Cultural History of the British Isles
Code: 106284 ECTS Credits: 6| Degree | Type | Year |
|---|---|---|
| 2504212 English Studies | FB | 1 |
| 2504380 English and Catalan Studies | OB | 2 |
| 2504386 English and Spanish Studies | OB | 2 |
| 2504393 English and French Studies | OB | 2 |
| 2504394 English and Classics Studies | OB | 2 |
Contact
- Name:
- Nicholas John Edwards
- Email:
- nicholasjohn.edwards@uab.cat
Teachers
- (External) Nicholas John Edwards
Teaching groups languages
You can view this information at the end of this document.
Prerequisites
There are no specific requirements for this subject BUT a level of C1 English is essential.
Students should be able to understand and follow theoretical discussions of historical and cultural texts.
They should also be able to interact with native speakers and express their ideas and opinions without effort.
Objectives and Contextualisation
The subject Cultural History of the British Isles provides an introduction to the main events and figures of British and Irish history and culture. The main purpose of this subject is to prepare students to understand British and Irish society, which will help them to follow the remaining subjects in their degree.
After taking this subject students will be able to
- Show that they have understood a variety of texts
- Use the historical and cultural resources of any library
- Express an informed critique of any cultural or historical text they may read.
Competences
- English Studies
- Act with ethical responsibility and respect for fundamental rights and duties, diversity and democratic values.
- Apply the methodology of analysis and critical concepts to analysing the literature, culture and history of English-speaking countries.
- Demonstrate skills to develop professionally in the fields of linguistic applications, teaching and literary and cultural management in English.
- Demonstrate skills to work autonomously and in teams to fulfil the planned objectives.
- Students must have and understand knowledge of an area of study built on the basis of general secondary education, and while it relies on some advanced textbooks it also includes some aspects coming from the forefront of its field of study.
- Understand and produce written and spoken academic texts in English at an advanced proficient-user level (C1).
- Use current philological methodologies to interpret literary texts in English and their cultural and historical context.
- Use digital tools and specific documentary sources for the collection and organisation of information.
- Use written and spoken English for academic and professional purposes, related to the study of linguistics, the philosophy of language, history, English culture and literature.
- English and Catalan Studies
- Apply scientific ethical principles to information processing.
- Critically evaluate the literary and cultural production in the Catalan and English languages and their historical and social context.
- Demonstrate the ability to work autonomously and in teams with the aim of attaining the planned objectives in multicultural and interdisciplinary contexts.
- Develop arguments applicable to the fields of English and French literature, culture and linguistics and evaluate their academic relevance.
- Identify and interpret literary texts in different languages, analysing the generic, formal, thematic and cultural characteristics in accordance with the concepts and methods of comparative literature and literary theory.
- Make correct use of written and spoken English for academic or professional purposes, related to the study of language, history, culture and literature.
- Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
- Students must have and understand knowledge of an area of study built on the basis of general secondary education, and while it relies on some advanced textbooks it also includes some aspects coming from the forefront of its field of study.
- Understand and produce oral and written academic texts with appropriateness and fluency in distinct communicative contexts.
- Use digital tools and specific documentary sources to gather and organise information.
- English and Spanish Studies
- Analyse the main phonetic, phonological, morphological, syntactic, lexical and semantic properties of the English and Spanish languages, their evolution throughout history and their current structure.
- Apply scientific ethical principles to information processing.
- Correctly use written and oral English and Spanish for academic and professional purposes, related to the study of linguistics, history, culture and literature.
- Critically analyse linguistic, literary and cultural production in English and Spanish, applying the techniques and methods of critical editing and digital processing.
- Demonstrate the ability to work autonomously and in teams in order to achieve the planned objectives in multicultural and interdisciplinary contexts.
- Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
- Students must have and understand knowledge of an area of study built on the basis of general secondary education, and while it relies on some advanced textbooks it also includes some aspects coming from the forefront of its field of study.
- Understand and produce oral and written academic texts with appropriateness and fluency in distinct communicative contexts.
- Use digital tools and specific documentary sources to gather and organise information.
- English and French Studies
- Apply scientific ethical principles to information processing.
- Critically apply the different current philological methodologies to interpret literary texts in English and French and their cultural and historical context.
- Demonstrate the ability to work autonomously and in teams with the aim of attaining the planned objectives in multicultural and interdisciplinary contexts.
- Students have the ability to gather and interpret relevant data (normally within their study area) to issue judgments that include reflection on important issues of social, scientific or ethical.
- Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
- Students must have and understand knowledge of an area of study built on the basis of general secondary education, and while it relies on some advanced textbooks it also includes some aspects coming from the forefront of its field of study.
- Use digital tools and specific documentary sources to gather and organise information.
- Use spoken English and French correctly for academic and professional purposes related to the study of linguistics, history, culture and literature.
- English and Classics Studies
- Apply scientific ethical principles to information processing.
- Apply the methodology of analysis and knowledge of genres, metrics and stylistics to comment on literary texts and analyse the culture and history of English-speaking countries and the ancient world.
- Demonstrate the ability to work autonomously and in teams in order to achieve the planned objectives in multicultural and interdisciplinary contexts.
- Students must be capable of communicating information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
- Students must have and understand knowledge of an area of study built on the basis of general secondary education, and while it relies on some advanced textbooks it also includes some aspects coming from the forefront of its field of study.
- Use digital tools and specific documentary sources to gather and organise information.
- Use written and spoken English correctly for academic and professional purposes related to the study of English linguistics, history, culture, and literature.
Learning Outcomes
- Actively participate in forums on the online learning platform.
- Apply acquired concepts and methods to professional situations simulated in the classroom through problem solving and case simulation
- Apply the acquired work planning methodologies to individual and group professional tasks.
- Apply the work-organisation methodologies acquired to individual and group-based professional tasks.
- Autonomously search, select and process information both from structured sources (databases, bibliographies, specialized magazines) and from across the network.
- Carry out bibliographic searches of secondary sources related to current culture and society in English and their textual representation, using digital technologies (catalogues and databases).
- Demonstrate an understanding of compulsory texts on the cultural history of the British Isles and the United States.
- Demonstrate full comprehension of, and recognise implicit meaning in, a wide range of literary, audio-visual and essayistic texts related to aspects of current culture and society in English.
- Develop advanced-level critical arguments applied to the interpretation of primary and secondary sources dealing with current English-language culture and society and its textual representation.
- Discuss with critical arguments orally in the classroom primary and secondary sources dealing with current English language culture and society and their textual representation.
- Distinguish principal ideas from secondary ideas and summarise literary, audiovisual and essayistic texts related to current culture and society in the English language and their textual representation.
- Distinguish principal ideas from secondary ideas and synthesise literary, audiovisual and essayistic texts related to current culture and society in the English language, and their textual representation.
- Express oneself fluently, correctly, appropriately and effectively, both orally and in writing, in an academic environment.
- Express oneself in English, orally and in writing, in a formal register and using appropriate terminology in relation to the study of the cultural history of the British Isles and the United States.
- Incorporate ideas and concepts from published sources into work, citing and referencing appropriately.
- Locate and organise relevant English-language information available on the internet, databases and libraries, and apply this to work and/or research environments.
- Locate specialised and academic information and select this according to its relevance.
- Participate in face-to-face and virtual discussions in English on topics related to current culture and society in the English language and their textual representation.
- Plan work effectively, individually or in groups, in order to fulfil the planned objectives.
- Produce works in which the fundamental digital and bibliographic tools for the field of study are applied.
- Produce written and oral academic discourse with a fluency and accuracy appropriate to a proficient-user level (C1).
- Take part in face-to-face and online debates in English on topics related to the culture and society in English and their representation in texts.
- Weigh up the impact of any long- or short-term difficulty, harm or discrimination that could be caused to certain persons or groups by the actions or projects.
Content
This course is an introduction to the main historical and cultural events of Britain and Ireland from the early Celts to the present day, although the emphasis is on the modern and contemporary era. Among the topics discussed are:
- The country (people, geography, infrastructures, communications, cultural practices)
- The people (the early invasions, immigration, ethnic groups, identities)
- The evolution of the institutions of the British Isles (Parliament, the Monarchy, the Church)
- The formation of the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland)
- Ireland (history, relations with England, its mythology)
- Medieval Britain
- Early Modern Britain
- The Industrial Revolution
- The Expansion of the British Empire
- The 19th century and social reforms
- The 20th century upto the end of World War II
Activities and Methodology
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type: Directed | |||
| Lectures, readings and debates in class, group seminars | 34 | 1.36 | 2, 7, 8, 14, 21, 23 |
| Type: Supervised | |||
| Participation in Moodle forums, individual tutoring | 15 | 0.6 | 1, 7, 8, 14, 21 |
| Type: Autonomous | |||
| Personal study, individual reading of texts, use of bibliographical resources | 40 | 1.6 | 2, 6, 7, 8, 12, 14, 17, 19, 21, 23 |
The teaching methodolgy is based on:
- Guided activities
- Supervised activities
- Autonomous activities
- Assessed activities
Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.
Assessment
Continous Assessment Activities
| Title | Weighting | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Final Exam | 40% | 10 | 0.4 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23 |
| Group project | 15% | 20 | 0.8 | 2, 6, 7, 8, 12, 14, 17, 19, 23 |
| Mid-Course Exam | 40% | 10 | 0.4 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23 |
| Participation in Moodle forums, attendance and class participation | 5% | 21 | 0.84 | 1, 2, 6, 7, 12, 14, 17, 21 |
Assessment for this course is based on the following:
- Mid-Course Exam = 40%
- Final Exam = 40%
- Group project = 15%
- Participation in forums, attendance and participation = 5%
ASSESSMENT:
- This subject follows the system of continuous assessment.
- All the exercises are COMPULSORY.
- All students are required to: study the compulsory book for this subject, watch the recommended films, and contextualize the suggested texts for this course. Any indication that a student has not completed his/her work in this respect will affect his/her assessment in a negative way.
- An exam not taken by the student will count as a 0 in that part.
- Students have the right to review their exercises (including reassessment) with their teacher in a personal tutorial on the set dates.
- The minimum pass mark for the whole subject is 5. Students are not obliged to pass each component in order to pass the course as long as they get a global 5 or above.
- The student’s command of English (C1) will be taken into account when marking all exercises and for the final mark. In fact, "English" will count 25% of all the exercises.
- The minimum mark for passing the course is 5. It is not obligatory to pass every component.
SINGLE ASSESSMENT
Students who opt for single assessment on this course will have to do three assessment activities:
One academic essay (40%), the title of which will be provided on the day of assessment.
Two exams (30% each), the first covering the Celtic period to the later medieval period, and the second one 1500-1945.
REVIEW
On carrying out each evaluation activity, lecturers will inform students (on Moodle) of the procedures to be followed for reviewing all grades awarded, and the date on which such a review will take place.
REASSESSMENT:
- Re-assessment for this subject requires a content-synthesis test, for which the following conditions are applicable:
- The student must previously have submitted a minimum of two-thirds of the course-assessment items, that is the exam and the academic paper.
- The student must previously have obtained anaverage overall grade equal to or higher than 3.5.
- The maximum grade than can be obtained through re-assessment is 5.0.
Non-assessable
Students will obtain a “Not assessed/Not submitted” course grade unless they have submitted more than 40% of the assessment items.
VERY IMPORTANT: Plagiarism in any of the exercises will automatically lead to FAILING (0/10) the exercise, which cannot be reassessed. If the student plagiarizes a second time, s/he will fail the course. PLAGIARISM means copying a text (and this includes a single sentence) from unidentified sources and pretending it is part of one's own production (THIS INCLUDES COPYING SENTENCES OR FRAGMENTS FROM THE INTERNET, WHICH ARE INCLUDED WITHOUT ANY CHANGES TO THE TEXT THAT IS PRESENTED AS ONE'S OWN) and it is a serious academic offence. Students must learn to respect others' intellectual property and to always identify the sources they use. It is absolutely necessary for students to become entirely responsible for the originality and authenticity of their texts.
In the event of a student committing any irregularity that may lead to a significant variation in the grade awarded to an assessment activity, the student will be given a zero for this activity, regardless of any disciplinary process that may take place. In the event of several irregularities in assessment activities of the same subject, the student will be given a zero as the final grade for this subject.
Bibliography
Obligatory textbook:
Grant, R.G. et al., History of Britain and Ireland. the Definitive Visual Guide. London: Dorling Kindersley, 2013.
Secondary reading:
Ackroyd, Peter A History of England - Volumes I-V, London: Pan, 2012-2019.
Black, Jeremy, A History of the British Isles, London: Palgrave, 2012. 3rd edition
Bogdanor, Vernon, Devolution in the United Kingdom, Oxford: OUP, 2001.
Dargie, Richard, A History of Britain. London: Arcturus, 2007
Duffy, Séan et al, Atlas of Irish History, Dublin: Gill & Macmillan, 2000.
Ferguson, Niall, Empire. How Britain Made the Modern World, London: Penguin, 2004.
Gilbert, Martin, The Routledge Atlas of British History, 4th edition, London: Routledge, 2007.
Lacey, Robert, GreatTales from English History, London: Little, Brown, 2003.
Lang, Sean, British History for Dummies, John Wiley & Sons, 2004
Oakland, John, British Civilization , 7th edition, London: Routledge, 2010.
Mulholland, Marc, Northern Ireland: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford UP, 2003.
Paseta,Senia, Modern Ireland: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford Paperbacks,2003.
Strong, Roy, The Story of Britain, Pimlico, 1998.
Podcasts (available on various platforms)
The Rest is History
BBC History Extra
Dan Snow's History Hit
BBC In Our Time
Not Just the Tudors
Gone Medieval
Documentaries
Simon Schama -A History of Britain (BBC)
Andrew Marr - The Making of Modern Britain (BBC)
Feargal Keane - The Story of Ireland (BBC)
Neil Oliver - A History of Scotland (BBC)
Huw Edwards - A History of Wales(BBC)
Websites:
Software
No specific software will be used.
Language list
| Name | Group | Language | Semester | Turn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (PAUL) Classroom practices | 1 | English | first semester | morning-mixed |
| (PAUL) Classroom practices | 2 | English | first semester | morning-mixed |
| (PAUL) Classroom practices | 3 | English | first semester | morning-mixed |
| (TE) Theory | 1 | English | first semester | morning-mixed |
| (TE) Theory | 2 | English | first semester | morning-mixed |
| (TE) Theory | 3 | English | first semester | morning-mixed |