Eng-2005
History of British Culture
Brother Anthony (An Sonjae)
Spring Semester 2014  
Wednesday, Friday 3:00 pm

 

 


This course is designed to give students a deeper understanding of the history and culture of Britain and the development of the literature written in England.

The main text book (available in PDF by clicking on the title below) should be printed out by each student and used in class :  History of English culture and literature,  by Brother Anthony  [See my main home page index with links to each historical period]

Grading: The two Reports and the two Exams (midterm and final) will have equal value.

If you have questions you may write emails to Brother Anthony


Class topics and linked materials

Week 1  (March 5, 7)  Introduction: Prehistoric England, The Roman occupation  A map of Britain    An outline map of Britain

Week 2   (March 12, 14) Anglo-Saxon England  --  Beowulf

Week 3  (March 19, 21) The Middle Ages  --  Chaucer

Week 4  (March 26, 28) The Renaissance   --  Utopia

Week 5   (April 2, 4)  Elizabethan England  --  Spenser and Sidney  Giotto Botticcelli  Michelangelo  Leonardo  Raphael  Titian   Holbein  

Week 6   (April 9, 11) Shakespeare

Week 7    (April 16, no class Good Friday) Early 17th century   --  John Donne

Week 8 (April 23, April 25)  Midterm exams

Week 9   (April 30, May 2) The Civil War   --  John Milton

Week 10  (May 7, 9) The Restoration  & 18th century

Week 11 (May 14, 16) The Age of Reason   --  Jane Austen

Week 12 (May 21,23)  Romanticism   --  William Wordsworth

Week 13  (May 28, 30) The Victorian age   --  Charles Dickens

Week 14  (June 4, no class June 6) 20th century 

Week 15  (June 11, 13)  Britain today

Week 16  Exams

Assignments : Each student will prepare two reports:

The first report will be: Write about the different kinds of satire found in More's Utopia. 
      The first report is due in my mailbox in the Department Office on the 8th floor of J Hall by 5pm on Monday April 28 . I expect 4 - 5 pages single spaced. Nothing should be simply copied from the Internet, I want to read your own words.
 
The second report will be: Write about life in the United Kingdom as it is today, indicating ways in which Britain retains elements inherited from centuries past and ways in which British culture has changed radically in the last 100 years, especially the last 70 years (since the Second World War). Pinpoint some of the current tensions in British society and indicate their roots in history. (see the BBC home page )
    The second report will be due in my mailbox in the Department Office on the 8th floor of J Hall by the morning of Tuesday June 24 at the latest. I expect 4 - 5 pages single spaced. Nothing should be simply copied from the Internet, I want to read your own words.