Britain for Learners - Riassunto, Sintesi del corso di Cultura Inglese I

Scarica Britain for Learners - Riassunto e più Sintesi del corso in PDF di Cultura Inglese I solo su Docsity! 1. COUNTRY AND PEOPLE Geographically speaking Great Britain and Ireland are situated in the north-west coast of Europe. Politically speaking In this area there are 2 states: 1. The Republic of Ireland (Eire) 2. The United Kingdom (Great Britain + Northern Ireland) The four nations 1. England 2. Scotland 3. Wales 4. Ireland In 1800 the Irish parliament joined with the Parliament of England and it became a single state. In 1922 most of Ireland became a separate state. CULTURE: Ireland, Wales and Highland Scotland ! Celtic ! Celtic languages England and Lowland Scotland ! Germanic ! Germanic dialects (including the one who developed into modern English) The nations had different economic, social and legal systems and they were independent of each other. Also today people who live in the four nations feel their identity strongly. The dominance of England English is the main language of all four nations. National loyalties A lot of people from Scotland, Wales and Ireland migrated in England ! there are millions of people that live in England but would never describe themselves as English 2. HISTORY Prehistory Iron Age Celtic Culture in the north-west European islands. For many people the main significance of the prehistoric period is its sense of mystery, which finds its focus in the astonishing monumental architecture of this period: • Silbury Hill (largest burial mound in Europe) • Stonehenge used by Druids for celebrating the passing of seasons The roman period (43-410) Britannia: Roman province that covered most of the present England and Wales. The Romans here imposed their way of life and culture, making use of the existing Celtic aristocracy to govern and encouraging people to adopt the Latin language. A Celtic tribe (“The Scots”) migrated from Ireland to Scotland where with the tribe “The Picts” became opponents of the Romans. The Roman, despite their long occupation of Britain, left very little behind. The Germanic invasions (410-1066) During the fifth century many tribes invaded and settled: they were two tribes, the Angles and the Saxons, who had the south-east of England. In the west: advance temporally halted by an army of Celtic Britons under the command of King Arthur 6th Century: Anglo-Saxons and their way of life predominated in nearly all the present-day England. Celtic culture and language only survived in Scotland, Wales and Cornwall. Anglo-Saxons introduced new farming methods and founded the thousands of self-sufficient villages which formed the basis of English society for the next years. When they came to Britain, they were pagan but during the 6th and 7th century the Christianity spread throughout Britain from 2 different directions: 1. South England: introduced by St. Augustine (Roman missionary) 2. Scotland and Northern England: already introduced from Ireland Although Roman Christianity took over, the Celtic mode persisted in Scotland and Ireland for several years. 8th Century: invasions from the Vikings from Scandinavia. In the 9th century they conquered and settled the islands around Scotland and some coastal regions of Ireland. Their conquest of England was halted because they were defeated by king Alfred their settlement was confined only in the north and east of the country. Anglo-Saxons and Danes (Vikings) led roughly the same way of life and spoke different varieties of the same Germanic tongue. The Danes converted to Christianity. Similarities made a political unification easier The medieval period (1066-1458) Norman invasion: 1066. It brought England into the mainstream of western European culture. - Unlike the Germanic invasions, the Norman invasions was small-scale. - The Norman soldiers who had invaded were given the ownership of land and people living in it. - It was imposed a strict feudal system - Barons were responsible directly to the king. Lesser lords owned a village were directly responsible to a baron. Barons and Lords were the French- Speaking German. The peasants (English-speaking Saxons) were tied by a strict system of mutual duties and obligation to the local ord. - The Norman introduced a system of strong government and it made the Anglo-Norman kingdom the most powerful political force in Britain and Ireland. - 250 years after the Norman Conquest, it was a Germanic language, Middle English and not the Norman (French) language which had become dominant in all classes of society in England. - Legal system based on the Anglo-Saxon concept of common law - In this period began the evolution of Parliament, the word was first used in the 13th century to describe an assembly of nobles called together by the king. There was a great change in the social structure: most people now lived in town and cities. They depended no more on landowners but on the owners of industries. These owners and the growing middle class held the power of the country. There were values which emphasized hard work, thrift, religious observance, family, honesty in public life —> Victorian values. Slavery and laws against people were abolished. Laws were made to protect workers. Begun public services as the post and the police. The new industrial society forced many people to live and work in very unpleasant surroundings. Many writers and intellectuals protested against this new style of life (Dickens). Poets praised the beauties of the countryside. The twentieth century - The first 20 years of the century were a period of extremism in Britain - Suffragettes (women demanding the right to vote) were prepared to damage property and die for their beliefs. - British empire reached its greatest extent in 1919 but a couple of years later the Treat of Versailles it lost most of its oldest colony. - The destruction of the empire started 25 years after the Second World War. Britain was no longer a superpower and its forces were no longer able to act efficiently. - 1956: Britain and French military action to stop Egyptian government taking over the Suez canal failed - The urban working class (majority of population) began to make its voice heard. In parliament the Labour party replaced the Liberals in opposition to the Conservatives. 3. GEOGRAPHY Climate Is more or less the same as that of the north-western part of the European mainland. The further west you go, the more rain you get., Snow is a regular feature of the higher area only. Winters are in general slightly colder in the east of the country than they are in the west. Summer: south is warmer and sunnier than the north. Land and settlement - The scenery changes quickly in quite short distances. - South and east: low-lying, plat plains and gently rolling hills. - North and west: mountains but also flat areas - Human influence has been extensive: once forests covered the land but now have largely disappeared. - Great portion of grassland. - Enclosure of fields with hedgerows (=siepi) it supports a variety of bird life - Much of the land is used for human habitation because is densely populated in certain areas and they have an habitual concern for privacy and love the countryside Environment and pollution Britain is the world’s first industrialised country, so it suffered an atmospheric condition characterised by smog (smoke+fog). In the nineteenth century London’s thick fogs became famous through descriptions of them in the works of Dickens. The great increase in the use of the motor car caused an increase in a different kind of air pollution. Now that the reduction of greenhouse gases has become a pressing global need, providing Britain’s energy need and reduce its energy consumption has become a national issue. It has been made various attempts at using green energy sources: - using solar power (limited in Britain) - tidal power and wave power, - wind power which is really developed. There are wind farms. London - It is home of the headquarters of all governments departments, parliament, major legal institutions and monarch. - It’s the country’s business and banking centre and the centre of the transport network. - It is seven times larger than any other city in the century. - London originally was a walled city (=città murata) and was quite small. The Parliament of the Royal Court was in Westminster and not there. Today Westminster is an area of the city of London. - Areas well-known: • West End: many theatres, cinemas and expensive shops • East End: poorer residential area of central London - The population in the central area decreased in the second half of the 20th century. The majority of Londoners live in its suburbs and travel to the city centre to work. - London is untypical of the rest of the country —> cosmopolitan - In London are spoken more than 300 languages. 1/3 of people in London are born outside Britain Southern England The area surroundings the outer suburbs of London is known as “commuter land”. Is the most densely populated area in the UK which doesn’t include a large city and millions of its inhabitants travel into London each day to work. - Country of Kent: “the garden of England” because of the many kinds of fruit and vegetables - The Downs: hills used for sheep farming. The southern side of the Downs reaches the sea and here live many retired people. - West Country: rural beauty. There are some industry and Bristol (a large city), farming. - South west peninsula: rocky coast and small bays. Is the most popular holiday area in Britain. - East Anglia (north-east of London): rural, flat land, dry climate —> permitted the wheat and arable crops. - Norfolk Broads: crossed by many waterways, no towns so is popular for boating holidays. Midlands of England Birmingham is Britain’s second largest city. During the industrial revolution developed into the country’s major engineering centre. Northern England In the 19th century: - Manchester area became the world’s leading producer of cotton goods - Bradford and Leeds became the world’s leading producers of woollen goods Further away from the main industrial areas the north of England is sparsely populated. North-western corner of the country: Lake District. Scotland - North of the border with England: southern uplands = small towns economically dependent to a large extent on sheep farming. - Further north: the central plain. - Highlands = mountains and deep valleys. Tourism is important here and also the production of whisky. Most of the population lives in the central plain and in the strip of the east coast. Scotland’s two major cities: - Glasgow: the larger of the two, heavy industry and associated to some of the worst house conditions in Britain. It has a strong artistic heritage. Over the centuries it received many immigrants from Ireland. - Edinburgh: capital of Scotland and the seat of its parliament. Associated with scholarship, law and administration. Fine historic buildings and topography. Here it is the annual Edinburgh Festival of the Arts. Wales The south-east of the country is the most heavily populated. Cardiff is the capital. It is the only part of Britain with many industrial villages. Northern Ireland Belfast: famous for the manufacture of linen and a largely agricultural area. Giant’s causeway: in the north-coast, so-called because the rocks in the area look like enormous stepping stones. 4. IDENTITY Ethnic identity: the four nations For people living in Scotland there are constant reminders of their distinctiveness: • several important aspects of public life (education, legal and welfare system are organized separately and differently from the rest of Britain) • Scotland prints its own banknotes (but same currency as Britain) • The Scottish way of speaking English is very distinctive. There is a new form of dialect spoen every day (Scots) by the most of the working class. The feeling of being Scottish is not simple because of the historical cultural split between highland and lowland Scotland members od political parties and they feel a sense of belonging. But even for these people it is not as important as other aspects of their lives (where they work, which trade union they belong to, who their friends are). Identity in Northern Ireland Here ethnicity, family, politics and religion are all related, and social class has a minor role in establishing the identity. On one side there are the people whose ancestors came from lowland Scotland or England. They are protestants and want Northern Ireland to remain part of the UK. On the other side there are people whose ancestors were native Irish. They are catholic and would like Northern Ireland to become part of the Irish Republic. These 2 communities live side by side but they have different ways of live. Being British British people normally aren’t actively patriotic. They really become patriotic when it is felt that British identity is threatened from the outside (es. Through the activities of the EU) Personal identity: a sense of humour A personal quality which most British people cling above all others is the sense of humour. A mildly funny remark is appreciated in all but the most formal situations. It is just an everyday way of talking. The ability to laugh at yourself is highly prized. Two other qualities are generally appreciated in Britain: 1. bravery in the face of misfortune 2. modesty 5. ATTITUDES Stereotypes and change Popular belief that Britain is a ‘land of tradition’ ! it is a reputation based on what can be seen in public life: the annual ceremony of the state opening of Parliament follows customs which are centuries old. So does the military ceremony of trooping the colour. Likewise, the changing of the guard outside Buckingham Palace. But in their private life, the British are less inclined to follow tradition: - there are very few age-old customs that are followed by families on certain special occasions - the country has few local parades - the English language has few saying or proverbs - the typical breakfast (cereal with milk, toast, butter and marmalade, tea) is not typical anymore because the vast majority of people now have a continental breakfast - the tradition of afternoon with tea and biscuits is confined to retired people and the upper-middle class English versus British Among many people in Britain, there exists a suspicion of education and high culture. Teacher and academic don’t proclaim their academic qualifications or title. Traditionally, large sections of upper and working class in Britain were not interested in their children getting to university. British people are passionate about quizzes (among the most popular of all TV programmes), Anti-intellectual attitudes can be found in all four nations of the Isles but they are probably better seen as a specifically English characteristic, and not a British one. The Scottish have always places a high value on education. A multicultural society There are areas of London in which Indian way of life predominates, with Indian shops, Indian clothes and Indian languages. These people have brought differing sets of attitudes (=serie di atteggiamenti) with them which sometimes diverge greatly from more traditional British ones. Clashes of values become apparent. Conservatism British may not behave in traditional ways and have few living folks but they like symbols of tradition. They have a general sentimental attachment to older and safer times. Being different The British can be stubbornly conservative about anything perceived as a token of Britishness. They’re proud to be different. It is difficult to imagine that they will change from diving on the left-hand side of the road, they hadn’t adopt Central European Time (remaining 1 hour behind). They have different system of measurement. Love of nature Britain was the first country in the world to appoint a government-sponsored conservation body (the Nature Conservancy) and in Britain was founded the first large green pressure group (the Worldwide Fund for Nature). To the British, countryside means peace and quiet, beauty and health. Having a house there carries prestige. Perhaps this love of the countryside is another aspect of British conservatism. The countryside represents stability. When British people cannot get into the countryside, they spend a lot of their time with nature: growing plants, gardening (one of the most popular hobbies of the country). Along with love of nature comes a strong dislike of anything that seems unnatural Love of animals - Half of the households in Britain keep at least one domestic pet. - Wildlife programmes are the most popular kind of television documentary. - Thousands of people are enthusiastic bird-watchers Formality and informality Attitudes towards clothes are a good indication of the difference between observing formalities and being formal in everyday life. It all depends on whether a person is playing a public role or a private role. People who are on duty have to obey some rigid rules. When people are not playing a public role there seems to be no rules at all. The British seem to be more tolerant of strange clothing than people in most other countries. To criticise for the appearance is seen as a gross breach of privacy. Privacy and sex Privacy is not only a matter of privacy in your own home but also the right to keep personal information private. Despite the increase of informality, it seems rude to ask somebody personal questions unless you know them very well. 6. POLITICAL LIFE The public attitude to politics Politicians do not have a good reputation with the British people. To describe someone as a politician is to criticize. English people expect politicians to be frequently dishonest. The lack of enthusiasm for politicians is reflected in the general ignorance of who they are à many people don’t know the names of the important government ministers or leaders of the major political parties. In the past centuries talking about politic in a conversation was not very good and people would become violent, but now most people rarely become passionate about politics. Nevertheless there is a general feeling of confidence in the stability of the system.   The style of democracy Although they may not have much respect for the present institutions of the law, the British have a deep respect for the principle of law but they are unenthusiastic about making new laws à the general feeling is that wherever it’s possible it is best to do without laws. In many aspects of life the country has few laws and regulations; there are few rules telling the individual what he/she must to do or must not to do, so there are few rules telling the government what it can or cannot do. There are 2 characteristics aspects of the relationship between the individual and the state: 1. Citizens of Britain do not have identity cards. They are not obligated to carry identification with them and they don’t even have to have their driving licence with them in the car. 2. There is a Freedom of Information Act=a law which entitles people to demand information held by public bodies but often they have to pay to get the information they want and many requests of information are refused because ‘it’s not in the public interest’ The concept od democracy in Britain doesn’t mean a participation of the citizens and governing and law-making can not be done by the people. If the government wants to make an important change in the way the country is run it doesn’t have to ask the people. People can not even decide (and vote) on particular proposals for changing laws that directly affect their everyday life. In Britain democracy means that they choose who is to govern the country and let them get on with it.     The future of the monarchy The British monarchy as institution has not been an issue in British politics for several hundred years and there is almost no public debate about the existence of the monarchy itself. But there is a debate about what kind of monarchy Britain should have. The Queen herself is widely admired. The one aspect of the monarchy about which most people feel negative is how much it costs. When a fire damaged the Windsor Castle and the government announced that public money was going to pay for the repairs, it caused much anger because the Queen had recently been reported as the richest woman in the world. People continue to believe that the royal family gets too much money bur the monarchy remains popular. The Queen herself is aware of the public perception and after the fire of the Windsor Castle parts of Buckingham Palace were opened to public visitors for the first time, using the money raised to pay for the repairs. The Queen has also cooperated in the making of several TV documentaries about her everyday life. These changes are the indicators of the future royal style: less grand and less distant. 8. THE GOVERNMENT “The government” could refer to: - all the politicians who run the government departments or have other special responsibilities. The members of the government are known as ministers and they are about a hundred. It’s rare for a person from outside parliament to become a minister - Only to the most powerful of these politicians: the Prime minster and the other members of the cabinet. They are usually about 20 people. Britain has “single-party government”: all members of the government belong to the same political party, because coalition government is seen as a bad idea. This helped the “collective responsibility” —> every member of the government shares in responsibility for every policy of the government, even if he or she didn’t take part in making it. • The cabinet The leading politicians become members of the cabinet —> Once a week they meet to take decisions and who says what at this meetings is a secret. There is an organisation called “cabinet office”, which runs a busy communication network, keeping ministers in touch with each other and preparing the agenda for cabinet meetings. • The prime minister The position of the prime minister is in contrast whit that of the monarch: while the queen appears to have a lot of power but in reality has very little, the PM appears not to have much power but in reality has it. The PM is defined as “first among equals” for many reasons: 1. the monarch’s powers of patronage (the power to appoint people to all kinds of jobs and honours) are the PM’s powers of patronage. The strength of this power is apparent from the “cabinet reshuffle”, which is habit of the PM to change his or her cabinet frequently —> the members are shuffled around, getting a new department to look after. 2. The power of the public image: everybody can recognise the PM, while many many can’t put a name to the faces of the other ministers —> so the PM can go over the heads of the others and appeal directly to the public. 3. The PM, differently from the other ministers, think about government policy as a whole. He or she knows more of what is going on than the other ministers do and matters that are not discussed can be decided by the PM. • The civil service When a new government comes to power, the civil service (the same people of the previous government) remains. Indeed, the most senior civil servant is called “Permanent secretary”. Civil servants: - are unknown to the public - For them, this is a career: they get high salary, have absolute job security and have a good chance of being awarded an official honour It’s often possible for them to exercise quite a lot of control over their ministers —> For all these reasons, civil servants expect to have a degree of influence or control. • Local government In Britain, local government authorities (councils) only have powers because the central government has given them powers, while in other countries it’s the other way around. In the local government there are local representatives called councillors, who meet in the Town Hall or Country Hall, where they make policy which is implemented by local government officers (equivalent of civil servants). Local councils are allowed to collect one kind of tax: the council tax, based not the estimated value of a property —> all other kinds of taxes are collected by national government. However, recent governments have not given any more powers to local governments bodies, giving more autonomy to locally services, such as schools or hospitals. Local authorities can now have a directly elected mayor, but people seem to be suspicious of concentrating too much power in the hands of a power, due to something happened in Hartlepool. 9. PARLIAMENT The British parliament works in a building works in a building called “The Palace of Westminster” (house of parliament) —> it contains offices, committee rooms, restaurants ecc… it also contains two larger rooms: - one is where the House of Lords holds its meetings - The other is where the House of Commons holds its meetings —> only members of the commons are known as MPs (members of parliament) • The atmosphere of Parliament In the layout of the interior of the parliament buildings: 1. In the seating arrangements, there are two rows of benches facing each other: • On the left, there are the MPs (government) benches • On the right there are the opposition benches This division is emphasised by the table on the floor between the two rows, where there’s the Speaker’s chair. 2. When MPs are speaking, they simply stand up and speak from wherever they are sitting and they speak in a conversational tone —> there’s not a special place 3. There are no desks for the MPs—> they don’t normally speak for very long 4. The room is very small: indeed MPs don’t have their own place to sit All these features described an informal atmosphere. —> however, the ancient habits are preserved today in rules and customs, which all new MPs have to learn. The most important is the rule that forbids MPs to address one another by name (my right honourable friend). —> they give a touch of formality which balances the other informal aspects. • An MP’s life Traditionally, MPs were supposed to be ordinary people who gave their time to represent the people. This is why they were not paid until the beginning of the twentieth century. However, in the last half century they become professional: most of them are full- time politicians. But this is not an easy life: MPs spends a lot of time at work —> the timetable of sittings has to be extended and discussed. Moreover, at weekends MPs are expected to visit their constituencies (the area they represent). • Parliamentary business The procedure by which the commons conducts its business is by debate on a proposal, followed by a resolution which either accepts or rejects the proposal. MPs have to vote for or against a proposal. There are also the committees: some of them are appointed to examine proposals for laws, others are permanent whose job is to investigate the activities of government. • The party system in Parliament MPs always vote the way that their party tells them to: the people whose job is to make sure that MPs do this are called Whips. —> they are intermediaries between the backbenchers and the frontbencher of a party: they can influence which backbenchers get promoted to the front bench. • The house of Lords It’s the second chamber of the parliamentary system. —> it has no real power and only limited influence. • Crime and criminal procedure There’s a widespread feeling among the British public that crime is increasing, but figures on this matter are difficult to evaluate because certain types of crime can vary over the years. But what is certain is that the fear of crime has increased, probably also due to a lack of confidence in the ability of the police to catch criminals. —> in response, for example, has been the growth of Neighbourhood watch schemes. moreover, when the police arrest somebody, they have to follow certain procedures: unless they obtain a permission, they are not allowed to detain a person for more than 24 hours without charge. In 1994, the government make a change in the laws: the length of time for which some suspects can be detained without charge has increased. • The system of justice With regard to the the system of justice: - the civil justice system has its own courts —> the country and the high courts - In the criminal justice system, there are two kinds of courts: • more than 90% of cases are dealt with in magistrates’ courts. —> the magistrates (JPs) are not trained lawyers, but just ordinary people of good reputation and they don’t get a salary • In serious criminal cases, the JPs only need to decide that it is possible that he or she is guilty —> then they refer to a Crown Court, where a professional lawyer is the judge. Even in these cases, the decision regarding guilt or innocence is not taken by the judge, but by a jury, composed by 12 people selected at random from the list of voters: there must be the agreement among at least ten of them. If this does not happen, the judge has to declare a mistrial and the case must start all over again with a different jury. The duty of the judge is to decide what evidence can be taken into account by the jury and what cannot. Moreover, he imposes the punishment —> a convinced person may appeal to the Appeal Court to have the conviction cancelled or to have the sentence reduced. • The legal profession In Britain there are two kind of lawyers: - Solicitors —> anybody who needs a lawyer goes to see a solicitor. They deal with legal matters for they client and they present their client’s case in a magistrates’ court. - Barristers —> if a case must be heard in a higher court, the solicitor hires the service of a barrister: his or her main function is to present cases in court. It became permissible for public to approach barristers directly, without going trough a solicitor first, and also for solicitors presents the cases in some higher courts. —> as a result, they came into competition with each other. In the popular image, barristers are more highly educated and so, better. In fact, solicitors and barristers relive different separate training and have to pass different exams. However, there have some changes: the practice of law seems to be less connected to social class divisions. At the same time, some traditions remains: for example, barristers in court still wear the archaic gowns and wigs. Moreover, once they have been appointed, it’s quite impossible for them to be dismissed. 12. INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS • British people and the rest of the world In the past, foreigners were considered interesting but not really to be taken seriously. But this attitude disappeared with the end of the empire. Today many foreign ways of doing things are admired —> hostility to foreign people is rare However most British people know little about Europe —> they are very bad about learning other languages, but not because they refuse to do it, simply because they are lazy due to the role of English as the world’s language. • The British state and the rest of the world Britain lost its empire in the second half of the twentieth century, but the old imperial spirit is not dead: the British government spent millions of pounds recapturing the Islands from the invading Argentinians. —> the government received enormous popular support: many people felt that Britain was doing something right. However, in 2003 the government’s decision to go to war in Iraq provoked a debate and also the military presence in Afghanistan was unpopular. In fact, for some time, many military professional said that Britain was not able to meet its commitments in the world. • Transatlantic relations There’s a special relationship between Britain and America —> public feeling about it is ambivalent: - on the one hand, people are very close to America, and the shared language gives them a sense of belonging with America - On the other hand, there is some bitterness about the power of the USA. However, this relationship has declined since Britain joined the European communities. Since the opening of the channel tunnel (in 1994), the majority of visitors to Britain have been from Europe, while until the 1990s it was always American visitors who arrived in Britain. • European relations On 2007, the prime ministers of the 25 member states of the EU gathered to sign the latest European treaty, but the British one was missing —> this is indicative of the British attitude to its membership of the EU: - on the hand, it’s seen as an economic and a political advantage - On the other hand, the dominant attitude towards EU among people in Britain is a profound lack of enthusiasm. British people know that their country is geographically part of the Europe and that is a member of the European Union, but they don’t feel it: Britain and Europe are two different things. For some politicians and the media, EU laws and regulations are a threat to the sovereignty of the UK and for people they are a threat to the British way of life. —> one possible reason for this is that the British tend to take laws and regulations seriously and to interpret them literally. So, they like to have as few laws and regulations as possible, but what they see coming from Brussels is a never-ending stream of them. • Relations inside Great Britain - Before the 1980s, most Scottish people were happy to be part of the UK, but later on opinion showed that a majority of the Scottish population wanted internal self-government or complete independence. In 1999 the Scottish parliament was rebuilt and it has considerable powers over internal Scottish affairs. - Wales has been incorporated into the English governmental structure for more than 400 years and the referendum on a national welsh assembly produced only a minority in favour. However the assembly was set up, but its powers are much more limited than those of the Scottish one. today, in Wales too, there’s a growing support for self-government. • Great Britain and Northern Ireland There are two different point of views: - the catholic one, known as “nationalist” or “republican”, for the idea of a single irish nation and its republican government - The Protestant one, known as “unionist” or “loyalist”, for the loyalty to the union with Britain. In 1920 the British province of Northern Ireland (protestant) was given its own parliament and prime minister —> it allowed them to take all the political powers. But then catholic civil rights movement began and there was a violent Protestant reaction —> british troop were sent to keep order: at first they were welcomed by the catholics but then violence increased and the british government imposed measures not acceptable in a modern democracy, such as imprisonment without trial. Recruitment to extremist organisations from broth communities and act of terrorism increased —> the british government imposed direct rule from London. The first step towards resolution was the Good Friday Agreement, which: - involved all the political parties but also the Irish and British governments - Gave the republic or Ireland small power sharing - Gave everybody born in Northern Ireland the right to be a citizen of the republic. - It stipulated that the six countries would remain a part of the UK for as long as a majority of its people wanted it that way. In 2007 the self-government was established. Three other factors helped to end the violence: 1. The process of fighting the economic and social wrongs which led to the civil rights movement, so the catholics have the same political rights as protestants. • Historical background Government gave little importante to education until the end of the nineteenth century, but schools existed in Britain long before government began to take an interest. —> when it did so, it did not sweep the existing institutions away, but it left alone the small group of schools (“public” schools) which educated the sons of the upper middle classes. At these public schools, were used customs attitudes, clothes, and specific vocabulary —> they boarding schools: their aim was to prepare the students to take positions in the higher ranks of the army, in business, civil service ecc. When they finished their education, they formed the ruling elite, closed group separated fro the rest of society. In the twentieth century, new schools tended to copy public schools, because they were the only model of successful school that the country had. • Modern times: the education debates Education is the area of public life about which Britain feel the most uncertain. Debates about education centre around three matters: 1. The first one is quality: it’s common for employers and universities to complain that their new recruits don’t have the necessary basic knowledge or skills. Moreover, Britain suffers from a chronic lack of teachers: only about half of them remain in the profession for more than three years, so that schools have an unsettled atmosphere. One reason for this is English anti-intellectualism and another one is the fact the teachers have rather low status. The government tried to alleviate the situation by advertising campaign and by revising national curriculum, which is the documents which specifies what children in state schools have to learn. 2. The second one is social justice: perhaps because of the elitist history of schooling in Britain and its social effects, the British are worried about equal opportunities in education. British government and institutions are obsessed with the fact that the majority of children who do well in education are from middle - class. University are encouraged to accept students with poor exams results if they come from a disadvantage background. In some poorer areas, children are even offered cash incentives to pass their exams. However, the only way to reduce inequalities would be to ban independent schools. 3. The third one is the freedom of choice: it has led to the publication of “league tables” of school exam results. This made it clear to ambitious parents which are the more desirable schools. This principle also implies a limit to what central government can impose, such as the national curriculum. —> in fact, a school can work towards the objectives of the national curriculum in any way it likes. One of the reason for this is that the system have been influenced by the fact that a school is its own community (many schools have their own uniforms or associations to form pupils). Universities have even more autonomy. • Style Britain gives more importance to the quality of person produced by education than the quality of abilities. • School life Nursery education: it’s open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. —> children are not in the classroom all the time, but they offers breakfast provisions, activities and health service. The typical school day starts around 9 a.m. and finishes between 3 and 4 p.m. —> it includes a lunch break , during which quite all children have lunch provided by school. It’s a fully week and holiday are short. Schools are: - primary —> there’s a class teacher who teaches all subjects; at the age of seven and eleven, children have to take a national test in english, mathematics and science. - secondary —> pupils get different teachers for different subjects When children become older, they are separated in groups according to their abilities, but some schools teach all subject to mixed ability classes. • Public exams At the end of the compulsory schooling, schoolchildren take exams, which are separate from the school system: this is why they are called public. —> in practice the majority of people who do these exams are pupils, but formally it’s individual people who enter for these exams. The exams are set by independent examining boards: each boards publishes its study programs for each different subject. The evaluation is a combination of coursework assignments and formal exams. • Educations beyond sixteen At the age of 16, people are free to leave school. About third of them the this option, but even they take part in jobs they combined part time college courses. The rest remains in full time education. For those who stay in education, they spend a whole 2 years studying just thereof four subjects, in preparation for taking A level exams. Universities make their own choices of who to accept for their courses —> they select students on the basis of A level results. But there is nothing to stop a university accepting a student who has no A levels. The vast majority of university students complete their studies and in a very short time too. One reason for low drop out rate is that students live on campus and so they are surrounded by a university atmosphere. Today, students have no longer a grant to cover their term - time expenses, so they have take term - time jobs. 15. THE ECONOMY AND EVERYDAY LIFE • Earning money: working life In Britain, since 1960s there have been a certain lack of enthusiasm for work in general among all social classes. This attitude characterised aristocracy bu also middle class, which did not perform manual works. Finally, the effect of this attitude affected also working class people. These attitudes are slowly changing, but remnants of the connection between class distinctions and types of work live on. This lack of enthusiasm is the reason why the working day starts rather late. However, the British reputation for not working enough is not true: the normal lunch is an hour or less, many people work until 5 o’clock and many others work overtime. The normal retiring age is 65 and holidays are short. There are three main ways in which people look for work: - through newspapers - Through the local job center - Through private employment agencies The level of unemployment has risen. • Work organisations - The organisation which represents employers in private industry is the Confederation of British Industry. - The main organisation for employees is the Trade Union Congress (TUC), which is a voluntary association of the various trade unions. Most British unions belong to the Labour Party, to which their member pay a small part of their union membership subscription. Another work organisation is the National Farmers Union, which does not belong to the TUC and it’s composed by agricultural employers and independent farmers. • Private and public industry The economic system in Britain is a mixture of private and public enterprise. How much of the country’s economy is controlled by the state has varied in the last 50 years: - from 1945 until 1980 industries became nationalised - From 1980 until 1994, government wanted to turn state-owned companies into companies owned by individual members of the public —> so a large number of companies were privatised. Thank to this shift in structure, British economy in the last two decades has performed rather well, but it has also had negative effects: - firstly, the privatisation of services necessitated the creation of public watchdog organisation; but despite the existence of them, consumers often feel cheated by the companies - Secondly, it has contributed to the gap between rich and poor. • The distribution of wealth British people have become much richer over the last few decades, but there’s an increasing number of people who have enough money for basic things (food), but not enough to enjoy the opportunities which the rest of society has. One reason for the increasing disparity of wealth in Britain is that rates of income tax have changed. Moreover, most people in Britain today are very comfortable economically. —> this means that the poor are in a minority and so they have little hope of changing their condition. in the early years ITV captured nearly 3/4 of BBC’s audience. The BBC then responded by making its own programming equally accessible to a mass audience. They are in constant competition to get the largest audience (ratings war) 17. TRANSPORT The British are enthusiastic about Mobility. The vast majority of the journey are made by private transport, leading to the attendant problems of traffic congestion and pollution familiar in so much of the world. Congestion is high in Britain, not only because it’s densely populated but also because of the British phenomenon of NIMBY, which stands for “not in my back yard”. While British wanted the freedom to move around easily, they don’t like living near big roads or railways. British government talk about introducing taxes of pollution. In Edinburgh buses and cyclists have absolute priority on all routes Into the City. The “congestion charge” in London and some other cities, by which car drivers have to pay to enter the central area of the city, has been a great success in persuading people to leave their cars at home and use public transport. On the road Three-quarters of households in Britain have regular use of a car and a third have more than one car. Cars provide to indulge the national passion for privacy. British people don’t like share the use of a car, in fact the majority of cars on the road have just the driver inside them. The privacy motive may also be the reason why British drivers are less communicative than drivers of many other countries. They are also a little more safety conscious. Britain has almost the best road safety record in Europe. The British are not very keen on mopeds or motorcycles, but they are not enough for British tastes. Millions of bicycles are used especially by younger people. Public transport in towns and cities Public transport services in urban areas suffer from the fact that there is too much traffic on the road. People seem to have more confidence using a service which runs on tracks than using an ordinary bus. Britain is one of the few countries in Europe where the double-deckers buses are a common sight. The famous London Underground is now one of the dirtiest and least efficient of such systems in european Cities. Another symbol of London is the distinctive black taxi. But, taxis and minicabs are expensive and most British People rarely use them. Public transport between Towns and Cities Coach services are generally slower than trains but also much cheaper. The most commercially successful trains are Intercity Services. Pressure for a genuinely high speed train network is growing partly for environment reasons and partly because trains are getting more and more overcrowded. Britain's railway network was privatised in the early 90s. In 2004 the annual conference of the governing labour party voted to re-nationalize the railways but the government Minister responsible rejected the vote. The channel tunnel (1994) For the first time people were able to travel between Britain and Europe without taking their feet off solid ground. At first the public did not show much enthusiasm for the tunnel perhaps because It was only able to Those traveling by private transport. The discomfort of a train with no windows and some people Felt it was unnatural. The passenger train service Eurostar has been a great success. Air and water A small but increasing minority travel within Britain by air. International air travel is very economically important to Britain. It has the 4 airports in the world’s top 30. They are Gatwick airport, Stansted Airport, Manchester and Heathrow. Modern Britain makes a surprisingly little use of its many inland Waterways. There is no obvious practical reason for this failure it is just seems that British people have lost the habit of travelling this way. In the nineteenth century the network of canals used for this purpose was vital to the country’s economy. 18. WELFARE The benefits system The most straightforward way in which people are helped is by direct payments of government money. After a certain age even people who are still earning can receive their pension. The government pension is not very high. Many people make arrangements during their working lives to have some additional form of income after they retire: 1) to contribute to a pension fund 2) to take out a life insurance policy which is used as a form of Saving. Some people are entitled to neither pension nor money for being unemployed. —> These people can apply for income support. A wider range of other benefits exist. For example child benefit (a small payment for each child), sickness benefit, maternity benefit and death grants. Social services and charities As well as giving financial help the government also take a more active role in looking after people's welfare. These services are either directly or indirectly. Examples are the building and the staffing of old people’s homes and the provision of home helps for people who are disabled in some way. Professional social workers have the task of identifying and helping members of the community in need. The problem is perhaps that there is a conflict of values in modern Britain. On the one hand: respect for privacy and family values, on the other hand the modern expectation that agencies will intervene in people’s private lives. There are more than 150,000 registered charities in the country today. There are organisations for help staffed mostly by unpaid volunteers. The National Health Service (NHS) Medical insurance is organised by the government and is it compulsory. Instead of entering into a partnership with the hundreds of existing hospitals run by charities it simply took most of them over. Most of system is organised centrally and there is little interaction with the private sector. NHS is very typically British. There are no forms to fill in and no payments to be made which are later refunded. All that anybody has to do is to register with a local NHS doctor. Most Doctors in the country are General practitioners (GPs)and they are at the heart of the system. A visit to the GP is the first step towards getting any kind of treatment and then the GP arranges for whatever tests, surgery, specialist consultation or medicine are considered necessary. The main problem faced by the NHS-> treatments are so expensive that if they were to be Made freely available to everybody who could Benefit from them, taxation would have to Double. Medical practitioner frequently app to decide which patients will get the limited resources available and which will not. This is one reason why an increasing number of people have turned to private medical insurance even though they are still obliged to pay. Britain has one of the lowest racious of doctors per person in Europe-> patients have to wait a long time for treatment. Despite the fact that Britain has one of the highest ratios of nurses in Europe, it has rather bad record for Hospital hygiene. The Medical Profession Specialist doctors have greater prestige than Ordinary GPs. These specialists are allowed to work part time for the NHS and spend the rest of their Time earning Big fees from private patients. GPs are not in any way regarded as second class. Most of GPs work in a group practice. Nurses have an almost same image in the minds of the british public, being widely admired for their caring work but nursing profession has always been rather badly paid. 19. HOUSING Houses, not flats Most people in Britain dream of living in a detached house, which is a separate building. There is a desire for privacy and the importance attached to ownership which seems to be at the heart of the British attitude to housing. Most people try to avoid living in blocks of flats. Flats (the cheapest kind of home), they feel, provide the least amount of privacy. Private property and public property Law and customs seem to support a clear separation between public and private. For example, people have no general right to reserve their road directly outside house for their own cars. The castle puts limits on the domain of this owner as well as keeping out others. It also limits responsibilities. It is comparatively rare, for example, for people attempt to keep the bit of pavement outside their house clean and tidy. To emphasize this clear division, people prefer to live in houses a little bit set back from the road. The importance of home For British People the abstract idea of home is very important, not the building. A home which they love. But the houses themselves are just investments. For most of the 20th century, pubs operated under strict laws which limited their opening hours. Government-sponsored guidelines state the maximum amount of alcohol which it is advisable for people to drink in a week without endangering their health. Pubs The British pub is unique also because it is different from any other public place in Britain. It is predominantly for the drinking of beer and spirits. One of their notable aspect is that there is no waiter service. If you want something you have to go and ask for it at the bar-> more informal. To be served at a table is discomforting for many people. It makes them feel they have to be on their best behaviour. Every pub in Britain has its own name, always with old fashioned associations. 21. SPORT AND COMPETITION A national passion Sport probably plays a more important part in people’s lives in Britain than it does in most other countries. For a very large number, especially men, it is their main form of entertainment. The British are so fond of competition that they introduce it into their other enthusiasms. The social importance of sport The importance of participation in sports has legal recognition in Britain. Every local authority has to provide and maintain playing fields and other facilities, which are usually very cheap and sometimes even free. Sometimes, the traditions which accompany an event can seem as important as the actual sporting contest. Ex: Wimbledon —> not just a tennis tournament. It means summer fashions, strawberries and cream, garden parties… The long history of these events has meant that many of them have become world- famous. This world-wide enthusiasm has little to do with the standard of British sport. The standard of British tennis in not especially high, and Wimbledon is only one of the world’s major tournaments. Sport is a British export. Cricket Cricket it is definitely not the national sport of Britain. In Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland interest in it is largely confined to the middle classes. Only in England and a small part of Wales is it played at the top level. However, cricket is much more than just a sport, it symbolizes a slow and peaceful rural way of life. Cricket is special because it combines competition with the British dream of rural life. Cricketer is, therefore, the national English game in a symbolic sense. Football The full official name of soccer is “Association football”. This distinguishes it from other kinds such as rugby football, gaelic football, australian football and American football. Everywhere in the country, it is the most-played sport in the country’s state schools and one of the most popular participatory sports for adults. Traditionally, British football had its main following from the working class. But in the last two decades of the twenty-first century it started to attract wider interest. Football books and programmes appeared. —> it has positive and negative aspects: - on the good side, it reduces hooliganism. In Britain only a handful of children or Women used to go to football matches, because football support has tended to be men only. Perhaps this is why active support for the local team had a tendency to become violent. - It remains to be seen whether football matches will become events for the whole family. It is possible they will not because It is simply too expensive. And this is the bad side of recent developments. Rugby There are two, separately organised, version of this game. The difference between them is a matter of social history. Rugby union is the older of the two. Rugby League separated from rugby Union at the end of the nineteenth Century. Although it has now spread to many of the same places in the world where rugby union is played, its traditional home is among the working class of the north of England. Because of these social origins, rugby League in Britain was seen as a working class sport, while rugby union was for the middle classes. But now, it is not impossible that in the future they will become the same Sport or at least be governed by the same organization. They already have much in common. One of these is the behaviour of their supporters. Perhaps the violence which is an integral part of the sport itself means there is no need for violence on the part of its followers. Animals in sport Traditionally the favourite sports of the British upper class are hunting, shooting and fishing. Despite its becoming illegal, the most widespread form of hunting is the foxhunting. Killing birds with guns is known as shooting, which is a pastime confined to the higher social classes. The birds which people try to shoot may only be shot during certain specified times of the year. The one kind of the hunting which is popular among all social classes is fishing. When fishing is done competitively, it is called angling. Another sport is horse racing. The chief attraction of horse racing for most people is the opportunity it provides for gambling. Other sports Hockey (on ice) Basketball (for men) Netball (for women) In general British spectators and TV viewers have more interest in team games than individual sports. Athletics, cycling, golf, gymnastics and swimming have comparatively small followings. The more popular individual sports are those in which socialising is an important aspect (tennis, golf, sailing and snooker). Gambling Even if they are not taking part or watching, british people like to be involved in sport. They can do this by placing bets on future results. Gambling is very widespread throughout  all the social classes. The most popular mode of gambling of any kind is the National Lottery. Another popular type of gambling is Bingo. Some sections of the British society disapprove gambling (part of the tradition of nonconformist religious group) and their disapproval has always had some influence. 22. THE ARTS The arts in society More people read books, visit art galleries, and go to the theatres and concerts today than fifty years ago. The fact remains that most British people prefer sport, television, chatting with friends and family. Many forms of Arts in Britain count on private sponsorship. Most arts organizations say they would not be able to do what they do without private backing. They are fortunate in that British private sponsors are more generous than those of other European countries. Britain is almost unique in Europe in that admission to its museums and art galleries is normally free. In general, the arts have a low profile in Britain: - In schools subjects such as art and music tend to be pushed to the side-lines and pupils are allowed to abandon them completely at the age of 14. - Television programmes on cultural subjects are usually shown later at night. - Each Summer, a lot of Arts festivals take place around the country, but the vast majority of people do not even know of their existence. - London has some of the finest collections of painting and sculpture in the world, but tourist give little space to this aspect of the city. The characteristics of British Arts and Letters If there is one characteristic of British work in the arts it is its lack of identification with wider intellectual trends. Playwrights and directors can be left-wing in their political outlook but the plays which they produced rarely express a political message. The same is largely true of British novelists and poets. They tend to be individualistic exploring emotions rather than ideas, the personal rather than the political. Theatre and cinema The theatre has always been very strong in Britain. Its centre is London. It gives the undemonstrative British people a safe opportunity to look behind the mask of accepted social behaviour. —> most successful and respected playwrights are usually those who explore the darker side of the personality and of person relationships. British theatre is admired and it is something that British actors are proud of.