Great Britain in the 20th Century - 1st semester
Code
711121052
Academic unit
Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas
Department
Línguas, Culturas e Literaturas Modernas, Secção de Estudos Ingleses e Norte-Americanos
Credits
6
Teacher in charge
Iolanda de Freitas Ramos
Weekly hours
4
Teaching language
Portuguese
Objectives
a) To acquire and to master a good knowledge of British society and foreign policy between World War 2 and the Millennium.
b) To select and to discuss texts and themes regarding Britain in the 20th century, both in internal and foreign affairs.
c) To identify continuities and changes in relation to Britain in the 21st century.
Prerequisites
None.
Subject matter
1. British society in the 2nd half of the 20th century.
2. Political ideologies: liberalism, conservatism and labourism.
3. Popular culture: Englishness, heritage industry and counter-culture.
4. The British Empire and the Commonwealth.
5. The special relation with the USA.
6. A reluctant partner: Britain in the European Union.
7. Continuities and changes in the 21st century.
Bibliography
- Marwick, A. (2003). British Society since 1945 (New Edition). London: Penguin.
- More, C. [2007] (2014). Britain in the Twentieth Century. London and New York: Routledge.
- Morgan, K. O. [2000] (2005). Twentieth-Century Britain: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Oakland, J. (2011). British Civilization: An Introduction (7th ed.). London and New York: Routledge.
- Oakland, J. (2001). Contemporary Britain: A Survey with Texts. London and New York: Routledge.
Teaching method
Presentation of the topics of the course syllabus by the lecturer; interactive methodology, based on audiovisual resources and support texts, and contributions by the students based on the reading of primary sources and contemporary analyses for oral presentation and/or group discussion; tutorial supervision of the critical readings and the thematic and bibliographical research tasks; to do a test in the form of a short essay on the course syllabus.
Evaluation method
short critical readings and/or thematic and bibliographical research tasks for oral presentation in class (40%); a written test / critical essay (60%).