Piskorz - kultura

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Exam: lectures and classes

His Page: II BA British Civilisation & Notice Board – important stuff there

Geographically

Great Britain vs. Brittany (part of France)

To distinguish (it's bigger)

Great Britain: part of group of islands off the north-west coast of Continental Europe no agreement to the name:

• the north-east Atlantic archipelago

• the north-west European archipelago

• IONA (Islands of the North Atlantic)

• the Isles

• most common: Great Britain and Ireland

Politically:

Two states:

• the Republic of Ireland (Eire, Ireland, the Republic)

• the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

• the Isle of Man

• the Channel Islands

• self-governing Crown Dependencies

• legislatures

• administrative structures

Albion

• used by poets and songwriters,

• refers to England / Scotland / Great Britain

• origin: Greek and Roman name for Great Britain

Britannia

• southern British province

• female embodiment of Britain (helmet / trident)

• patriotic song Rule Brittania, Britannia Rule the waves

Briton

• official contexts / writing

• a citizen of the UK

Ancient Britons

• people living in southern Britain before and during the Romans

Caledonia, Cambra and Hibernia

• used in scholarly classification

Ireland

Culture and lifestyle in past and now

Then:

Celtic

• dominant in Ireland, Wales and Highland Scotland

• language: Celtic

Germanic Culture

• in England and Lowland Scotland

• dialects: Germanic

different systems (economic, social, legal)

• independent of each other

Today

• blurred differences

• one government for the whole of Britain

• (many aspects organized separately and sometimes differently

• dominant English culture

• English – main language

• English customs and practice in everyday life

• Bank of England inc Bank of Britain

• the name of the present monarch

• common term: Anglo (Anglo-American relations) – British America

	England	Wales	Scotland	Ireland
Flag	St. George's Cross	Red Dragon	St Andrew's Cross	St. Pattric's Cross
Plant	Rose	Leek Daffodil	Thistle	shamrock Flax
Colour	White	Red	Blue	green
Patron saint	St. George	St. David	St. Andrew	St. Patrick
Saint's Day

Stereotypes

English – John Bull

• Fictional character who personifies Englishness and certain English virtues

• typical of an 18th century country Englishman

• most common surname for England and Scotland 'Smith'

Irish

• supposedly great talkers

• Sean – is an Irish from of John(?)

• informally called Paddy or Mick

• prefix 'O' (O Brien, O Connor)

Scots

• careful with money

• Ian = John

• Scottish man informally 'Jock'

• prefix

  • Mac

  • Mc

• kilt: skirt with a tartan pattern worn by men

Welsh

• renowned for their singing ability

• Welshmen known as 'Dal' or 'Taffy'

• surnames Welsh origin, Evans, Jones, Morgan, Price, Williams

Population: 60,003,000

1 in 9: other than 'white Britain'

Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi: largest ethnic groups

black Caribbeans

eastern European migrants (750 000 to 1 mln)

1980 – today more people immigrate to Britain than emigrate 25% babies born to at least one foreign-born parent

very high emigration

Climate

Britain doesn't have a climate, it only has weather

• had reputation because of its changeability

• frequent discrepancies between weather forecast and the actual results

• unpredictable weather a national institution (that's why they talk about it)

• climate the same as that of the north-western part of the European mainland

• false popular belief that it rains and there's fog all the time in Britain

Temperature

• no extreme contrasts in temperature

• temperature clime (rarely 32C in the summer or -10C in the winter)

Rainfall

• national average: 1,100 annually

• driest month: March to June

• wettest months: September to January

Sunshine

• varies between regions

• decrease from south to north,

• not a particularly sunny country.

Features

• land and climate: lack of extremes

• not very high mountains

• lots of flan land

• no big rivers

• no cold winters and no hot summers

• no active volcanoes

• no earthquakes

• no forests

• Britain's physical area: 240.842 sq km

• England: 129.634

• Wales: 20.637

• Scotland: 77.179

• Northern Ireland: 13.438

• originally part of the European mainland

• separated from the continent by the continent by melting glaciers

• shortest stretch of water: between Dover and Calais (the Strait of Dover, 32km)

The north-south divide

• denotes a (supposed) big difference between the poor north and the rich south

• much truth in this generalization (historically) mountains / good land

The South

• lower rates of unemployment

• more expensive houses

The North

• decline of heavy industry

• large-scale migration to south

London

• the largest city in western Europe

• government departments headquarters home

• parliament

• major legal institutions

• the monarch

• business and banking centre

• transport network centre

• national television networks / national newspaper's headquarters

• the square mile (the City): home to main financial organizations

• West End: theatres, cinemas and expensive shops

• East End: poorer residential area of central London (Cockney / immigrants)

• Central London vs. Greater London

• cosmopolitan London: 250-300 spoken languages

• cuisine from over 70 countries

• almost 30% of Londoners born outside Britain

Southern England

• commuter land

• most densely populated area in the UK

Kent

• the garden of England

The Downs

• hills in a horseshoe shape used for sheep farming

the West Country

• rural beauty

• some industry (Bristol) and widespread farming

• palm trees (the Cornish Riviera)

East Anglia

• rural

• wheat and other arable crops

The Midlands

• Birmingham: Britain's second largest city

• major engineering centre

• The Potteries: china

Northern England

• the Pennine mountains

• Manchester: world's leading producer of cotton goods (19th c.)

• Sheffield: steel goods production centre

• Newcastle: shipbuilding

Lake District

• the largest National Park in England

Scotland

• the southern uplands: small towns, sheep farming

• the central plain

• the highlands: mountains, deep valleys, small islands

• local economy: tourism, production of whisky

Glasgow

• heavy industry

• worst housing conditions in UK (the Gorbals)

• strong artistic heritage

• the European City of Culture (1990)

Edinburgh

• middle-class image

• the capital of Scotland

• the seat of its parliament

• associated with scholarship, the law, and administrations

• the Athens of the north

Wales

• the south-east of the country most populated

• no large cities

• Cardiff population of about a third of a million

• coal mining almost entirely ceased

Northern Ireland

• largely agricultural

• Belfast: linen manufacturing

• areas of spectacular natural beauty

Lecture 2 – 27.03.12

constitutional monarchy;

the monarch acts as head of state parliamentary democracy

elected MP's make and pass legislation

the Official Coat of Arms of the UK of GB and North. Ireland used only by the queen in her capacity as the sovereign

the motto of British Monarchs: 'God and my right'

The motto of the Order of the Garter (?) '….' ← highest order in England

Buckingham Palace – the queen's official and main royal London ….

The crown

• one of fine oldest

• ….

The monarch:

• a permanent fixture in the British political system

• has a knowledge of domestic and international politics

• expected to be politically neutral

• reigns but does not rule

The British constitution:

The American constitution:

Theory (queen):

• opens Parliament

• makes the speech

• chooses Prime Minister

• chooses / dismisses ministers (servants of the Crown)

• summons / dissolves a parliamentary

• gives the royal assent

Practice:

• has almost no power at all

• the speech has been written for her

• cannot stop the government

• has to choose PM who will command majority support in the House of Commons

• has the right to be informed of and advised on all aspects of national life

• has the right to encourage, warn and advise ministers

• acts on the advice of political ministers

The role of the monarch

• personal embodiment of the government of the country

Head Of State

• head of the executive, judiciary and legislature

• commander-in-chief of the armed forces

• …..

• refusal / giving of the royal assent

• legislative duties (summoning opening, adjourning and dissolving of Parliament)

• appointing government ministers and other public figures

• granting honours

• leading proceedings of the Privy Council (think tank)

• provides supporting service to others

• goes on visits throughout the UK (walkabout)

• gives honours

• awards

• patronage

• sponsorship

• birthday messages

• organizes garden parties

For:

• popular

• adapted to modern requirements

• stability and continuity

• prestige

• not subject to political manipulations

• neutral

• ambassadorial function

• glamour (soap opera quality)

Against:

• out of date

• non-democratic

• too expensive

• too exclusive

• associated with aristocratic privilege and establishment

• identified with more English than a British role

• contributes to class divisions

Costs:

• Queen - the richest woman in the world

• pays taxes on her private income

• limited Civil List (just immediate family is listed there, rest must earn their living)

• impossible to estimate the costs (ppl come to see the queen and all things connected with it, so country gets money

Historical outline

1215 - Magna Carta

• freedom of the church

• rights for the freemen

• respect for procedures

• sovereign subject to th law

before 17th century - executive powers - the right to make and pass legislation

17th c. - the Divine Right of KIngs

1642-1649 - The Civil War

• Charles I executed

• Oliver Cromwell declared Lord Protector

1649 - 1660 - Britain as a republic

1660 - the Restoration

1688 - parliamentary rule

1689 - the Bill of rights

• fundaments of constitutional monarchy

• freedom from Royal interference with the law

• freedom from taxation by royal prerogative

• freedom to

• ........

Present and future of the monarchy:

• no general public debate

• debate about the kind of monarchy

• general cooling of enthusiasm

• lowered prestige of royalty

The Queen

• widely admired

• seen 11 PM

• invited more than a million people to her garden parties

• paid visits to over a hundred countries

Qeen Elizabeth II (b. 1926)

Official title:

Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of her other Realms and territories, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the faith

Prince Philip Mountbatten married Queen Elizabeth II in 1947

The Queen is the first monarch to:

• send her children to boarding schools

• serve in the armed forces

• be out of the country at the moment of succession

• visit China in 1986

Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales (b. 1948)

• heir to the throne

Princess Diana

• 1981 - married Prince Charles

• 1992 - separated

• 199? - divorced

• 1997 - died in a car accident

Price William (b. 1982)

• next in line to the throne

• 2012 married Kate Middleton

Prince Henry (b. 1984)

2005: Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall married Prince Charles

• not very popular with the public

Princess Anne

• respected for her charity work

Prince Andrew, the Duke of York

Prince Edward

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