[MR] Pipe Dream: U.S.C.A.

[Towey, Brian]

	> ...the level of research and 
	> craftsmanship currently being done in the SCA is far and away
deeper, 
	> broader, and more intense than it probably was 20, 30 (or even
10?) years 
	> ago.  Nowadays, people are translating and redacting obscure
Spanish 
	> cookbooks, rediscovering and relearning long-forgotten textile
crafts such as 
	> nalbinding ... and publishing and teaching these techniques them
to many 
	> others...

May I respectfully suggest that the proper reward for such activities might
not be a medallion, but rather a Ph.D.?  

I have often wondered how hard it would be to incorporate an academic
institution, the University of the SCA, and get it accredited.  With our
many laurels as faculty, with our many academic members as department heads,
and with Magnus as head librarian, it would instantly be a serious player in
the Medieval and Renaissance Studies field.  Already, the combined output of
the SCA exceeds that of any university department I know, both for quantity
and for quality.

And, if there were such a university, I suppose local War Colleges or
workshops could be accredited as well, with CE credits for each serious
class.

Organizationally, SCA, Inc. would not need to own or run it.  It could
simply be a sister corporation that has a 99% overlap in membership.  A side
benefit would be the dissemination of knowledge and the standardization of
achievement across the Knowne Worlde.

The Internet has made "virtual campuses" practical.  Why not confer a
Master's for a masterwork, and not try to invent a new hierarchy of Manatees
and such?

Always a dreamer,

-Charles Fleming