Credo:
The CAMS Mission Statement

Carolina Association for Medieval Studies: Credo

Mission Statement: The Carolina Association for Medieval Studies (CAMS) is a scholarly organization designed to encourage, promote, and support the study of the European Middle Ages at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the neighboring universities in the Research Triangle, and beyond. To accomplish this task, we seek to:

1. Provide a forum for the open exchange of ideas among all medievalists
2. Facilitate contact and cooperation between individuals and organizations interested in Medieval Studies
3. Provide publicly accessible resources useful for research in Medieval Studies

Statement of Equal Opportunity: The Carolina Association for Medieval Studies fully upholds and supports the same code of opportunity as the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: no-one shall, for any reason, be disallowed from participation or in any way discriminated against on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, disability, age, veteran status, sexual orientation, or gender.

Statement of Inclusiveness: All interested faculty and students affiliated with a university or academic organization are invited and encouraged to join CAMS. All dues-paying members are entitled to the following privileges, beginning with the second meeting they attend:

1. full voting rights
2. full rights to submit proposals to the group for consideration and vote
3. placement in the sequence to choose reading material for the next meeting

The founders of CAMS, recognizing that Medieval Studies, as a whole, has been harmed by its tendency to fragment into separate groups divided according to the wide variety of ideological and methodological approaches flourishing in the Academy today, have sought to create an organization which includes all scholarly approaches to the field. We seek unity in recognition of our common interests, and desire to foster an intellectual climate which transcends such needless divisiveness. As medievalists, we often have much more in common with one another than with our colleagues in our own individual departments. Furthermore, especially given the present funding crisis in the Academy today, our very survival depends on our willingness to cooperate with one another. To further this end, CAMS members are expected to actively promote an atmosphere of critical openness and receptivity to all methodologies and subjects which arise in the discussions we promote, whether in person, electronic, or otherwise.

Faculty Advisors: CAMS values the insights and knowledge our faculty advisors are able to offer us in the realization of our stated mission. Accordingly, faculty advisors are entitled to regular voting privileges as CAMS members. For all other areas of group policy-making and direction, their role is strictly advisory.

Relationship to the University Community: It is a primary goal of CAMS to facilitate cooperation between all medievalists, both individuals and organizations, at the University and beyond. We feel that the following policies will allow our organization to best fulfill that end:

1. CAMS believes that the long term interests of the Medieval Studies community at the University will best be met by a confederacy of active Medieval Studies organizations, working together to meet the needs of medievalists at UNC. Thus, while CAMS desires to retain its autonomy from other organizations, we seek active cooperation with them, and we encourage our members to participate in other medieval studies organizations.
2. CAMS will not relinquish its authority to another organization unless 4/5 of its members vote to do so, adherent to the voting mechanism outlined below.

Dues: Since a small amount of funds are necessary for the basic day-to-day operations of our organization, a minimal amount of dues are required for membership into CAMS. CAMS welcomes those not paying dues to attend and participate in its events, but only dues paying members enjoy the full rights outlines in the "Statement of Inclusiveness." The following policies will guide the assignment of dues:

1. The amount should be kept as small as possible, and CAMS should seek ultimately to support itself primarily by donations and other types of funding.
2. The amount of the dues shall be settled, whenever a proposal is put forward, by simple majority
3. The funds will be collected and managed by a Treasurer (see below), who will keep a list of dues paying members for voting purposes
4. Anyone unable to pay dues for financial reasons should contact the Treasurer privately, after which the Treasurer will add them to the list as dues paying members. Such individuals will enjoy full membership rights. However, CAMS encourages such individuals to pay their back dues when their financial situation changes.
5. CAMS also graciously accepts donations, from both its members and nonmembers.

Officers: Since it is the goal of CAMS to keep the control of the organization in the hands of its members, the number of administrative officers will be kept to a minimum. Tasks should be undertaken on a volunteer basis wherever possible. However, a small number officers are necessary for the smooth functioning of regular activities. These should include:

1. Co-Treasurers, who collect funds and keep a record of dues paying members for voting reasons, act as contact persons to potential funding sources, especially those provided by the University, and complete all application materials necessary to secure such funding
2. A Clerk, who acts as central contact person for incoming materials, maintains a record of meetings and meeting attendance, coordinates the schedule of readings, and handles CAMS correspondence, including the surface mailbox and the group ListServe account
3. A Webmaster, who develops and maintains the design and coordinates the content of the CAMS web site
4. A Publicity Officer, who edits the CAMS newsletter and coordinates publicity for CAMS projects and events
5. A Chairperson, who is the official primary contact person for University business, resolves disputes, counts votes, and opens business

These positions are most effectively performed by individuals with continuity of office. Their positions should appointed annually, after nominations have been made. The decision will be made by simple majority vote, the first meeting of every Fall semester. With the exception of these administrative decisions, all other tasks should be performed, where possible, on a voluntary and rotating basis, with an aim toward including all members of the group. In order to be eligible to hold office, a candidate must be a full voting member of CAMS and must have attended no fewer than 8 CAMS meetings prior to candidacy.

Meetings: Meetings will occur bimonthly. They will consist of a (no more than) 1-hour discussion of a short reading chosen by the method explained blow in the section entitled "Reading Group." After that, a short business meeting will take place. First, the Treasurer will ask the next dues-paying member on the list to submit their reading selection for the next meeting. After that, members can make complaints, present proposals for a vote, and plan future events. This meeting will be presided over by a member of the group assigned on a rotating basis by Treasurer, based on the list of dues paying members (who will not be the same person who proposed the reading).

Voting: The following procedures apply to voting:

1. All dues paying members are entitled to vote and make proposals. The list of dues paying members will be kept by the Treasurer. Votes will be counted by the Moderator.
2. All proposals, unless stated otherwise herein, will be decided by simple majority vote
3. For a vote to be valid, a quorum, defined as at least fifty percent of dues paying members, must be present.
4. Once a proposal is voted on, the proposal can only be reversed by a 2/3 majority, unless under the conditions specified in (5)
5. Business may be transacted and votes cast without a quorum present. However, in such cases, the business or the votes can be reversed by a simple majority during the next two meetings. After that, (4) applies
6. Votes will be public unless any member (even one) requests that they be conducted by secret ballot. In such a case, votes will be collected and counted by the Moderator
7. All matters voted on by the group must be posted on the listserv within 72 hours of the meeting in order to be valid. If they are not posted within that time, they must be resubmitted for vote at the next meeting

Special Cases for Voting: The following special cases diverge from the cases wherein a simple majority vote settles the issue:

1. No part of the Credo can be changed except by a 2/3 majority vote
2. CAMS cannot relinquish its autonomy to any individual or organization except by a 4/5 majority vote

Reading Group: Central to CAMS is the discussion group which meets bimonthly. This session is intended to provide a forum where all medievalists at the University and beyond, both students and faculty, can discuss ideas relevant to our field. All topics are welcome, though we try to pick readings relevant to members' current projects or upcoming exams. Readings will be chosen as follows: every dues paying member will be put on a sequential list, kept by the Treasurer, to choose the reading for the next session. At the beginning of every business meeting, the Treasurer will ask the next person on the list to submit their reading, which will be accepted without vote, adherent to the following stipulations:

1. The reading should pertain the European Middle Ages, defined as the period from the late Roman Empire (c. 300 CE) to the Reformation (c. 1500 CE), or it must be approved by a vote.
2. The reading should be 30 pages or less, or it must be approved by a 2/3 majority vote.

Anyone has a right to waive their turn, but they are then put at the bottom of the list. Those members who pick readings are responsible for disseminating it to other members of the group in plenty of time for the next meeting in one of the following ways:

1. Copy the reading and distribute it to the members
2. Put it on reserve in the undergraduate library
3. Leave several copies in an easily accessible place where others can come an copy it

In all cases, the person choosing the reading should promptly notify the group via the listserv how they should obtain the reading.

Amendments to the Credo

I. A member who has not attended the requisite number of meetings, but who has, in the judgment of the voters, in other ways demonstrated commitment to the organization, may be approved to run for office if, during the elections process, that member's nomination to run is approved by a 2/3 vote of the members present at a regularly scheduled business meeting. The approval to run for office constitutes eligibility to hold office.