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AJ06002 Introduction to British Studies II

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2009

Extent and Intensity

0/2/0. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).

Teacher(s)

Stephen Paul Hardy, Ph.D. (lecturer)
doc. Michael Matthew Kaylor, PhD (lecturer)
PhDr. Lidia Kyzlinková, CSc., M.Litt. (lecturer)

Supervisor

Jeffrey Alan Vanderziel, B.A.
Department of English and American Studies - Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Tomáš Hanzálek

Timetable of Seminar Groups

AJ06002/A Wed 16:40–18:15 G32, S. Hardy
AJ06002/B Wed 18:20–19:55 G32, S. Hardy
AJ06002/C Mon 8:20–9:55 G32, M. Kaylor
AJ06002/D Mon 10:00–11:35 G32, M. Kaylor
AJ06002/E Wed 15:00–16:35 G32, L. Kyzlinková

Prerequisites (v češtině)

AJ06001 Intro. to British Studies I

Course Enrollment Limitations

The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.

Fields of study the course is directly associated with

there are 11 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display

Course objectives

This course engages the broad cultural dynamics of Britain and its former colonies, with particular attention paid to the developing role of institutions and their impact on mechanisms of power, social conditions, and cultural production. Emphasis is placed on the changing discourses of British life – social, medical, ethical, religious, legal, political, monetary, scholarly, and familial – complex discourses which arose from the first Roman interchanges with the Celts, matured throughout the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, were advanced by the establishment of Britain's almost-global dominance during the reign of Victoria, were impacted by the two World Wars, and continue to develop into the Britain we see today. Unlike 'Introduction to British Studies I', this course will concentrate primarily on the period after World War II. The required text, and the one covered on the exam, is "Investigating Culture and Identity" by Paul Taylor (Harper Collins, 1997).
At the end of the course, students will be able to discuss cultural theories with greater sensitivity and appreciation, and will have an understanding of the contexts from which those theories arose as well as situations in which they can be aptly applied in dealing with Britain.

Syllabus

Week 1: Introduction. Week 2: Introducing Culture and Identity (Taylor, Investigating Culture, pp. 1-25). Week 3: Consensus, socialization and solicial solidarity (pp. 26-53). Week 4: Class, power and ideology (pp. 54-81). Week 5: Gender and sexuality (pp. 82-110). Week 6: Race, ethnicity and nationalism (pp. 111-138). Week 7: Age, generation and subculture (pp. 139-164). Week 8: Signs, symbols and structures (pp. 165-186). Week 9: Interaction, agency and structuralism (pp. 187-211). Week 10: Modernity and postmodernity (pp. 212-247). Weeks 10-13: Devoted topics relating to place and environment; education, work and leisure; gender, sex, and the family; youth culture and age; class and politics; ethnicity and language; religion and heritage; present and future Britain.

Literature

OAKLAND, John. British civilization :an introduction. 2nd ed. London: Routledge, 1991. 256 s. ISBN 0-415-06475-9. info
FRANKOVÁ, Milada. A Reader. editor: PhDr. Lidia Kyzlinková. In British Studies. Brno: Masarykova univerzita, 1999. 128 pp. učební texty. ISBN 80-210-2119-5. info
Investigating Culture and Identity
MCDOWALL, David. An illustrated history of Britain a. Harlow: Longman, 1989. 188 p. : i. ISBN 0-582-74914-695. info
British cultural identities. Edited by Mike Storry - Peter Childs. London: Routledge, 1997. xxii, 350. ISBN 0-415-13699-7. info

Teaching methods

Seminars, 1½ hours per week.

Assessment methods

Assessment: A written examination constituting 100% of the credit for this term (50 questions). Since this is only half of a two-term course, this exam will contribute 50% of the credit for the comprehensive grade at the end of the second term.

Language in which the course is taught