre-17th 
century dress, conforms to the provisions of the By-Laws and Corpora, 
complies with any other requirements (such as site fees or waivers) which 
may be imposed by the Society, and behaves as a lady or gentleman."
 - - This passage is the only one which specifies a time frame, but does not
give Europe as a locus. It is most interpreted as allowing nonwestern 
personae at events. Note that events (and therefore Feasts, by extension) 
are described in "A", above, as recreating a European cultural epoch. 
This means nonwestern persons are to be considered "visitors" to 
Europe, according to some. The Events are to be considered events of 
Medieval and Rennaissance Europe at which the western persona are
visiting in their travels.


The BYLAWS and the Articles of Incorporation under which the SCA was 
incorporated have the most direct statement on this issue:

Bylaws:
"III. OBJECTIVES AND PURPOSES 
The Society shall be dedicated primarily to the promotion of research 
and re-creation in the field of pre-17th-century Western culture, as stated 
in greater detail in Article II of the Society's Articles of Incorporation.
"

AOI:
"II
This corporation is a nonprofit public benefit corporation and is not organized 
for the private gain of any person. It is organized under the Nonprofit Public 
Benefit Corporation Law for charitable purposes. The purposes for which 
this corporation is formed include: 
a) Research and education in the field of pre-17th-Century Western Culture. 
b) Generally, to engage in research, publish material of relevance and interest 
to the field of pre-17th-Century Western Culture; to present activities and 
events which re-create the environment of said era, such as, but not limited 
to, tournaments, jousts, fairs, dances, classes, et cetera; to acquire authentic 
or reproduced replicas of chattels representative of said era; and to collect a 
library."

These statements clearly state that the SCA's primary purpose is to recreate
aspects of Western Culture, not MesoAmerican, Japanese, Chinese, or 
whathaveyou,  Except where those cultures contact and influence "Western 
Culture" 

Now there is one document all of you may have read. It is in the SCA 
ORGANIZATIONAL HANDBOOK :
"Scope of the Society: Period and Culture"
Excerpts follow:
"The Society is based on the landed nobility of the European Middle Ages and 
Renaissance. Their dress and music, their literature and sports, and above all 
the chivalric ideals of their period, all serve to unify our events and activities. "

"The people we've chosen for models were fond of play-acting and pageantry; 
they would happily base tournaments and revels on ancient history and distant 
lands, so we can use themes from outside medieval and Renaissance Europe 
as long as we keep our main period as an anchor. "

"The Society's organized activities reflect the courtly life of the Middle Ages and 
Renaissance. If we hold a Roman games, the participants are assumed to be 
period Europeans playing at ancient Rome; you can try to act like a real ancient 
Roman, but you can't complain if the atmosphere is not what you regard as 
authentic. Likewise, you can be an Asian or African guest at a European court, 
but you cannot recreate your homeland outside your own household - like any 
long-term visitor in a foreign land, you are the one who will have to adapt to the 
customs you find around you."


These statements are the only official statements on the issue.
any other statements made, whomever the author may be, is only opinion.

These statements are also not new, having been in every version of these
documents for at least the last 15 years.

Brandu