DOCSLIB.ORG

Towards a Cognitive Theory of (Canadian) Syncretic Fantasy By

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Towards a Cognitive Theory of (Canadian) Syncretic Fantasy By University of Alberta The Word for World is Story: Towards a Cognitive Theory of (Canadian) Syncretic Fantasy by Gregory Bechtel A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in English English and Film Studies ©Gregory Bechtel Fall 2011 Edmonton, Alberta Permission is hereby granted to the University of Alberta Libraries to reproduce single copies of this thesis and to lend or sell such copies for private, scholarly or scientific research purposes only. Where the thesis is converted to, or otherwise made available in digital form, the University of Alberta will advise potential users of the thesis of these terms. The author reserves all other publication and other rights in association with the copyright in the thesis and, except as herein before provided, neither the thesis nor any substantial portion thereof may be printed or otherwise reproduced in any material form whatsoever without the author's prior written permission. Abstract Unlike secondary world fantasy, such as that of J.R.R. Tolkien, what I call syncretic fantasy is typically set in a world that overlaps significantly with the contemporary "real" or cognitive majoritarian world in which we (i.e. most North Americans) profess to live our lives. In terms of popular publication, this subgenre has been recognized by fantasy publishers, readers, and critics since (at least) the mid 1980s, with Charles De Lint's bestselling Moonheart (1984) and subsequent "urban fantasies" standing as paradigmatic examples of the type. Where secondary world fantasy constructs its alternative worlds in relative isolation from conventional understandings of "reality," syncretic fantasy posits alternative realities that coexist, interpenetrate, and interact with the everyday real. In the texts examined in this dissertation, for example, Celtic bards and Native spirits appear in contemporary Ottawa (De Lint, Moonheart), vodoun practitioners and their patron spirits are depicted in a near-future Toronto (Hopkinson, Brown Girl), and non-human characters from Native traditions (such as Coyote and B'gwus) play active roles in shaping the lives of contemporary characters in Alberta (King, Green Grass) and British Columbia (Robinson, Monkey Beach). In its explicit reconciliation of multiple (often cross-cultural) worldviews within a single narrative, syncretic fantasy explores the possibility that differing worldviews and the collision points between them may be negotiated not (only) as points of conflict but as opportunities for renovating and reconstructing these worldviews in new configurations. This process, in turn, echoes contemporary models of syncretism as a cognitive process. These models describe all cultural worldviews as deeply syncretic, arguing that individuals always integrate (or syncretize) a variety of (sub)cultural worldviews into their own idiosyncratic understandings of both Self and "reality." By consistently representing the syncretic integration of multiple worldviews as an explicit element of its narrative structures, syncretic fantasy also models the potential for syncretically reintegrating heterogeneous, cognitive minoritarian identities, stories, and histories into the contemporary cognitive majoritarian world. These narratives— by virtue of their presentation as fantasy—do not present definitive solutions to the difficulties of cross-cultural interaction but rather envision the possibility of such resolutions within explicitly imaginary, story-centric frameworks. Accordingly, this study undertakes several concurrent tasks: to seek out compatible critical frameworks for explaining the prototypical discursive strategies of fantasy and syncretic fantasy, to use these frameworks to construct a (tentative) cognitive model of syncretic fantasy, and to explore and extend this model in relation to particular literary texts. In the first case, I work outwards from existing fantasy criticism to demonstrate the underlying compatibilities between these critical frameworks and various contemporary models of cognition, story, and syncretism. In the second, I investigate how syncretic fantasy paradigmatically depicts—and thereby both models and implicitly postulates as possible—the (often cross-cultural) syncretic reconstruction of individual identities, stories, and histories in contemporary contexts. And in the last, I explore syncretic fantasy's utility as a critical heuristic for explaining these same narrative processes in texts both "inside" and "outside" the genre of fantasy proper, processes that have thus far proven difficult to explain through existing non-fantasy-based critical frameworks. The central task of this dissertation, then, is not to develop a static definition of syncretic fantasy, but rather to explore the interpretive and cognitive possibilities uncovered by both elucidating the paradigmatic structures of syncretic fantasy and reading particular texts through the critical heuristic(s) implied by these paradigms. Acknowledgements I have received such an abundance of support and assistance from various colleagues, friends, and communities that to acknowledge everyone who has contributed to this project could easily require another chapter in itself. Nonetheless, recognizing that such a list will inevitably be incomplete, I would like to recognize and thank the following: Thanks to my supervisor, Thomas Wharton, for being there for the long haul, for patiently reading through and giving extensive feedback on those long, long initial chapter drafts, and for encouraging me to focus more on developing my own ideas and less on summarizing those of others. Thanks especially for helping me work through the final stages of the revision and defence process, even while on sabbatical. Such intellectual and personal generosity is truly remarkable. Thanks to my readers, Paul Hjartarson and Julie Rak, for asking some of the hard questions that challenged me to clarify and focus my project in ways I might not otherwise have considered. This feedback ultimately strengthened the project by pushing it in new and productive directions, and I deeply appreciate that. Thanks to the other members of my examining committee, Harvey Quamen, Irene Sywenky, and Brian Attebery: to Harvey for keeping us skype-connected and on track; to Irene for putting the (productive) question of Canadian-ness back on the table; and to Brian, not only for his generosity in agreeing to act as my external examiner but for producing much of the fine fantasy scholarship that has provided an intellectual springboard for my own modest contribution to the field. Thanks to the larger communities of SF and fantasy scholarship, without whose preceding work and example it would have been difficult for me to even imagine this project, much less complete it. Thanks in particular to the International Association for (and Conference on) the Fantastic in the Arts, which has provided a wonderfully supportive community for discussing this sort of work, and through which I have formed many strong friendships, both professional and personal. In this vein, thanks as well to the Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts, and to other similar journals, for facilitating the conversations (and debates) that are necessary for nurturing, building, and sustaining a vigorous SF scholarship. I feel very much indebted both to these communities and to the scholarship that they have collectively produced. And thanks, of course, to the many friends, family members, and colleagues who have been there for me at various points throughout this process. There are far too many of you to list here, but you know who you are. Your help in keeping me (relatively) sane through the full duration of this six-year project would be hard to overestimate. I feel humbled to have been the recipient of so much goodwill and support over the years, and for this I am eternally grateful. Finally, thanks to the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, to the University of Alberta's Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research and Department of English and Film Studies, and to the numerous donors who have endowed the various financial prizes and awards that I have been lucky enough to receive along the way. Without the financial support of these organizations and endowments, I would likely never have been able to afford to pursue this project (or degree) in the first place. TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction: A Criticism of One's Own ................................................................. 1 Part I: Extending the Horizons of the Possible ..................................................... 13 (Re)Defining Fantasy ........................................................................................ 15 1.1 Fantasy as Fuzzy Set: Compatibility and/as Methodology ....................17 1.2 Fantasy Prototypes: A Critical Survey, with Modifications ...................36 1.3 On the Importance (and Function) of Story-Shaped Worlds ..................56 1.4 Fantasy as Metacognitive Frame ............................................................69 Syncretic Fantasy: Reimagining Cultural, Cognitive, and Literary Syncretism75 2.1 Fantasy in the "Real" World? .................................................................76 2.2 On Recognizing Story-Shaped "Realities": Towards a Cross-Cultural Model ......................................................................................................88 2.3 Syncretic World-Building: Cultural and
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Mythlore Index Plus
    MYTHLORE INDEX PLUS MYTHLORE ISSUES 1–137 with Tolkien Journal Mythcon Conference Proceedings Mythopoeic Press Publications Compiled by Janet Brennan Croft and Edith Crowe 2020. This work, exclusive of the illustrations, is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/us/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA. Tim Kirk’s illustrations are reproduced from early issues of Mythlore with his kind permission. Sarah Beach’s illustrations are reproduced from early issues of Mythlore with her kind permission. Copyright Sarah L. Beach 2007. MYTHLORE INDEX PLUS An Index to Selected Publications of The Mythopoeic Society MYTHLORE, ISSUES 1–137 TOLKIEN JOURNAL, ISSUES 1–18 MYTHOPOEIC PRESS PUBLICATIONS AND MYTHCON CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS COMPILED BY JANET BRENNAN CROFT AND EDITH CROWE Mythlore, January 1969 through Fall/Winter 2020, Issues 1–137, Volume 1.1 through 39.1 Tolkien Journal, Spring 1965 through 1976, Issues 1–18, Volume 1.1 through 5.4 Chad Walsh Reviews C.S. Lewis, The Masques of Amen House, Sayers on Holmes, The Pedant and the Shuffly, Tolkien on Film, The Travelling Rug, Past Watchful Dragons, The Intersection of Fantasy and Native America, Perilous and Fair, and Baptism of Fire Narnia Conference; Mythcon I, II, III, XVI, XXIII, and XXIX Table of Contents INTRODUCTION Janet Brennan Croft .....................................................................................................................................1
    [Show full text]
  • The Nemedian Chroniclers #22 [WS16]
    REHeapa Winter Solstice 2016 By Lee A. Breakiron A WORLDWIDE PHENOMENON Few fiction authors are as a widely published internationally as Robert E. Howard (e.g., in Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Dutch, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, and Yugoslavian). As former REHupan Vern Clark states: Robert E. Howard has long been one of America’s stalwarts of Fantasy Fiction overseas, with extensive translations of his fiction & poetry, and an ever mushrooming distribution via foreign graphic story markets dating back to the original REH paperback boom of the late 1960’s. This steadily increasing presence has followed the growing stylistic and market influence of American fantasy abroad dating from the initial translations of H.P. Lovecraft’s Arkham House collections in Spain, France, and Germany. The growth of the HPL cult abroad has boded well for other American exports of the Weird Tales school, and with the exception of the Lovecraft Mythos, the fantasy fiction of REH has proved the most popular, becoming an international literary phenomenon with translations and critical publications in Spain, Germany, France, Greece, Poland, Japan, and elsewhere. [1] All this shows how appealing REH’s exciting fantasy is across cultures, despite inevitable losses in stylistic impact through translations. Even so, there is sometimes enough enthusiasm among readers to generate fandom activities and publications. We have already covered those in France. [2] Now let’s take a look at some other countries. GERMANY, AUSTRIA, AND SWITZERLAND The first Howard stories published in German were in the fanzines Pioneer #25 and Lands of Wonder ‒ Pioneer #26 (Austratopia, Vienna) in 1968 and Pioneer of Wonder #28 (Follow, Passau, Germany) in 1969.
    [Show full text]
  • Fantasy and Imagination: Discovering the Threshold of Meaning David Michael Westlake
    The University of Maine DigitalCommons@UMaine Electronic Theses and Dissertations Fogler Library 5-2005 Fantasy and Imagination: Discovering the Threshold of Meaning David Michael Westlake Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/etd Part of the Modern Literature Commons Recommended Citation Westlake, David Michael, "Fantasy and Imagination: Discovering the Threshold of Meaning" (2005). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 477. http://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/etd/477 This Open-Access Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@UMaine. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@UMaine. FANTASY AND IMAGINATION: DISCOVERING THE THRESHOLD OF MEANING BY David Michael Westlake B.A. University of Maine, 1997 A MASTER PROJECT Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts (in Liberal Studies) The Graduate School The University of Maine May, 2005 Advisory Committee: Kristina Passman, Associate Professor of Classical Language and Literature, Advisor Jay Bregrnan, Professor of History Nancy Ogle, Professor of Music FANTASY AND IMAGINATION: DISCOVERING THE THRESHOLD OF MEANING By David Michael Westlake Thesis Advisor: Dr. Kristina Passman An Abstract of the Master Project Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts (in Liberal Studies) May, 2005 This thesis addresses the ultimate question of western humanity; how does one find meaning in the present era? It offers the reader one powerful way for this to happen, and that is through the stories found in the pages of Fantasy literature. It begins with Frederick Nietzsche's declaration that, "God is dead." This describes the situation of men and women in his time and today.
    [Show full text]
  • Arch : Northwestern University Institutional Repository
    NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY Myth and the Modern Problem: Mythic Thinking in Twentieth-Century Britain A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS for the degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Field of History By Matthew Kane Sterenberg EVANSTON, ILLINOIS December 2007 2 © Copyright by Matthew Kane Sterenberg 2007 All Rights Reserved 3 ABSTRACT Myth and the Modern Problem: Mythic Thinking in Twentieth-Century Britain Matthew Sterenberg This dissertation, “Myth and the Modern Problem: Mythic Thinking in Twentieth- Century Britain,” argues that a widespread phenomenon best described as “mythic thinking” emerged in the early twentieth century as way for a variety of thinkers and key cultural groups to frame and articulate their anxieties about, and their responses to, modernity. As such, can be understood in part as a response to what W.H. Auden described as “the modern problem”: a vacuum of meaning caused by the absence of inherited presuppositions and metanarratives that imposed coherence on the flow of experience. At the same time, the dissertation contends that— paradoxically—mythic thinkers’ response to, and critique of, modernity was itself a modern project insofar as it took place within, and depended upon, fundamental institutions, features, and tenets of modernity. Mythic thinking was defined by the belief that myths—timeless rather than time-bound explanatory narratives dealing with ultimate questions—were indispensable frameworks for interpreting experience, and essential tools for coping with and criticizing modernity. Throughout the period 1900 to 1980, it took the form of works of literature, art, philosophy, and theology designed to show that ancient myths had revelatory power for modern life, and that modernity sometimes required creation of new mythic narratives.
    [Show full text]
  • Teaching Speculative Fiction in College: a Pedagogy for Making English Studies Relevant
    Georgia State University ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University English Dissertations Department of English Summer 8-7-2012 Teaching Speculative Fiction in College: A Pedagogy for Making English Studies Relevant James H. Shimkus Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/english_diss Recommended Citation Shimkus, James H., "Teaching Speculative Fiction in College: A Pedagogy for Making English Studies Relevant." Dissertation, Georgia State University, 2012. https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/english_diss/95 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of English at ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in English Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. TEACHING SPECULATIVE FICTION IN COLLEGE: A PEDAGOGY FOR MAKING ENGLISH STUDIES RELEVANT by JAMES HAMMOND SHIMKUS Under the Direction of Dr. Elizabeth Burmester ABSTRACT Speculative fiction (science fiction, fantasy, and horror) has steadily gained popularity both in culture and as a subject for study in college. While many helpful resources on teaching a particular genre or teaching particular texts within a genre exist, college teachers who have not previously taught science fiction, fantasy, or horror will benefit from a broader pedagogical overview of speculative fiction, and that is what this resource provides. Teachers who have previously taught speculative fiction may also benefit from the selection of alternative texts presented here. This resource includes an argument for the consideration of more speculative fiction in college English classes, whether in composition, literature, or creative writing, as well as overviews of the main theoretical discussions and definitions of each genre.
    [Show full text]
  • The World of Fantasy Literature Has Little to Do with the Exotic Worlds It Describes
    The world of fantasy literature has little to do with the exotic worlds it describes. It is generally tied to often well-earned connotations of cheap writing, childish escapism, overused tropes copied and pasted straight out of The Lord of the Rings, and a strong commercial vitality. Perhaps it is the comforting predictability that draws me in—but the same could be said of the delight that I feel when some clever author has taken the old and worn hero-cycle and turned it inside out. Maybe I just like dragons and swords. It could be that the neatly packaged, solvable problems within a work of fantasy literature, problems that are nothing like the ones I have to deal with, such as marauding demons or kidnappings by evil witches, are more attractive than my own more confusing ones. Somehow they remain inspiring and terrifying despite that. Since I was a child, fantasy has always been able to captivate me. I never spared much time for the bland narratives of a boy and his dog or the badly thought-out antics of neighborhood friends. I preferred the more dangerous realms of Redwall, populated by talking animals, or Artemis Fowl, a fairy-abducting, preteen, criminal mastermind. In fact, reading was so strongly ingrained in me that teachers, parents and friends had to, and on occasion still need to, ask me to put down my book. I really like reading, and at some point that love spilled over and I started to like writing, too. Telling a story does not have to be deep or meaningful in its lessons.
    [Show full text]
  • FANTASY SUPER LEAD Brandon Sanderson
    TOR FANTASY JANUARY 2017 FANTASY SUPER LEAD Brandon Sanderson The Bands of Mourning #1 New York Times bestselling author continues the saga of Mistborn With The Alloy of Law and Shadows of Self, Brandon Sanderson surprised readers with a New York Times bestselling spinoff of his Mistborn books, set after the action of the trilogy, in a period corresponding to late 19th-century America. Now, with The Bands of Mourning, Sanderson continues the story. The Bands of Mourning are the mythical metalminds owned by the Lord Ruler, said to grant anyone who wears them the powers that the Lord Ruler had at his command. Hardly anyone thinks they really exist. A kandra researcher has returned to Elendel with images that seem to depict the Bands, as well as writings in a language that no one can read. Waxillium Ladrian is recruited ON-SALE DATE: 1/3/2017 to travel south to the city of New Seran to investigate. Along the way he ISBN-13: 9780765378583 discovers hints that point to the true goals of his uncle Edwarn and the EBOOK ISBN: 9781466862678 shadowy organization known as The Set. PRICE: $8.99 / $12.99 CAN. PAGES: 536 KEY SELLING POINTS: SPINE: 1.281 IN * LATEST INSTALLMENT OF THE MISTBORN SERIES: The Bands of CTN COUNT: 24 Mourning is the sequel to Shadows of Self and part of the Mistborn series, CPDA/CAT: 32/FANTASY but can be read as a stand-alone ORIGIN: TOR HC (1/16, * SANDERSON IS AN SF/F ROCK STAR: Sanderson is one of fantasy's 978-0-7653-7857-6) biggest stars and a constant fixture on the New York Times bestseller list, with a rapidly growing audience and dedicated fanbase AUTHOR HOME: UTAH For the Mistborn series and Brandon Sanderson MARKETING * Digital outreach through Twitter, Facebook, and the "Sanderson is an evil genius.
    [Show full text]
  • Sigma 04.04 Copy.Indd
    Parsec April 2004 Meeting Date and Time: April 10th 2004, 2 PM (Although members tend to gather early.) Topic: Dan Bloch on “The History of Tall Build ings from the Pyramids to 2010.” Location: East Liberty Branch of Carnegie Library The Newsletter of PARSEC • April 2004 • Issue 217 (Directions on page 11.) SIGMA Tentative Meeting Schedule May 2004 Date: May 8th, 2004 Topic: TBA Location: East Liberty Branch of Carnegie Library June 2004 Date: June 12th, 2004 Topic: TBA Location: East Liberty Branch of Carnegie Library Cover Art by Diana Harlan Stein In This Issue: Kosak on Planetes PARSEC Pittsburgh Areaʼs Premiere Science-Fiction Organization Tjernlund on P.O. Box 3681, Pittsburgh, PA 15230-3681 Cassini/Huygens President - Kevin Geiselman Vice President - Kevin Hayes Irvine on Eragon Treasurer - Greg Armstrong Secretary - Bill Covert Commentator - Ann Cecil Website: trfn.clpgh.org/parsec Meetings - Second Saturday of every month. Dues: $10 full member, $2 Supporting member Sigma is edited by David Brody Send article submissions to: [email protected] View From the Outside The President’s Column - Kevin Geiselman Announcements Last month, I attended the Tekkoshocon anime con- vention. It was much like the previous year with plenty of DVDʼs and manga in the dealerʼs room, computer • PARSECʼs Mary Soon Lee will have the games, video rooms (“Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu” was story, “Shenʼs Daughter” in the Fantasy absolutely hysterical), panels, artists and cosplayers. I Best of 2003 collection, edited by David was there for a few hours before I realized something Hartwell and Kathryn Kramer was missing. It was me. Last year I went in my Klingon gear and fit right in.
    [Show full text]
  • Mythic Journeys Program Participants
    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 27, 2004 MEDIA CONTACTS: Anya Martin (678) 468-3867 Dawn Zarimba Edelman Public Relations (404) 262-3000 [email protected] Mythic Journeys Program Participants Michael Vannoy Adams, D. Phil., C.S.W., is a Jungian analyst doing pioneering work in the field of myth and story in archetypal psychology. He is the author of The Mythological Unconscious, The Multicultural Imagination: "Race," Color, and the Unconscious and (forthcoming in 2004) The Fantasy Principle: Psychoanalysis of the Imagination. He is a clinical associate professor at the NYU Postdoctoral Program in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis and a faculty member at the Object Relations Institute, the Blanton-Peale Graduate Institute and the New School University, where he was previously associate provost. He has been a Marshall Scholar in England and a Fulbright Senior Lecturer in India. He is the recipient of two Gradiva Awards from the National Association for the Advancement of Psychoanalysis. Stephen Aizenstat, Ph.D., is the founding president of Pacifica Graduate Institute, a private graduate school offering masters and doctoral programs in psychology and mythological studies. He is a licensed clinical psychologist, a marriage and family therapist, and a credentialed public school teacher. His original research centers on a psychodynamic process of “tending the living image,” particularly in the context of “dreamwork,” and he has conducted dreamwork seminars for more than 25 years throughout the US, Europe and Asia. Aizenstadt has recorded “DreamTending,” a six audiotape series released by Sounds True. His other publications include: “Dreams are Alive” in Depth Psychology: Meditations in the Field, edited by D.
    [Show full text]
  • Catalogue XV 116 Rare Works of Speculative Fiction
    Catalogue XV 116 Rare Works Of Speculative Fiction About Catalogue XV Welcome to our 15th catalogue. It seems to be turning into an annual thing, given it was a year since our last catalogue. Well, we have 116 works of speculative fiction. Some real rarities in here, and some books that we’ve had before. There’s no real theme, beyond speculative fiction, so expect a wide range from early taproot texts to modern science fiction. Enjoy. About Us We are sellers of rare books specialising in speculative fiction. Our company was established in 2010 and we are based in Yorkshire in the UK. We are members of ILAB, the A.B.A. and the P.B.F.A. To Order You can order via telephone at +44(0) 7557 652 609, online at www.hyraxia.com, email us or click the links. All orders are shipped for free worldwide. Tracking will be provided for the more expensive items. You can return the books within 30 days of receipt for whatever reason as long as they’re in the same condition as upon receipt. Payment is required in advance except where a previous relationship has been established. Colleagues – the usual arrangement applies. Please bear in mind that by the time you’ve read this some of the books may have sold. All images belong to Hyraxia Books. You can use them, just ask us and we’ll give you a hi-res copy. Please mention this catalogue when ordering. • Toft Cottage, 1 Beverley Road, Hutton Cranswick, UK • +44 (0) 7557 652 609 • • [email protected] • www.hyraxia.com • Aldiss, Brian - The Helliconia Trilogy [comprising] Spring, Summer and Winter [7966] London, Jonathan Cape, 1982-1985.
    [Show full text]
  • Central Skagit Rural Partial County Library District Regular Board Meeting Agenda April 15, 2021 7:00 P.M
    DocuSign Envelope ID: 533650C8-034C-420C-9465-10DDB23A06F3 Central Skagit Rural Partial County Library District Regular Board Meeting Agenda April 15, 2021 7:00 p.m. Via Zoom Meeting Platform 1. Call to Order 2. Public Comment 3. Approval of Agenda 4. Consent Agenda Items Approval of March 18, 2021 Regular Meeting Minutes Approval of March 2021 Payroll in the amount of $38,975.80 Approval of March 2021 Vouchers in the amount of $76,398.04 Treasury Reports for March 2021 Balance Sheet for March 2021 (if available) Deletion List – 5116 Items 5. Conflict of Interest 5. Communications 6. Director’s Report 7. Unfinished Business A. Library Opening Update B. Art Policy (N or D) 8. New Business A. Meeting Room Policy (N) B. Election of Officers 9. Other Business 10. Adjournment There may be an Executive Session at any time during the meeting or following the regular meeting. DocuSign Envelope ID: 533650C8-034C-420C-9465-10DDB23A06F3 Legend: E = Explore Topic N = Narrow Options D = Decision Information = Informational items and updates on projects Parking Lot = Items tabled for a later discussion Current Parking Lot Items: 1. Grand Opening Trustee Lead 2. New Library Public Use Room Naming Jeanne Williams is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting. Topic: Board Meeting Time: Mar 18, 2021 07:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada) Every month on the Third Thu, until Jan 20, 2022, 11 occurrence(s) Mar 18, 2021 07:00 PM Apr 15, 2021 07:00 PM May 20, 2021 07:00 PM Jun 17, 2021 07:00 PM Jul 15, 2021 07:00 PM Aug 19, 2021 07:00 PM Sep 16, 2021 07:00 PM Oct 21, 2021 07:00 PM Nov 18, 2021 07:00 PM Dec 16, 2021 07:00 PM Jan 20, 2022 07:00 PM Please download and import the following iCalendar (.ics) files to your calendar system.
    [Show full text]
  • Core Collections in Genre Studies Romance Fiction
    the alert collector Neal Wyatt, Editor Building genre collections is a central concern of public li- brary collection development efforts. Even for college and Core Collections university libraries, where it is not a major focus, a solid core collection makes a welcome addition for students needing a break from their course load and supports a range of aca- in Genre Studies demic interests. Given the widespread popularity of genre books, understanding the basics of a given genre is a great skill for all types of librarians to have. Romance Fiction 101 It was, therefore, an important and groundbreaking event when the RUSA Collection Development and Evaluation Section (CODES) voted to create a new juried list highlight- ing the best in genre literature. The Reading List, as the new list will be called, honors the single best title in eight genre categories: romance, mystery, science fiction, fantasy, horror, historical fiction, women’s fiction, and the adrenaline genre group consisting of thriller, suspense, and adventure. To celebrate this new list and explore the wealth of genre literature, The Alert Collector will launch an ongoing, occa- Neal Wyatt and Georgine sional series of genre-themed articles. This column explores olson, kristin Ramsdell, Joyce the romance genre in all its many incarnations. Saricks, and Lynne Welch, Five librarians gathered together to write this column Guest Columnists and share their knowledge and love of the genre. Each was asked to write an introduction to a subgenre and to select five books that highlight the features of that subgenre. The result Correspondence concerning the is an enlightening, entertaining guide to building a core col- column should be addressed to Neal lection in the genre area that accounts for almost half of all Wyatt, Collection Management paperbacks sold each year.1 Manager, Chesterfield County Public Georgine Olson, who wrote the historical romance sec- Library, 9501 Lori Rd., Chesterfield, VA tion, has been reading historical romance even longer than 23832; [email protected].
    [Show full text]