INTRODUCTION

TO BRITAIN
BBNAN 00300

Reuss Gabriella (reuss.gabriella@btk.ppke.hu)

office hour: Thursday, 9-10 am, Amb 132
Time & Place: Thursdays 10 am, Amb 129
Purpose: To present an overview of the contemporary social, political, and cultural life of Great
Britain, and to provide essential vocabulary for the study and interpretation of such topics.
Coursebook: Introduction to Britain, 2005, by K. Pintr, a university textbook, available at the
university bookshop.
Recommended readings:
Books on British culture in the department library, esp. the following:
James ODriscoll: Britain. The Country and Its People: An Introduction for Learners of
English, OUP 1995.
The Oxford Guide to British and American Culture , OUP 1999.
Jancs-Pintr-Suba-Sznt-Surnyi: Cultural Relations, Akadmiai Kiad, 2001.
Schedule:
1. Sep 10
2. Sep 17
3. Sep 24
4. Oct 01
5. Oct 08
6. Oct 15
7. Oct 22
8. Oct 29
9. Nov 05
Elections
10. Nov 12
11. Nov 19
12. Nov 26
13. Dec 03
14. Dec 10

Introduction to the course & requirements. Apply for presentation now!

Geography and statistics and what they reveal
Scotland
Wales
Northern Ireland and the Troubles
System of government I.: Crown and Parliament
MID-TERM TEST
autumn break
System of government II.: the Cabinet, the Parties, and the
Legal system
Education
Religions. Revisions for the end-term test
END-TERM TEST
evaluation

Requirements: According the rules of our Department, you may skip 3 classes any time during
the course, except the two tests. As the dates are already set you can arrange your absences
around them. Preparation for each class is an evident prereqisite even if you were absent the
previous time. If you have a topic/music/reading/etc related to British culture in which you are
deeply interested, come and share it with your fellows, classes can in fact be enjoyable!
Note on presentations: advisably, this will be about a six-minute talk with a printed
handout/outline, which will initiate class discussion. The more colourful it is, the more it will be
remembered! (and graded)
Evaluation: Your final mark is based on the following components:
Mid-term test
33%
End-term test
33%

Contribution to class discussion / presentation

33%
In order to pass (to have a mark 2), you must score over 60% of each component.
Have a nice term!
(and keep these guidelines)

Introduction to British Civilization

Course description for ERASMUS and other foreign students
Fall 2009
INTRODUCTION TO BRITISH CIVILIZATION (BBNAN 00300): SEMINAR
Lecturer: Karth Tams PhD
Welcome to our Faculty, welcome to the Department of English of Pzmny Pter Catholic
University!
The aim of this brief course description is to help ERASMUS and other foreign students at the
Faculty of Humanities of Pzmny Pter Catholic University in setting up their learning
program by informing them about the tentative contents, requirements and evaluation of this
course. If you do not find sufficient information here below, do not hesitate to come
personally to the first class (for detailed parameters of time and place, see Neptun or the
information board at the English Department), or to contact me via e-mail: kartauzi@gmx.de.
GENERAL COURSE CONTENTS
This is a seminar for BA Freshmen (first-year students) which provides a general overview of
present-day British society through a discussion of articles and texts focusing on sensitive
issues or debates in Britain. Discussion topics include questions like: What does it mean today
to be a Brit? How do new national identities (like Welsh or Scottish) affect Britishness? What
is below the umbrella term British? Which regional identities and divides exist in Britain?
How did the Scottish and Welsh devolution restore autonomy in these two countries of the
Celtic fringe? What has happened in Scotland and Wales since devolution? How did the Good
Friday Agreement bring back peace to Northern Ireland, and how fragile was/is this
reconciliation between the warring sides of the province? Besides, we will talk about the
everyday problems and tensions of an ethnically and religiously diverse society.
SUPPOSED PREREQUISITES FOR THE COURSE

Since this seminar is among the very first courses that BA English major students can take at
our Department, no special prerequisite is needed for this course but to have a proper English
which enables you to participate in group discussions, read few page-long articles from week
to week, and write ca. 4-5 home assignments during term. If you can, however, activate and
the material of your previous British civilization studies (at high school) or intelligently use
your personal experience with British culture, you will certainly profit more from this
systematic approach to Britain.
METHODS AND REQUIREMENTS
A seminar implies active participation in group work. This course is based on the discussion
of the home readings which are few page-long articles and essays from British media. The
final syllabus with readings and assignments will be distributed in the first class and will be
put on an interactive website (www.engling.hu) where you have to register. For a valid course,
you have to attend classes (you cannot miss more than 3 classes), prepare regularly (i.e. to
read the home readings regularly), submit written home assignments (ca. 4-5 pieces a term),
write a mid-term and an end-of-term test, and fill in an outline map exercise successfully. The
theoretical background of the course is based on Pintr Krolys textbook, Introduction to
Britain (2nd revised edition. Piliscsaba: Pzmny Pter Catholic University, 2005) as well as
on an interactive e-material (Land Rover, designed for BA students), downloadable from
the website of the English Department (via the Faculty website). The evaluation of the
seminar will be the average of all the graded elements of the course.
The printed syllabus which will be distributed in the first class will be of especial help
to guide your studies in the frame of this course: it will indicate all deadlines, readings and
seminar topics.

I wish you a successful term at our Faculty and Department! Enjoy your stay at Pzmny!