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Lecturer(s)
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Course content
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1.The Institutions of Britain: Parliament and The Crown, Downing Street and the office of the Prime Minster, The Ministries of the UK Civil Service. The BBC and the Media. 2. Devolved Assemblies within the UK- Scotland , Northern Ireland, Wales and the anomaly of England within Westminster. 3.The NHS, The Various school systems, Public and Comprehensive Schools, Oxbridge and the Red Brick Universities, Public Services. 4.Religions and Beliefs in the UK. 5.Work Regulations and Leisure pursuits: Sport and the Entertainment Culture . 6.The Changes to Family and Sexual Attitudes in the UK: Marriage and Divorce, Sexual Politics and Attitudes. 7.Youth cultures, Sub Cultures and Protest in the UK . 8.The Old Class System and its new variations- Politics and Class,Voter behaviour and the UK Economy. 9. Ethnicity and Linguistic Variation within the UK- Regional variants and cystome. 10.The State of the Nation: Britain and her empire at the turn of the 21st century: Homeland, Empire,Outposts and the World Service- Is Britain Still Relevant?
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Learning activities and teaching methods
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unspecified, unspecified
- unspecified
- 42 hours per semester
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Learning outcomes
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The main objective of this course is to create a socio-cultural competence of students in the study of British cultural studies. A crucial part of the course is the reading of texts reflecting the above-mentioned phenomena. Students acquire the necessary knowledge through discussions, projects, and other, mostly communicational methods. This study explores the subject of the roots of Britain's national identity and monitors the nature of the debates that are shaping British policy and British public life. Furthermore, the lectures attempt to outline the key elements that create tension in the country and provoke discussion. These current issues will be discussed on a comparative basis, ie. Compared with other EU countries. The course will also investigate the theoretical framework within which the British culture is discussed.
By the end of this course the students should be able to: - Describe the structure in various areas of British culture, for example. The system of government, role and powers of the Assembly, the role of the British Crown, etc.. - Compare the British government and the British system of social norms with norms of other countries within the EU; - Understand the studied texts on culture, furthermore to analyse and explain its content / meaning; - Understand the social opinions presented in the texts and articles that are published in British newspapers, magazines etc. Spot the changes in attitudes over the last century presented by the media; - Evaluate the changes that have occurred between the nations and nationalities and led to the formation UK, - Demonstrate an understanding of the individual moments of such historical and cultural development.
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Prerequisites
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There are no prerequisites for this course.
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Assessment methods and criteria
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unspecified
Students are evaluated based on their participation in the discussions. Being able to talk about topics discussed in the assigned literature indicates the student has read these texts and is ready show critical thinking relating to the field of study. Credits are awarded to students who have acceptable attendance, participate in discussions, fulfill the obligations associated with the specified tasks (micro presentation, in-class round table discussions, etc..), they submit their final paper, which will be assessed at least a minimum pass mark and the student successfully completes the final test.
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Recommended literature
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Bassnett, S. Studying British cultures. New York: Routledge, 1997.
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Johnson, P. 20th century Britain. Economic, social and cultural change. Harlow: Longman, 1994.
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O'Driscoll, J. Britain- The country & its people: An introduction for learners of English. Oxford: OUP, 1995.
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Storry, M. & Childs, P. British cultural identities. New York: Routledge, 2002.
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Turner, G. British cultural studies: An introduction. London: Routledge, 2003.
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