British Cultural Studies Lecture 1 М Н Рассоха

British Cultural Studies Lecture 1 ©М. Н. Рассоха

Question to ponder What words/phrases come to your mind when you hear Britain/ British /the British people?

Course objectives • to examine and discover contemporary British culture as many-faceted phenomenon • to offer interpretation of distinctive features of Anglo culture with a special emphasis on British cultural identities as they are represented in social practices and activities • to develop students’ language and cultural competence

Course description • • • taught in English in a lecture format; two hours every two weeks (total 18 hrs); assessment : in-class individual tests; written/oral presentations ; self-study activities.

Course content The course covers the following topics: • Land; • People and Languages; • Institutions (legal, religious and political culture); • Education; • Everyday life culture (leisure, holidays, homes, family life) • Britain and the World.

Topic Land What are the names of this country?

Country’s names Great Britain (GB) Britain Britannia The British Isles Albion The United Kingdom (UK) The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland • England • • Blighty (informal, old-fashioned) England. This word was used especially by soldiers during the First World War.

Country’s names: Britannia, The British Isles, Britain Brythons/Brythonic a Celtic tribe of South Britain (original meaning “painted”)

Albion from L. albus ‘white’

Albion

England ?

Anglii +land > England

Country’s names • Great Britain (The Act of Union between England Scotland: 1 May 1707 ) • The United Kingdom (The Act of Union between GB and Ireland : 1 January 1801 ) • The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (Anglo-Irish Treaty: 12 April 1922 )

Location

Location • an island country • surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel and the Irish Sea • influence of the sea on the inland territories.

Bill Bryson “Notes from a Small Island” “The British have a totally private sense of distance. This is most visibly seen in the shared pretense that Britain is a lonely island in the middle of an empty green sea. Of course, the British are all aware, in an abstract sort of way, that there is a substantial landmass called Europe nearby and that from time to time it is necessary to go over there. . . have a holiday in the sun, but it’s not nearby in any meaningful sense. . . “(p. 4)

Being an island

Being an island people Sense of separateness • The Strait of Dover =Pas de Calais; The English Channel =La Manche • “The best thing between France and England is the sea “ • «Британия – остров-корабль с «самосделанным человеком» (self-made man) как мачтой» (Гачев с. 158)

Location: getting to the Continent • Crossing the English Channel as a voyage to Europe (22 miles/35 km between Dover and Calais). By ferry appr. 1 hour; • The largest island, Great Britain, is linked to France by the Channel Tunnel (since 1994) by train 30 min;

Topic Land Being an island people sports Navy/ Sea power history literature sea Empire pastime activities national character attitudes to ‘funny foreigners’

Sea and lifestyle • The English were the first to make one-man round –the-world trips • Crossing the English Channel • Seaside weekends/vacations (Brighton, Bogner Regis and other seaside resorts)

Seaside landladies Once there were a lot of jokes about the good ladies who used to have "rooms" for holidaymakers beside the sea—the seaside landladies. There aren't any seaside landladies now. Their houses have all become "hotels", the landladies themselves are "proprietresses", and their rooms are "accommodation”.

SEASIDE HOTELS Our hotel—it was called HOME FROM HOME—was very nice but the bedrooms were very small: you had to go outside the room to turn round. (The Book of British Humour, 1996, p. 4)

Rivers and Lakes • Due to the humid climate the water level is always high; rivers seldom freeze; many rivers are connected by canals becoming important waterways. • The Thames • The Severn (tributary The Avon) • The Clyde • The Tyne

The Thames

River Cam: putting in a boat

Rivers and Lakes • The Lake District associated with the history of English literature (Wordsworth, Coleridge, Quincy, etc. ) • The lakes are mainly located in Scotland, called lochs • Loch Ness

Loch Ness

Small country but diverse • • moor downs glens firths dales Fen bogs heath Landscape of rich variety Highland Lowland zones

Topic Land Climate and Weather • Britain lies as far north as Siberia • Edinburgh is on the same latitude as Moscow • Moderate and mild climate (midoceanic)

Humid and mild climate

Factors influencing British climate 1. The Gulf Stream brings warm water and air across the Atlantic 2. Coastline of irregular shape, deeply indented, making most parts of the country accessible to the oceanic influence 3. The influence of depressions (areas of low pressure), they move in from the west bringing rains and accounting for rapid changes in the weather 4. The west winds prevail bringing warm air from the west

Weather • Periods of rain are followed quickly by brighter periods • Rainfall is even throughout the year (on average it rains every other day) • There’s no great temperature variation between day and night and between summer and winter (winter t. 5 -10 C and summer 1525 C).

Weather forecast 1 Most places will experience largely dry weather. The North-East should remain fairy dry until the afternoon. The outlook for tomorrow and Monday: There will be scattered showers on Sunday though most areas will have a mild, dry day. Monday will again see persistent rain.

December 19

Weather forecast 2 Cool drizzly weather, with some hill and coastal fog in the West, will be replaced by drier, brighter conditions slowly moving down from the North West to reach all parts by midnight. North-west Scotland will have a windy morning with some mainly light showers but also a little sunshine. Then, as the wind dies down later, more clear spells will develop leading to a chilly evening. Maximum temperature 12 C (54 F)

April 13

Weather forecast GENERAL situation: A weak frontal system will slowly clear from eastern districts of England. It will be a cloudy start over much of the country, particularly over England Wales, with a little rain or drizzle over the Midlands and south-east England. It will become bright across Northern Ireland western Scotland during the morning, with brighter spells developing further East, though it will be late into the afternoon before eastern and south-eastern England see any significant improvement.

August 23

Weather • The weather is so changeable that the English often say that they have no climate but only weather. • They have three variants of weather: when it rains in the morning, when it rains in the afternoon or when it rains all day long.

Weather topic is a conventional ice-breaker and a favourite conversation theme. I came across an old guy walking a little dog. The man nodded a good morning as I drew level. “Might turn out nice, ” he announced, gazing hopefully at a sky that looked like a pile of wet towels. (Bill Bryson. Notes from a Small Island. P. 9)

What does it mean to be British? What makes you feel British? http: //blogs. projectbritain. com/2006/04/mybritain. html • Sally said. . . An image I have is people sitting on the beach despite the weather being cold. It always amuses me (Monday, April 24, 2006) • Billy said. . . Standing in the rain watching a football match (Tuesday, April 25, 2006) • Anonymous said. . . I think that being british means bad weather, talking about the bad weather and high taxes! : -< (Tuesday, November 24, 2009)

‘Weather’ expressions • • • As changeable as weather To save money for a rainy day Come rain or shine Right as rain It’s raining cats and dogs (old-fashioned) Pea-souper

Enjoying British climate • • • Dressing lightly Tea drinking Fireplaces Hot water bottles Gardening Outdoor activities (walking, climbing, bike riding, and water sports)

Walking in the Woods

Walking in England http: //www. walkinginengland. co. uk/ • Thousands of FREE walks to download, all the books, maps and walking groups for each county. • Every County gives you: • Free Downloadable Walk descriptions • Loads of books of quality walks • Lists of all the walking Groups in the County • All the Ordnance Survey maps for the County • Links to weather forecast for your walk

Canterbury Area Walks: A Taste of Sandwich A gentle trail around this picturesque town. : Distance 3 miles (4. 8 km) Minimum time 1 hr 30 min Level of difficulty Easy Paths Easy town streets and field tracks, 9 stiles Landscape Impossibly quaint townscape surrounded by salt flats Suggested map aqua 3 OS Explorer 150 Canterbury & the Isle of Thanet Start/finish TR 351582 Dog friendliness Pretty good, can run free in some sections Parking Behind Guildhall in Sandwich Public toilets New Street, Sandwich

. The Sea on our Left Hunt, Shally. The Sea on our Left. UK: Summersdale Publishers Ltd. , 2000. – 348 p.

The 10 best coastal walks Whether you want a short hike or more of a marathon, stretch your legs and enjoy some of Britain's best sea viewshttp: //www. independent. co. uk/travel/uk/the-10 best-coastal-walks-8452842. html

Home assignment 1. Study the geography of the British Isles: pay attention to the number of islands, their names, their political status, cultural peculiarities ( esp. recommended: The Channel Islands, The Isle of Man, The Isle of Skye) 2. Comment on the meaning of the following ‘weather’ expressions: as changeable as weather, come rain or shine, to save money for a rainy day‘. 3. Dictionary work. Using dictionaries study the meaning of the following landscape vocabulary: moor, downs, glens, firths, dales, fen, bogs, and heath.

Internet-based project: “A Visit to…” • Step 1. Browse the websites and choose a place in Britain you’d like to visit and stay. Each group gets together to discuss a place and a family or friends they are going to visit. Invent their names, occupation, home, lifestyle, and pastime activities, etc. - all according to the local culture. • Step 2. Each student collects information from the Internet or other sources on one of the selected topics: Place, Language, Institutions, Education and Every day life. You are required to be specific about authentic details, for example, in the School section a real timetable, out-of-class activities, etc. should be described using the information from the website of a local school; •

Internet-based project: “A Visit to…” • Step 3. Prepare drafts of your parts and submit them for peer review and feedback. Invest in the process of collective learning and direct it. It is also an excellent opportunity to learn from your group mates’ materials a lot of useful and interesting information. • Step 4. Prepare oral presentation of a project. Be as creative as possible by including into your presentation music, pictures, etc.