British society and culture.doc

Name: The United Kingdom of Great Britain and the Northern IrelandMain land: Britain (England, Scotland, Wales)Meaning of Britain: either Great Britain or the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandNational flag: Union Jack or Union Flag (Blue field with the red cross of Saint George edged in white superimposed on the diagonal red cross of Saint Patrick, which is superimposed on the diagonal white cross of Saint Andrew)England: London (capital), Oxford (a university center, Oxford University the worlds oldest university), Birmingham (2nd), Manchester (3rd; art, sport, entertaining center), Leeds, Sheffield, Liverpool, Bristol, Nottingham, Leicester and Newcastle upon Tyne; mostly rolling lowland terrain with low hills and plains and a coastline cut into by bays, coves and estuariesScotland: northern; lowland in the south and east and highlands in the north and east; tradition and long history; Ben Nevis, UKs highest mountain; the highest waterfall EasaChual Aluinn in the Highlands; main cities include Edinburgh (2nd, east, near the North Sea), Glasgow (1st, west, near Atlantic Ocean), Aberdeen (3rd, a transportation center) and Dundee; the best quality live in the worldWales: south, near the ocean with the eastern part next to England; mostly mountainous; the longest river Severn in its center; environment/culture/language total different; Cardiff (the capital city, youngest capital in Europe, 1st), Aberystwyth (near Cardigan Bay, a coastal town, another major cultural and educational center); 1945, Wales National Library establishedNorthern Ireland: known for violent conflicts; plains and hills with forests and lakes; two mountain ranges (the Mournes, the Sperrins); Lough Neagh (382 square kilometers) the largest freshwater lake in the UK, one of the largest in Europe; most hilly in Northern Ireland; capital of NI is Belfast (northeast corner); major industries ship and airplane constructions, telecommunication, technology and trading; Dublin, Londonderry, Galway, Cork, Limerick.Conurbations, Metropolises and citiesPhysical features of Britain: mountains, hills, rivers, lakes, valleysClimate: mild and temperate; four seasons; rainfall is greatest in the western and upland areasRelations Northern Ireland has with EnglandUnderstand the terms city, conurbation, and metropolis in BritainHistory of being invaded prior to the Norman ConquestRoman Conquest 43-430 ADAnglo-Saxon, Angles, Saxons, JutesVikingsThe NormansNotes each period historical significances and legaciesThe Middle Age: why dark? We dont know a lot about it. Magna Carter 1215 (Great Chapter)The Hundred Years War, 1337-1453The War of the Roses, 1455-1485The Renaissance: Henry VIII, Bloody Mary, Elizabeth IThe Stuart Dynasty, Hanoverian DynastyQueen Victoria, 63 years ofBritain in the 20th centuryDiscussion: 1, 7 P35Old English literature: in Celtic language (the most famous: epic poem Beowulf)Medieval literature: poet Geoffrey Chaucer (The Canterbury Tales and Troilus and Criseyde), Jersey poet Wace founder of Jersey literatureRenaissance literature: sonnet introduced by Thomas Wyatt, the most important poets included Edmund Spenser and Sir Philip Sidney; the most important literary achievements drama; Shakespeare over 35 plays (Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth)Reformation (translation of liturgy and Bible): The Anglican Book of Common Prayer, Authorized Version of the Bible, 1611; major poets of 17th century: John Donne and John Milton (religious epic Paradise Lost)18th century literature: novel rose, Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe; Henry Fielding, Laurence Sterne and Tobias Smollett; most consider Irish fiction begins in the 18th century with Jonathan Swifts Gullivers Travels and Oliver Goldsmiths The Vicar of Wakefield19th century literature: 1.Romanticism (William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge brought emotionalism and introspection); major Romantic poets included Lake Poets (WW, STC, Robert Southey); second generation romantic poets (Lord Byron, Percey Bysshe Shelley and John Keats); Jane Austen (Proud and Prejudice), Charles Dickens (Pickwick Papers, A Christmas Carol) 2. The novel in the Victorian era (leading form): Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray, the realist novels of George Eliot, Anthony Trollope, Thomas Hardy (Jude the Obscure), Lewis Carroll; poetic figures: Alfred Tennyson, Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and Matthew Arnold; playwright: Dion Boucicault, George Bernard Shaw and Oscar Wilde (Celtic Revival begun by William Butler Yeats, Lady Gregory, John M. Synge, Sean OCasey, James Joyce and others)20th century literature: Kiplings imperialism; modernist writers: Woolf (the stream of consciousness, To the Lighthouse, Mrs. Dalloway, The Waves), James Joyce (Ulysses), and Lawrence (Lady Chatterleys Lover); leading poets in the middle and later 20th century included John Benjamin, Philip Larkin, Ted Hughes, and Seamus Heaney; drama (challenged by the Angry Young Men reflected by John Osborness Look Back in Anger): Samuel Becketts Waiting for Godot, Harold Pinter and Tom StoppardThe theatre: London (a capital of theatres), Royal National Theatre, the Royal Shakespeare Company (the most famous acting troupe); theatre introduced from Europe by Romans and auditoriums; Shakespeare about 40 plays; Andrew Lloyd Webbers CatMusic: popular music in the 60s: in far-ranging field heavy metalfolk-rock and drum bass; opera, choral and classical orchestra pieces, rock and pop, folk and jazz, military and brass bands, acoustic and newly emerging musical collaborations. 60s: Beatles, Rolling Stones, WhoVisual arts: painting (the Celtic high crosses, mural painting, stained glass); 18th century, painting school the first distinctly British style of painting; leading painter Turner (wild, almost abstract, landscapes, explored effects of light; influenced on impressionists), John Constable (more acceptable), and Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood; major art movement at the beginning of the 20th century was vorticismFeatures characterizing each stage of the British LiteratureFactors contributing to a flowering of poetry, novel and drama in the 19th centuryBasic information: governmental model (a Constitutional Monarchy), branches of power (Executive, Legislative, Judicial branch) Major political parties (Labor Party, Conservative Party and Liberal Democrats)Monarchy: the power of the monarch (the Head of State, head of executive branch, part of the legislature, head of the judiciary, commander-in-chief of all armed forces, supreme governor of the established Church of England. Power limited, appoint a new Prime Minister, appoint the individual most likely to maintain the support of the House of Commons, appoint and dismiss Cabinet and other ministers on the Prime Ministers advice, weekly audience with the PM, regularly with other members of the Cabinet. The prerogative to summon, prorogue, and dissolve Parliament, negotiate and ratify treaties, alliances, and international agreements, no Parliamentary approval required, accredit British High Commissioner and ambassadors, and receives diplomats from foreign states, all passports issued in her name; create all peerages, appoint members of the orders of chivalry, grants knighthoods and award other honors; appoint archbishops and bishops) and the symbolic role of the sovereignSons inherit before daughters, elder before younger of the same sex, only Protestants may inherit the CrownMake-up of the parliament: the House of Commons (the center of parliamentary power), the House of Lords and the QueenFunctions of the parliament: pass laws, provide the means of carrying on the work of government by voting for taxation, scrutinize government policy and administration, including proposal for expenditure; and debate the major issues of the dayPractice of Common law: Prime Ministers (appoint and dismiss ministers, allocate functions among ministers, regular meeting with the Queen to inform her of the general business of the government, represent the UK at major international events, recommend a number of appointments to the Queen, recommend certain civil appointment.): Margaret Thatcher and her successorsCabinet: 20 ministers appointed in by PM, take final decisions on all government policy, meet weekly, deal with defense and overseas policy, economic policy, home and social affairs, the environment, and local government.Since 1945 the traditional two-party system of government has been maintained.Relations between the government, the parliament and the political parties: leader of the winner party in an election (the Prime Minister) invited by the Sovereign to form a government which derives its authority and membership from Parliament, one party runs the government while the other contributes to the formulation of policy and legislationBritish Sovereigns responsibilitiesHow two-system work in balancing political powerFirst industrial Revolution (began with the introduction of steam power and powered machinery): time span (Late 18th century and early 19th century) and technological innovations (steam engine the most important first used for draining mines or driving mills, powered machinery, spinning jenny and new metal working technology, the organization of human labor in factories, creation of factory, machine tools)Causes of the Revolution (outgrowth of social and institutional changes wrought by the end of feudalismthe enclosure movement and the British Agricultural Revolutionthe colonial expansion and development of international tradecreation of financial markets and accumulation of capitalthe presence of a large domestic market)Transport (railways spread): 之前inland by navigable river and roads, with coastwise vessels to move heavy goods by sea. Railway or wagonways for conveying coal to rivers for further shipment, canals cut for moving goods between towns and cities之后improved. All major rivers made navigable to a great or lesser degree. Major roads radiated from London and help Royal Mail to reach the rest of the country. Heavy goods transported by means of broad wheeled carts hauled by teams of horses, light by smaller carts or by means of pack horses. Stage coaches transported people. The less wealthy walked. /horse-drawn public railways steam-hauled public railways (began in Liverpool and Manchester and Stockton and Darlington Railways). Transportation by sea Waterway, Roads, Wagonways, RailwaysSocial impacts: child labor (1833 first law against child labor, the Factory Act passed in England, under 9 not allowed to work, under 18 limited to 12 hours) demands for mass political participation the public and private spheres overlapped, wife and husband began to separateSecond industrial Revolution: 1780s to pre-WWI; Leading technological innovations: internal combustion engine, electricity, new materials and substances, communication technology; characterized by industrial mass production; marked by a transition of technological leadership from GB to the US and Germany; causes of industrializationintroduction of hydroelectric power generation the increasing availability of economic petroleum productsUK is the sixth largest economy by GDP (USA, Japan, PRC, Germany, France), the second largest financial economy next to the USACity of London: Core part of Greater London area, financial service center of the UK, over 500 banks have headquarte