19 - 032
British History & Culture
Brother Anthony (An Sonjae)
Spring Semester 2001
Monday, Wednesday, Friday 10:00


This course is designed to give students a deeper understanding of the historical origins and the development of the nations and cultures that today form the United Kingdom. The first half of the course will focus on British history and the second half will examine the cultural heritage which has accumulated over the centuries, as it now exists.

Course method :  Lectures, with group discussions and class presentations. All lectures and presentations will be in English.

Assignments : Each student will prepare two illustrated reports: the first about the historical development of some important aspect of British society and culture; the second about some important aspect of contemporary Britain. The first report will be due at the end of the Mid-term Exams, the second at the end of the 13th week.
            In addition, each student will keep track of news developments about an important topic: politics; economics; international relations (Europe); social issues (health, education, the police ...); social tensions and conflicts; regional issues (Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales); the role of the monarchy ... This will require students to read the news from Britain almost every day, using the BBC News, the Times, the Guardian, and the Yahoo UK headlines. Students will prepare a file containing background notes and a summary of ongoing developments in their chosen topic week by week. This will be used in small-group discussions and will be graded as part of the mid-term and final exams.


The main text books (available from the University Bookstore) will be :

An Illustrated History of Britain by David McDowall (Longman, 1989).

Britain In Close-Up by David McDowall (Longman, 2000)

Lots of other resources will be found on the shelves of Loyola Library (go and look in history, British literature, art and music). Otherwise, the Web is there for you. A few useful resources are listed in Brother Anthony's Links to Resources (especially the British Culture links) but there are many others. Click here for a map of Britain, statistics (Basic),(Official UK Government), (USA summary). See also the Norton Topics Online pages.

Grading: The two Reports and the two Exams (midterm and final) will have equal value. Other assignments may be given and will receive additional points.

If you have questions you may write to Brother Anthony or visit him in his office (X109)
 
 
 
 
 
 



Class topics and linked materials

Page numbers for the first 7 weeks refer to "An Illustrated History of Britain"

Week 1  Introduction; Basic Geography
Week 2 (Pages 1 - 33) Early history
              Neolithic (Stonehenge Photos 1,2,), Celtic, Roman Britain.
              Invasions: Anglo-Saxons, Vikings, Normans, feudalism
             The Seafarer (fragment), The Wanderer; the Bayeux Tapestry; Magna Carta
Week 3  (Pages 34 - 65)   Medieval England
             Chaucer's  General Prologue (extracts); the 100-years' War in text and pictures;
              Luminarium : Medieval culture sites
Week 4  (Pages 67 - 85) Renaissance and Reformation
              Luminarium : Renaissance culture sites; aspects of  the Renaissance
              More's Utopia; Royal Portraits; Discoverers; Sir Francis Drake
               Shakespeare's Globe; Shakespeare's 'This royal throne of kings'; Hilliard's Youth;
                Backgrounds to Shakespeare
Week 5  (Pages 87 - 129) 17th Century Revolutions. 18th Century: Revolutions, Romanticism
               Luminarium : 17th century culture sites; Civil War;
              Science, philosophy, technology; Jack Lynch's 18th Century Resources;
               Gray's Elegy; Hogarth : Marriage a la Mode; The Rake's Progress; John Constable 1,2;
               Jack Lynch's Romanticism Resources, William Blake Archive, William Turner 1,2,3.
Week 6  (Pages 131 - 150)  19th-Century Britain : Industry, Empire, Progress
              The Victorian Web
Week 7   (no class Good Friday) (Pages 151 - 184) Modern British History
               Wilfred Owen: Poems; World War I (the 'Great' War); World War II

Week 8   Mid-term Exams

Chapter numbers for the rest of the semester refer to "Britain in Close-Up"

Week 9  (Chapter 1) Britain today
Week 10 (Chapters 2 & 3) The Crown and the State
Week 11 (Chapters 4 & 5) Legal systems and local government
Week 12 (No class Friday) (Chapters 6 & 7) Work and society
Week 13 (Chapters 8 & 9) Culture and regions
Week 14 (Chapters 10 - 12) Foreign relations, education, media
Week 15  (Chapters 13 - 16) Religion, transport, environment, health
Week 16 Final Exams