[Sca-cooks] Required courses for RUM degrees

[kingstaste at mindspring.com]

Greetings to all,
	I must say I am a bit surprised at some of the reactions to my post.  I
don't really want to debate the virtues vs. the drawbacks of having a
Universtiy system within the SCA Kingdoms, but I will say that RUMeridies
has been in existance since a couple of years before I joined (I took my
first RUM class at my first event - 25 years ago this Memorial Day weekend -
from my future husband).  The School of Culinary Sciences was developed
about 14 years ago in response to requests for classes on food and feasting.
I have drug my feet for years not getting this inner-college degree system
going because I didn't want to have that much structure myself, but again I
am responding to requests from those students that are interested to have a
graduatable degree within the college for the various disciplines.  The key
here is that there is nothing mandatory about being enrolled in RUM, indeed
lots of folks could care less about keeping up with personal transcripts and
getting another piece of paper.  However, there are those that desire the
structure, and want a list of things to accomplish in order to attain a set
goal.  Everyone is motivated by different pursuits.
	As for how a modern food historian would or would not qualify for a
Meridian Royal Universtiy degree, I can't imagine why they would care or
want to.  Even so, there are provisions to transfer modern education and
experiences should someone wish to do so.  For those arguments against
having the degree system at all, I have no answer other than that it is
there for those who wish to pursue it, nobody has a crossbow held to their
heads.
	One other thing, the main instigation to create this school within RUM was
that we had tried to have a Kingdom Cook's Guild, but it never got off the
ground (our Herbal Guild is facing the same problem right now).  RUM already
had Kingdom dates, Provosts in many groups, and a structure in place to make
disseminating the information much easier, which is the basic goal here
anyway.  With the introduction of the internet, we have even more potential
to get information in an accessible place for those far and wide who can't
get to where the teachers are.  All in all, I think it is a noble enterprise
and have been proud to be a part of it these many years.
	Thank you to those who are offering specific suggestions for classes.  I
have an extensive list of class titles that have been offered or could be
offered.  I am really trying to ascertain the MOST important classes each
discipline should be exposed to, because if you require a class, it has to
be taught often enough for students to be able to accomplish the
requirement.  That's why I'm thinking no more than 5, although it may end up
being 3 with the rest all electives in whatever specialized area the student
is interested in.
	Christianna
	Scholar, (4)Lector, and Magister Degrees