Games Night Tomorrow

Greetings everyone,

We hope that you've recovered from your excellent, "Medieval," themed weekend! The pub crawl was a ton of fun and the conference was very informative.

We will be hosting a Games Night, tomorrow, February 12th at 5:30 in Clearihue C108.

Bring along you favourite "Medieval" themed games like Munchkin, and Carcassonne etc., or feel free to bring any fun group game like Apples to Apples.
Snacks and beverages will be provided!

Additionally, the Conference's keynote speaker, Dr. Rosser-Owen, will be holding a lecture tomorrow at 4:30 in DSB C128 entitled, "An Historical Museum of Ornament: Architectural Plaster Casts from Granada and Cairo in the South Kensington Museum."

 

 

Pub Crawl Tonight!

Greetings everyone,

Thank you for buying your pub crawl tickets!

We will see you tonight at 8!

Also, if you haven't registered for tomorrow's 26th Annual Medieval Studies Conference, "Stories of Gold," there is still time. Registration is only $11 for current Uvic students! 

Here is more info:

http://www.uvcs.uvic.ca/Course/Medieval/ASMS006

The journey begins tonight!

MSCU Movie Night: Brave

Come join the MSCU as we watched the animated film, "Brave," tomorrow (January 29th)!

Clearihue A207 at 5:30 pm.

Pizza and Pop will be provided!

More details can be found here:

https://www.facebook.com/events/375585925870596/

Additionally, we will be doing a Pub Crawl with THUGS on February 8th.

Tickets are only $10, which includes cover, a T-shirt, and a drink! 

We will be selling tickets tomorrow!

End of the Semester Get Together

Greetings everyone,

As celebration of the end of semester, the MSCU will be meeting up at the Grad Lounge this Friday, November 30th, at 4:00 pm for drinks and appetizers.

Join us to take a break from essay writing and studying!

See you all Friday!

 

"Game of Thrones" Episodes 3 and 4

Greetings everyone,

The MSCU will be screening episodes 3 and 4 of Game of Thrones tomorrow, October 9th.

5:00. Clearihue A311.

Snacks and beverages will be provided!

RSVP here:

https://www.facebook.com/events/453521771366251/

Movie Night: "Game of Thrones" Episodes 1 and 2

Please join the MSCU as we watch the first two episodes of the HBO series Game of Thrones.

Tuesday, October 2. 5:00. CLE A311.

Pizza and beverages will be provided.

RSVP here:
https://www.facebook.com/events/415484668500562/

Winter is coming....

AGM

Hello everyone!

Just letting you know that our Annual General Meeting will be this Wednesday, September 19th at 4:30 pm in Clearihue C109.

We will be electing executive positions as well as brainstorming events for the upcoming year.

Also, if you haven't done so already, please join our Facebook group here:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/2248948850/

We hope to see you all there!

Late New Year's Resolutions

Any of the people who still visit this blog will have noticed a distinct lack of updates in the past few months. Today, however, is the dawn of a new day.

Dear reader(s), you are about to witness the revival of this blog. For too long we have existed under a dark cloud of infrequent updates. For too long savage doldrums have gripped this blog with crippling apathy.

Today, dear reader(s), the clouds of this dark age part and signal the dawning of a new age of enlightenment. You are now witness to a blogging renaissance!

Pumpkin Carving Event

It's the Great Pumpkin Charlemagne!

The Medieval Studies Corpse Union is holding a very spooky events this October.

Since many of us live away from home we miss many of the holiday rituals. To celebrate the scariest time of year, the MSCU will be holding a third annual Pumpkin Carving Day!

Come along and bring your fiends ... er friends (living or dead) and carve a pumpkin for your favourite professor. We'll provide everything you need to make a fearsome jack-o-lantern - pumpkins, cutting tools, clean-up supplies, candy, bags to dispose of the remains.

We're holding this event on Thursday, October 23th starting at 4:00 pm in the courtyard of Clearihue. Dress warmly - you wouldn't want to catch your death of cold. If the weather does not cooperate, we'll move to Clearihue D130.

To make this event even more exciting, we're teaming up with the Greek and Roman Studies Course Union. This group of boys and gouls also enjoy carving the cold flesh of pumpkins.

You know what they say: the more, the scarier...

MSCU Event Update

Here are some things to keep in mind for this October!

1. The reading room (Clearihue D265) is open Mondays until 6pm. Come visit your friendly MSCU execs!

2. Movie Night! Come join us Friday October 17, 2008 in Cle A 206. We'll be watching "Robin Hood: Men in Tights" starting at 7:30, but feel free to come late! There will be munchies!

3. Pumpkin Carving. TBA, but as it sits right now, we'll be having this annual event on Thursday October 23 @ 4pm. Come make a pumpkin for your favorite prof!

4. Novermber Event! Just to jump a head a little here. Tentatively, on Monday Nov. 10 we'll be doing our annual "Commune with Nature." We go up to Goldstream park and watch the salmon "hump" and then try to climb the moutain! 'Tis good fun! Picnic lunch at the top!!

If you want to be completely up to date, please join our Facebook group "UVic Medieval Studies Course Union."

Hope to see you all out at these fun events!!

MSCU Movie Night

On Friday September 12th starting at 7:00 pm in Clearihue A206 we will be hosting our first movie night of the year.

We will be showing the classic 1987 film The Princess Bride. Come and eat, drink and be merry with us! Food and refreshment will be provided free of change.

As an added bonus, students who are in their first, second or third year who come to our first two movie nights of the year will be entered in a draw to win a prize! What is this mysterious prize?

Well it's a... wait, let's not spoil the surprise.

Welcome to the Medieval Studies Course Union

Here are a few frequently asked questions about the MSCU:

1. What is it? The Medieval Studies Course Union serves to connect students with an interest in the middle ages. UVic can be a big and often intimidating place, finding peers with similar interests can be difficult. Students involved in the MSCU have a wide variety of interests. We hold both academic meetings (i.e. Latin study groups, discussion nights, undergraduate conferences, etc.) and social activities (i.e. skating nights, parties, movie nights, etc.).

2. Why should I be involved? Simply put - the more you put into your experience at UVic, the more you get out of it. Students in the MSCU have made lasting friendships and have shared experiences which have enriched their time here immeasurably. As an added bonus, involvement in academic course unions can be used when applying for graduate studies. MSCU members have received scholarships based, in part, on their involvement with the course union.

3. Can I be involved? Any student with an interest in the Middle Ages can be involved with the MSCU. There is no need for you to be a Medieval Studies Major, Minor or even to be registered in a Medieval Studies course.

We're still alive!

Both the MSCU and this very blog have fallen dormant this summer. Now that September is nearly upon us, the mighty MSCU rises from it's slumber and begins to shake the dust from itself.

This is a quick announcement to let you know that the MSCU is back this September, and dare I say it, better than ever.

We have a slew of activities which we will begin unveiling in the first weeks of the coming month. Great things are also in store for this blog. I don't want to go into too great of detail yet, but let me say that changes are in the works.

In addition to the alluded changes, look for more original content, more news and more new features.

MSCU Summer Elections

The Medieval Studies Course Union will be active for the summer semester. We look forward to holding a number of activities over the summer.

But before we can start planning, we have to elect a new executive.

On Thursday May 22nd we'll be holding our first meeting of the summer. At this meeting we'll elect our new executive members and briefly outline our plans for the summer. At the moment we cannot book rooms, so we'll be meeting in front of Clearihue C 115 at 4:30 pm. If this room is not available we will move to another room and leave a message with directions on the door. The meeting will last one hour.

Ryan Hunt will be returning in his role as President of the MSCU. Stephanie Jury will also be returning to continue her role as Treasurer.

The following positions are up for election:

1. Vice-President - The Vice-President shares many of the same responsibilities as the President. These include, interacting with the Medieval Studies Program, attending relevant UVSS meetings, co-organizing events, and speaking to Medieval Studies Classes.

2. Event Chair - The Event Chair will be responsible for organizing larger scale MSCU events. In the past such events have included research collectives and undergraduate conferences.

3. Activity Chair - The Activity Chair is similar in purpose to the Event Chair. The main difference between the two roles is that the Activity Chair plans smaller scale MSCU events. Such events could include study groups, bake sales, movie nights, etc..

If you cannot attend the meeting and would like to be considered for one of these positions, please send a reply or contact Ryan personally. Send a write-up of why you'd like to be considered for the positions and your write-up will be read at the meeting.

Lecture Announcement

Rolf Bremmer: '"Here is Written" - Literacy in Medieval Frisia'.

This lecture examines the emergence and impact of literacy in a medieval society. This case study will focus on medieval Frisia, a region stretching along the northern part of current Holland and Germany.

When literacy took root there over the course of the thirteenth century, it changed social interactions and helped shape a Frisian identity.

Rolf Bremmer is professor of Medieval Frisian Culture and Literature at the University of Leiden, the Netherlands, and will also be speaking at the annual meeting of the Medieval Academy (Vancouver, 3-5 April).

Time and location: Tuesday 1 April 2008, 4:15 PM, David Strong room C 128

Mediaeval Studies Student Conference: “Approaching the Middle Ages”

Proudly sponsored by the Mediaeval Studies Programme, Department of History, and the Mediaeval Studies Course Union.

Programme of Events:

9:30 - 10:00: Bryan Solly (UVic): “King Arthur’s Shame: An Analysis of King Arthur’s Behaviour in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight”

10:00 - 10:30: Sheryl McDonald (UVic): “The Conversion of Myth and Truth in Dante’s Divine Comedy”

10:30 - 10:45: Break

10:45 - 11:15: Matt McHaffie (UVic): “The Crusade as the Imitatio Christi: towards a spirituality of warfare”

11:15 - 11:45: Erin Travers (UVic): “Continuity and the Plague: Beliefs and Practices Associated with Death in the Middle Ages”

11:45 - 1:00: Lunch Break (and perhaps video presentation)

1:00 - 1:30: Meg Leja (UBC): “The Man in the Mirror: Dhouda’s Reflections on the Male Body”

1:30 - 2:00: Sierra Gemma (UBC): “Recipes for Health: Magical, Religious, and Herbal Remedies for Female Ailments in Medieval England”

2:00 - 2:20: Coffee Break

2:20 - 2:50: Ryan Hunt (UVic): “I arrived here unintentionally: a student's view of the
Medieval Studies Program”

2:50 - 4:00(ish): Discussion: “Approaching the Middle Ages”

Medieval Studies Student Conference

As promised, here is the long anticipated information regarding the Medieval Studies Student Conference, on Saturday 8 March.

We will hold the event on campus, in Clearihue A206. For those of you who drive and are unaware of parking regulations over the weekend, there is a $2 fee to park all-day on Saturday. Beware of both ticket dispensers and Campus Security.

The event will run from 9:30 in the morning until approximately 4:00, with a few breaks sprinkled throughout the presentations. There will be a lunch break, with lunch provided, and there will also be snacks and light refreshments throughout the day. There will also be a
programme at the event with the schedule of presentations throughout the day. If you would like to attend this even, please register on a sign-up sheet outside of the Medieval Studies Office by Thursday.

Thank you for your interest in this conference, and hopefully the day will prove informative and entertaining.Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have further questions.

Cheers,
Matt McHaffie

UBC Imus

UBC Itinerary Bible
Tuesday Feburary 19th 2008

Three cars and eleven people – one destiny

7:30 am – Meet at Uvic (in front of steps of bookstore)
7:45 – Leave UVic
8:30 – Arrive at ferry terminal ($11.80 per person, $36.85 per car)
9:00 – Board Ferry

Ride on Ferry (use time to your own peril)

10:45 – Arrive in Vancouver

Drive to UBC (enjoy the scenery)

11:45 – Arrive to UBC

Find Special Collections (in library) and possibly eat lunch

1:00 pm – Dr Kwakkel’s presentation starts

Watch Dr Kwakkel and/or MSS

3:00 – Presentation finishes

Say tearful goodbye/thank-you to Dr Kwakkel

3:15 – Leave for mystery secondary activity at UBC
4:30 – Leave for the Ferries
6:30 – Arrive at Ferries
7:00 – Board Ferry
8:45- Arrive in Victoria

Escort people home/possibly have dinner (optional)

10:00/11:00 pm – Arrive to your individual homes, tired but content

Stars in our eyes and ice under our feet

Proving that the Medieval Studies Course Union is more fun than a barrel of monkeys, we have two exciting events planed for the near future.

1. Medievalists on Ice - Tonight (Jan. 26) we are going skating at Oak Bay Rec. Centre between 7:15 - 8:45 pm. If you would like a ride, we are gathering near the computer lab in Clearihue at 6:50 pm. We have plenty of seats so don't worry if you want to tag along.

2. Faux-Medievalists on Film - We are having a movie night on Febuary 5th 2008 between 6:30 - 9:30 pm in Clearihue A201. We have yet to choose a movie, so we are putting the choice to vote. Your choices are: A Knight's Tale, Camelot, Beowulf (1999 version), The Lion in Winter, The Ruling Class. As always pizza will be provided. Pizza and a movie? What a deal!

And don't forget our weekly Latin Study and Student Research Collective. LaSt runs every Monday between 3:30 - 5:00 in Clearihue C115. SReCo runs every Wednesday night between 7:00 - 8:30 in Clearihue A201. The discussion topic for this week is Just War Theory in the Middle Ages.

Lastly, but not leastly, if you are interested in presenting a paper at the student-run Medieval Studies conference, please submit your proposals (max. 200 words) to Sheryl. If you are interested in attending the conference, it will be on March 8th. More information will be announced shortly.

Two MSCU Events

Two quick announcements for everyone:

1. Our first Latin Study group was a resounding success. If you are interested in attending this group, we will be meeting weekly on Mondays between 3:30 - 4:50 pm in Clearihue C115. If you own a copy of Wheelock's Latin we encourage you to bring it with you. This group is open to anyone regardless of one's Latin experience.

2. We will be having an informal skating night on Saturday the 26th of January between 7:15 - 8:45 pm at Oak Bay Rec. Centre. This event is open to any students or staff who are interested in hitting the ice with the Medieval Studies Course Union. Rides can be arranged, simply email us with your intentions. If you are interested in coming please try to let us know before hand. The cost for skate rental and ice is around $7.

All the best,
Medieval Studies Course Union

P.S. Don't forget that we're having our weekly discussion group in Clearihue A201 between 7:00 - 8:20 pm on Wednesday night.