a history of the british people, their culture & civilisation

INSTRUCTOR: Dr. REMUS BEJAN Office Hours TH 12:00-13:00 F 12:00-13:00 and by appointment University Campus, Room 119

A HISTORY OF THE BRITISH PEOPLE, THEIR CULTURE & CIVILISATION In the course, we will study capital aspects of the social and economic and political development of the British society, as well as significant works of art (literature, painting, music, architecture) representing a diversity of forms of expression from key historical periods. We approach these works as creative expressions of their historical and cultural contexts to build a better-informed understanding of British culture and creativity. This introductory course is expected to lay a solid foundation for understanding and appreciating Britain’s rich diversity and creative achievements. PREREQUISITES The History of the British People, Their Culture and Civilisation is an introductory course and students with university entry-level thinking, reading, writing & communication skills (First Certificate /Teofel) should be well prepared to succeed in this course. No previous coursework in British culture and civilisation is required, although such background is, of course, valuable. LEARNING OBJECTIVES Regular class attendance, active engagement with primary historical documents and British creative works, participation in seminar discussion and small group activities, completion of written assignments (essays and dissertation), progress tests and Final Examination (with self-evaluation) are designed to help the students achieve the following key course learning goals: Knowledge:
recall and recognise specific information (name, describe, define, identify)
comprehend and digest cultural information (compare, contrast, comment, argue)
know basic terminology of the subject
analyse aspects of British civilisation with an understanding of the component parts and their relationships Skills:
read and interpret content of passages from historical documents, newspapers, magazines (locating the main idea, finding details, determining patterns of writing, drawing conclusions and making inferences, reading critically, separating fact from opinion, determining cause and effect, determining the meaning of civilisation terms from the context of the passage;
read and interpret graphics: maps, tables, and graphs;
synthesise information, taking an overview;
apply the basic terminology of the subject in their analyses;
evaluate their own knowledge, understanding and competence critically;
communicate their opinions, the results of their independent research efficiently, either in written (essay, summary),or oral form (oral presentation);
transfer their knowledge and skills to other domains (communication, interpersonal, quantification, analytical, synthesis, problem solving, evaluation skills). Attitudes:
take a serious interest in the subject.

Remus Bejan

CONTENT AND STRUCTURE


Britain’s Prehistory. (250,000-2,500 BC) The Stone Age: Megalithic monuments (Stonehenge). The Bronze Age: the Beaker folk. The Iron Age: the Celts.




Roman Britain. (43-410) Julius Caesar in the British Isles. The Roman Conquest (43-60). Town and Country Life in Roman Britain. Society and Government. Religion. Visual Crafts and Arts.




The Dark Ages. (449-1066) The Anglo-Saxon Invasions. The Heptarchy. The Conversion of the Anglo-Saxons. The Vikings. Alfred the Great. The Making of England. Society and Government. Law and Order. Everyday life. The War. Visual Arts and Crafts: book illumination. Architecture: local tradition and Carolingian influence. Music: from Gregorian monody to polyphony. Literature: the heroic tradition: Beowulf; lyrical and religious poetry; prose. Celtic Britain: Scotland, Ireland.




The Middle Ages. (1066-1485) The Norman Conquest. The Angevin Kings. The Crusades. John I and the Magna Carta. The Hundred Years’ War. Kingship in crisis: The Wars of the Roses. Feudalism. The Celtic Fringe: Scotland, Wales and Ireland. Town and Country. The Economy. Kingship and Church. Society and government. Law and Order. The Age of Chivalry. Religious architecture: Romanesque and Gothic. Secular architecture: the Castle. Sculpture. Book illumination. Religion. Crafts, trade and towns. School and Universities. Architecture: the Gothic (Decorative and Perpendicular). Literature: romances, mysteries and miracles. Geoffrey Chaucer. Music: Troubadours and minstrels. Ars Nova. Chapel Royal.




The Tudors and the Making of the Nation State. (1485-1604). The Reformation. Renaissance and Humanism. Literature: drama. Shakespeare. The ‘Golden Age’ of English Music: Byrd, Dowland. Painting: portraiture (Holbein), miniature (Hilliard). Architecture: the influence of the Italian Renaissance. Prodigy houses.




Parliament against the Crown. (1604-1714). The Stuarts and the Civil War. Puritanism. Commonwealth and the Republic. The Restoration. The ‘Glorious Revolution’ and the Constitutional Monarchy. The Revolution in Thought: Hobbes, Newton. Palladian and Baroque Architecture: Inigo Jones, Christopher Wren, John Vanbrugh. Painting: Dick van Eyck. Baroque Music: Henry Purcell. Literature. Classicism: John Milton, John Dryden.




Politics and Finance. (1714-1816). Walpole, Pitt and the Hanovrians. The Loss of the American Colonies. The French Revolution and the Napoleonian Wars. Town and Village. The Age of Reason. Philosophy: Hume, Berkeley. Literature: the rise of the novel. Architecture: Baroque and Neoclassicism; landscape design. Panting: Hogarth, Gainsborough, Reynolds. Music: Haendel.




The Victorian Age. (1816-1900). The Monarchy and the Empire. Conservatives and Liberals. The Town. Progress in science and technology. Architecture: the Battle of Styles: Gothic vs. Classical. Painting: Constable, Turner, the pre-Raphaelites, Whistler. Literary Romanticism. Poetry: Wordsworth, Coleridge, Shelley, Byron. The Victorian Novel: Dickens, Thackeray, Hardy.




The Twentieth Century. (1900- 1990) Britain and the Great War. (1900-1921). The Inter-war Period (1922-1938). The Second World War and the Reconstruction (1939-1950). Britain after 1950: Social and Economic Policies. Thatcherism and Change. Great Britain, Europe and the United States. Political institutions: the monarchy, the parliament, the Government and the political parties. Local government. The Legal System. Economic, financial and commercial institutions. Social insurance, health and housing. Education. Religion. Social classes. The Family. Mass-media: radio, television, and the press. Literature: Modernism, Postmodernism. Main directions in painting: Individualism, post-Impressionism, Fauvism, Cubism, Conceptual art, Vorticism, Abstract Expressionism, Performance Art, Pop Art. From Edwardian Classicism to Modernism in British Architecture. Popular Culture. British Cinema and Television. ‘Renaissance’ in British Music: Perry, Elgar, Williams. REQUIRED READING 1.

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Ford, Boris. ed. The Cambridge Cultural History of Britain. Vol.1-9. (Cambridge University

A History of the British People, Their Culture & Civilisation

2. 3.

Press, 1992-1995; Oakland, J. British Civilisation. An Introduction. (London: Routledge, 1996); Remus Bejan. British Civilisation to 1485. (Galati: Latina, 1997).

For each course or seminar studied, the students should consult these volumes for the relevant article: other books also contain pertinent material (see Useful Reading below). More detailed and specific reading lists will be included in individual lectures handouts; the organiser of the course will advise you on appropriate background, critical and theoretical texts that you should consult. USEFUL READING (RECOMMENDED) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30.

Ball, M. Et al. The Transformation of Britain. Contemporary Social and Economic Change. (London: Fontana Press, 1989); Baker, J.H. An Introduction to English Legal History. 3rd edition. ( London, Boston, Dublin, Edinburgh, Hato Rey, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Sydney, Toronto, Wellington, 1990); Bede. The Ecclesiastical History of The English People. Edited with and Introduction by Judith McClure and Roger Collins. (Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, 1994) Braudel, Fernand. Gramatica civilizatiilor. (I-II). Dinu Moarcas tr. (Bucuresti: Editura Meridiane 1994); Bindman, D. Encyclopaedia of British Art. (London: Thames & Hudson, 1985); Blamires, Harvey. A Short History of English Literature. 2nd ed. (London & Ne York: Routledge, 1994); Briggs, Asa. A Social History of England. (London: Penguin Books Ltd., 1991); Burgess, A. English Literature. Survey for students. (Routledge, 1987); Brokes, H.F and C.E. Fraenkel. Life in Britain. (Oxford: Heinemann, 1988); de la Croix Horst and R. Brace eds. Gardner’s Art through Ages. Seventh edition. (New York : Iovanovich Inc. 1980)’ Clark, David. Civilisation. A Personal View. BBC and John Murray 1971; Daiches, D. A Critical History of English Literature. Vol.1-4. Secker and Warburgh, 1976; Ford, Boris. ed. The Cambridge Cultural History of Britain. Vol.1-9. (Cambridge University Press, 1992-1995; Gaunt, W. English Painting. A Concise History. (London: Thames and Hudson, 1991); Gombrich, E.H. The Story of Art. (London & New York : Phaidon, 1967); Gourvish, T. and O’Day, A. Britain since 1945. (London: MacMillan, 1991); Hilbert, C. London. A Biography of the City. (London: Penguin, 1980); Hugh, Christopher. (ed). The Cambridge Historical Encyclopedia of Great Britain and Ireland. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995); James, B. And Kavanagh, D. British Politics Today. Routledge, 1991; Kenny, A. Ed. The Oxford Illustrated History of Western Philosophy. (Oxford: Oxfrod University Press, 1994); Lyon, H. R. Anglo-Saxon England and the Norman Conquest. Second edition. (London and New York: Longman, 1991) Mason, T. (Ed). Sport in Britain. A Social History. (Cambridge University Press, 1989). Morgan, K.O. Oxford History of Britain. Oxford University Press, 1993; Marwick, R. Culture in Britain since 1945. (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1991); Morgan, Kenneth. (ed). The Oxford Illustrated History of Britain. (Oxford & New York: Oxford University Press, 1994); Musgrove, John. (Ed). History of Architecture. (Oxford: Butterworth/ Heinemann, 1994); Oakland, J. British civilisation. An Introduction. Routledge ,1996; Randle, J. Understanding Britain. A History of the British People and their Culture. Grange Press, 1988; Rogers, Pratt. Ed. The Oxford Illustrated History of English Literature. (Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, 1990); Room, A. An A to Z of British Life. Oxford University Press, 1990;

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31. Russell, B. History of Western Philosophy and Its Connections with Political and Social Circumstances from the Earliest Times to the Present Day. (London: George Allen and Unvoin Ltd., 1969); 32. Salway, P. Roman Britain. (Oxford & New York: Oxford University Press, 1988); 33. Seymour-Ure, Colen. The British Press and Broadcasting since 1945. (Oxford: Blackwell, 1991); 34. Somerset Fry, Peter and Fiona. The History of Ireland. ( London and New York: Routledge, 1991) 35. Somerset Fry, Peter and Fiona. The History of Scotland. (London and New York: Routledge 1995); 36. Trevelyan, G.M. A Shortened History of England. Penguin, 1965; 37. Watkin, David, English Architecture.(London: Thames and Hudson, 1985). LECTURE TIMETABLE 20/12/1999

BRITAIN’S PREHISTORY

21/12/1999

THE MIDDLE AGES

22/12/1999

THE SIXTEENTH TO THE NINETEENTH CENTURIES.

23/12/1999

THE TWNTIETH CENTURY

SEMINARS TIMETABLE 20/12/1999

POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS: Monarchy, Parliament, Government, Cabinet. Oakland ( 65-106 ) video: Parliament at work; 22/12/1999

23/12/199

THE LEGAL SYSTEM Oakland (147-176 )

N.B. Page references are to British Civilisation, 3rd edition by John Oakland, Routledge 1996. ASSESSMENT OF BC Attendance at all lectures and seminars is expected. Essays and project work must be handed to the course organiser by the assigned date. It is essential that work be completed on time to allow for marking and return within three weeks. Late work will be penalised with 20 (out of 100) marks per week, and no written comments or discussion can be expected. Seriously late written work (three weeks) will be zeromarked and not re-set. Work will be discussed individually with each student (after submission). Class performance is measured by a combination of two factors: written work: two essays, the dissertation, and two class tests. A satisfactory class performance, which includes completion of all written work, leads the students to having “duly performed” the work of the course. This permits them to sit the June exam, or re-sit it in September. A student may be refused a “DP” if you (s)he failed to complete and hand in written work or missed seminars without proper explanation. SITTING EXAMS The February examination will cover British Civilisation studied during the semester (courses and seminars). The purpose of the examination is to enable students to demonstrate their width and depth of

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A History of the British People, Their Culture & Civilisation

reading, the ability to develop an argument and support it with illustrations. It is not the purpose of the exam to encourage the students merely to write out class essays for a second time, or simply to transcribe notes taken in lectures that have vague connection with the question set. Sitting the February examination is a compulsory part of the course, and no student can sit it without having completed their written work by the deadlines set by the tutor, without reasonable explanation. These may be regarded as not having fulfilled the requirements of the course and so not allowed to sit the examination. The final examination has two sections, as follows: Written Examination (180 minutes) ♦ a multiple choice test (60 minutes/80 questions ) ♦ a summary (30 minutes/120 words) ♦ an essay (90 minutes/800 words). Oral examination (20 minutes) ♦ Oral presentation ♦ Definition of 3 fundamental concepts

PASSING BC A successful pass in the course will be judged by performance in the written work, preparation and participation in the seminars, and by formal examination. At the end of the semester all students will be assigned an overall mark, which will be an aggregate of the February examination (40%), two essays (20%), two progress tests (20%) and the project work (20%). All forms of assessment, as well as the deadlines are compulsory. Getting passing grades in the essay tests, as well as for seminar work is a pre-requisite for admission to the February examination. Students should complete all the specified work of the British Civilisation class that falls due during the semester , and must be handed to the tutor by the assigned date. Students failing the June examination, make take the September ‘re-sit’. EVALUATION To improve the quality of the teaching done in this course, the following forms of survey will be used:
Coursework and examination results (periodically and after the final examinations);
Interviews (during the weekly meeting with the students);
Class discussion (1-2 times per semester);
Students’ evaluation of the course (see annex 1)
Self-evaluation checklist (courseware checklist, teaching/learning activity checklist, formal lecture, active lecture, small group teaching, students assessment, evaluation checklist, SWAIN and RAIN, see annexes 2-9);
Course log-book (to keep starting with the 1999-2000 academic year);
Evaluation by colleagues (classroom observation, micro-teaching) to be done 2-3 times/semester. STUDY SKILLS








To improve their study and academic writing skills, the students should read the following books: Alexander, L. G. Essay and Letter Writing. 13th impression. (Harlow: Longman, 1994). Alexander, L. G. Sixty Steps to Precis.2nd edition. (Harlow: Longman, 1995). Jordan. R. R. Academic Writing Course.(London & Glasgow: Collins,1989. Gerald Levin. Short Essays. 5th edition. (San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers, 1989). Mary Waters & Alan Waters. Study Tasks in English. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995)

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