Appearance
His features, without being quite regular, were frank and open. A half smile was always present on his visage, suggesting a sanguine nature, which seemed to arise from a happy exuberance of blood in his temperament. His bright blue eyes –always hidden behind the lenses of his pince-nez– had an appropriate glance for every person, book or object which it encountered, expressing good humour, a certain playfulness, lightness of heart and determined resolution.
His greying hair showed his seniority at the Academy and while stout formed, his stooped bearing suggested one accustomed to spend long periods sitting and reading, with little attention paid to the maintenance of his bodily health. His rumpled academic dress showed the casualness of a lecturer accustomed to rarely straying beyond the Academy's quadrangle.
Background
Marc Saurette, or Sorette, was the second son of a gentleman and gentlewoman possessed of a small property in the arable lands of southern Manitoba. They named their small estate High Bluff, an aspirational name for the house located in the flatlands near an important river crossing, Portage la Prairie. These holdings (known as Plot 49 by locals) had only recently in their possession, having marked the rise of former tenant farmers to estate holding. With some measure of comfort accomplished, they devoted themselves to education –both of their family and the local citizenry. They and their educational endeavours instilled an appreciation for learning in their young ones - so much that two of their children, the eldest son Paul and the middle son Marc, would grow devoted to the academic world and go on to become professors – the first of political arts and the second, the medievalist arts.
As was typical for scholars of his time, Dr. Saurette would lead an itinerant life moving from one college and university to another. He studied in the prairie metropolis of Winnipeg and the bustling centre of northern business in Toronto. Benefiting from the largesse of academic foundations, he was able to eke out time in England, France, Germany and Italy for his studies and, later, for his research. For the past fourteen years, however, he has been able to attain a measure of stability, as a Lecturer and now Reader of the Medievalist Arts at the Academy in Ottawa, where he lives with his partner, his two children and a devoted hound.
Faculty Portrait
Profile information
- First name: Marc
- Last name: Saurette
- Postal address: Department of History
400 Paterson Hall
Carleton University
1125 Colonel By Drive
Ottawa, Ontario
K1S5B6 - Town: Ottawa
- City/region: Ontario
- Country: Canada
- Occupation: Associate Professor
Social media accounts
- Twitter: @savrett
Journal
October 9th, 2020
October 9th, 2020Weather. Sunny and bright. Leaves are falling. The colours are brighter than for many of the past few years - or do they only seem so since life is so drab under the constant threat of Darkness? Nonetheless, the grounds of the Academy are strewn with a leafy carpet of red and yellow that only serves to remind me of the festivities that should be taking place but are prohibited under the strictures of the authorities. The acolytes flit here and there seemingly carefree. Or is this just how I see it as an interloper into their lives?
Writing. Continues to be difficult. Committee duties and the immediate demands of teaching represent a non-inconsiderable draw on my time and focus. I take solace again in the Past, reading about how the founding members of the O.C. fought to oppose the PMs 80 years ago. But reading can only help so much.
Our enemies? Our chair offers an unsettling report today when our committee met. At the Chair and Directors meeting this week, he overheard two worrisome pieces of information. A Lictor was on campus to meet with one of our students, but then disappeared – her coat later found along the north shore of campus. It makes us wonder, what do the state security members want here? And the tensions we have seen between the guilds are bubbling to the surface again. The Seeking was marked by the typical orientation events meant to bring everyone together, but we see that STEM student groups were fanning the flames of rivalry more than typical. There were incidents of minor violence by the Purple Coveralls which I knew about, but JM just told us that more serious vandalism acts of vandalism have just been reported. It seems targeted.
Is this the spur to action? I know soon I will need to act... soon we will need to act... but I don't want to show our hand yet. But I am unsure who I can count on.... a.TS and dr.SC are true allies. But I must strive to find others. NP works already with the acolytes to strengthen their skills and ready them for the coming fight.
MS 9/10/20
October 1, 2020
October 1, 2020Weather. Cold and wet, but still patches of sunlight. Must move the plants inside so they have a chance of surviving the coming frosts. I suspect this will be a colder winter than most.
Reading. I have finished rereading Bloch and moved onto The Devil's Historian's. An admirable work that I will have the acolytes read. It explores well the tension between the love of the Middle Ages, its glorification and propaganda. Essential reading if they are to understand and fight the coming darkness.
Campus has been a hive of activity. Acolytes of all schools and disciplines are seen roaming campus as part of the Fall Seeking. Now that time is almost up, I see our students really working together - using the tools suggested to them to meet and track. I am proud to see them coming together. I can only hope the developing camaraderie allows them to build strong bonds and trust each other (insofar as that is advisable this year). Despite the strictures put in place by the authorities, the acolytes remain committed to building a new community here and I am proud of them for doing it. Hopefully they'll be getting used to the late night pranks (I have heard many a midnight fire alarm) and not infrequently have I heard the early morning screams of partiers.
As usual, I see the rivalry between the School of Telegraphy, Experimentology and Mechaniks (STEM) and the Arts showing itself in these weeks. But the virulence of STEM actions seem to be greater than the typical hijinks in other years. I have long assumed that the school must use the Seeking as a way of building up solidarity by promoting their superiority over other parts of the university. Medieval History teaches us that often Hate can be an effective way to motivate people - creating a sense of in-group solidarity by demonizing others. It is strange to see this tool used so obviously here. Does the STEM administration promote it, I wonder, or just elements among the students? We need to track down what is going on - the records of the OC list others who are radicalized here... What or who links them?
Some other worrisome things I need to report – the power outages and telegraphy failures. The Telegraphy guild are run off their feet this autumn - is this just a response to our new dependence on Telegraphy or is it something more sinister. As well, I need to learn more about the breach in the seawall - intentional or otherwise? And the Miscellanea reports seeing something removed from the wall to the labs. What is going on!
I will keep my concerns to myself now, but soon it will be time for action. I hope we will have TMs to support us in our time of need.
MS. 1/10/20
Fields of Study
As an acolyte, Dr. Saurette's interests were diverse, exploring Latin American Environmental history, Cultural History of the Victorian period before his passion settled on working to rediscover the lost world of the Middle Ages. The pursuit of the medieval past – an interest born in middle school, nurtured in high school and blossoming as an acolyte, drove him to deeper and more arcane paths. From well known artefacts of the Middle Ages, Dr. Saurette soon realized that only the obscure, the unknown, the forgotten and the ignored could interest him.
Upon attaining the rank of magister, he began research into the ecclesia cluniacensis – a network of monks and nuns who spread across Europe and even as far as the Levant. Few dare to inquire into their history. Their's was a powerful order in the Middle Ages, but modernity witnessed their suppression – Henry VIII in England dissolved their houses and took their lands, moneys and books for himself. In France, the order would be utterly demolished and monks defrocked during the French Revolution. Dr. Saurette works tirelessly to give these monks and nuns a voice, recreating and promulgating the forgotten poems, letters and treatises of a textual community centred around a long ago abbot, Peter the Venerable.
Weapon Proficiency
Offensive
- Ockham's Razor
- Dead Language
- Narrative
- Quotation
Defensive
- Self-Deprecation
- Claim-to-Authority
Skill Set
Most used:
- Scholarly translation
- Critical Edition
- Historical Imagining
- Critical Methodology