UCJCA006 British studies

Faculty of Philosophy and Science in Opava
Summer 2008
Extent and Intensity
1/2/0. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
PhDr. Jan Vomlela (lecturer)
PhDr. Jan Vomlela (seminar tutor)
Guaranteed by
PhDr. Jan Vomlela
Institute of Foreign Languages – Faculty of Philosophy and Science in Opava
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives (in Czech)
Stručná anotace předmětu: Smyslem předmětu je poskytnout posluchačům základní rozhled a orientaci v problematice britských lingvoreálií, upozornit na základní politické, kulturní a sociální aspekty života v Británii s důrazem na to, co je specificky britské. Po absolvování kurzu má být posluchač schopen samostatně se orientovat v oboru britských studií a v odborné literatuře a sám se v této oblasti dále vzdělávat. Sylabus přednášky: Jednotlivé týdny budou postupně věnovány níže uvedeným tematickým okruhům. Látka z přednášek bude podrobněji rozpracovávána v seminářích. 1. Great Britain - the country and its people. Geography of the U.K. Who are the British? Climate, land and settlement. The four nations - an introduction. National flags and symbols. 2. Political and Regional Geography of the UK and the Irish Republic. London and its central role. Southern England. The Midlands. Northern England. Scotland. Wales. Northern Ireland. The Irish Republic. Dublin, the cities and the country. 3. Prehistory and medieval times - historical events that helped shape modern Britain. Prehistory. The Roman period. The Germanic invasions. Anglo-Saxon England. The medieval time - the Norman Conquest, the Hundred Years' War. The Tudors and Reformation. The beginnings of monarchy in Scotland. Ireland - a Christian history, first contacts with the Normans. Roots of the Irish Question. 4. British history (1603 up to the present) - historical events that helped shape modern Britain. The Stuart Era, the Civil War and the Glorious Revolution. Settling the colonies. Trade with the colonies. The English naval supremacy. The birth of Britain. Formation of the Empire. The Industrial Revolution. Britain in WWI and WWII. 5. National, social and geographic identity. Ethnic identity. Multiculturalism. The non-native British. Immigrants. Different attitude to the family. Social class. Changes in the society. Men and Women. Socializing and everyday life. Clubbing. Identity in Northern Ireland. 6. Attitudes. Stereotypes and change. English versus British. Conservatism. Being different. The love of nature and animals. Formality and informality. Customs and special occasions. 7. Political life. British democracy. The constitutional monarchy. The role of the monrach. The attitude to the monarchy. The Royals. The style of politics. The party system. Political life. The public attitude to politics. 8. The system of government. The executive branch. The Cabinet. The Prime Minister. The civil service. Central and local government. Devolution and the national parliaments and assemblies. 9. The system of government. The legislative branch. Parliament and its specific atmosphere. The House of Commons. The House of Lords. The process of legislation. Elections, the campaign and canvassing. 10. The law in Britain. The police and the public. Crime and criminal procedure. The Common Law and Precedent. British courts. The legal profession - judges, barristers and solicitors. 11. Britain and the Outside World. International relations. The Empire - a historical perspective. The Commonwealth of Nations. 12. Britain and the Outside World. British membership in international organizations other than the Commonwealth. 13. Translatlantic relations. Britain in the EU - Eurooptimism and scepticism. Britain and the EU Enlargement.
Language of instruction
English
Further Comments
The course can also be completed outside the examination period.
The course is also listed under the following terms Summer 1994, Summer 1995, Summer 1996, Summer 1997, Summer 1998, Summer 1999, Summer 2000, Summer 2001, Summer 2002, Summer 2003, Summer 2004, Summer 2005, Summer 2006, Summer 2007, Summer 2009, Summer 2010, Summer 2011, Summer 2012, Summer 2013, Summer 2014, Summer 2015.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Summer 2008, recent)
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