Introduction to British Constitution and Society
Nagy Britannia alkotmányos rendszere és társadalma BBNNT03400
Lecturer:
Balogh Beatrix
Time and place:
BBNNT03400/A – Thursday 10:00-11:30, Ambrosianum, Room 213/B
BBNNT03400/B – Thursday 12:30-14:00, Ambrosianum, Room 225
Availability:
by appointment or via email: trixiebalogh@yahoo.com
Purpose of the course is to present a comprehensive survey of the contemporary social, political and cultural reality
of Great Britain; to become familiar with the key concepts of the British Constitution and political life; to highlight the
critical issues of British Society; and to enhance the reading and writing skills necessary to discuss these in merits.
Core text: K. Pintér: Introduction to Britain, 2nd revised edition, PPKE 2010, university textbook.
Requirements: class participation, term paper, mid-term and end-term tests.
The term paper is a short essay on the topic of your choice. Guidelines of the term paper will be provided at the first
class meeting and will be uploaded on the course website.
The requirements, evaluation and grading policy, along with recommended readings are further detailed at the end
of this document.
Students may give (not compulsory) short presentations (15 mins max) in class on a relevant topic that is not
included in the core material or which provides interesting insight into one specific aspect of the main theme. You
may also give a talk and write your home paper on the same topic. The short talk should be accompanied by a typed
hand-out that contains the key points of the presentation. Again, giving a presentation is optional and topics are of
your choice. A few ideas are drawn up in the syllabus.
CLASS
DATE
Class 1, Sept 12
Class 2, Sept 19
Class 3, Sept 26
Class 4, Oct 3
Class 5, Oct 10
Class 6, Oct 17
Class 7, Oct 24
Class 8, Nov 7
Class 9, Nov 14
DISCUSSION TOPIC
Introduction, requirements, basic concepts,
guidelines for term paper, class lists
Geography and its impact, regions and their
characteristics, geographical objects and their
significance (! Blank map in mid-term test)
Scotland: regions, cities, traditions, distinctive
institutions
Wales: regions, cities, traditions, distinctive features;
Northern Ireland: Catholics v. Protestants, origin of
the conflict, distinctive features
READING ASSIGNMENT FOR CLASS AND
(POSSIBLE PRESENTATION TOPICS)
Text for class 2: Ch I. of core text,
Locate and study a map of the British
Isles
Text for class 3: Ch II.
(Devolution)
Text for class 4: Chs III & IV.
(The Troubles,
Anglo-Irish relations today)
Religions and ethnic groups in Britain: traditional
religions, the Church of England, other Christian and
non-Christian churches, Catholic vs. Protestant,
Colonial relations, Immigration old and new, nonEuropean immigrants, multi-racial society
Text for class 5: Chs X & VIII.
British society and lifestyles: social classes and
their characteristics, changing families, cities and
suburbs, the welfare state
Deadline for term paper title/topic
Mid-term test
Autumn break (28-31 October)
System of government Part I: constitutional
monarchy, Crown and Parliament, the House of
Commons and the House of Lords
Deadline for term paper thesis, and list of sources
System of government Part II: the Cabinet, the
elections, the major parties and their policies, and the
civil service
Text for class 6: Ch VIII.
(Old and New Immigration,
Ethnic suburbs?,
Hungarians in London)
(Class mobility; A high society event;
the changing face of the East-End)
REVISION
Text for class 8: Ch V.
(The Lords today;
The role of the royal family)
Text for class 9: Ch VI.
(The First Among Equals;
Minor parties; The Foreign Office)
Class 10, Nov 21
Law and Order: The legal system: precedent law,
courts, judge, jury, barristers, solicitors and the police
Deadline for submitting term paper
Text for class 10: Ch VII.
(How much longer unwritten?;
EU laws over Britain?)
Class 11, Nov 28
From shouldering the “white man’s burden” to quiet
retreat: Britain’s changing international role and its
impact at home;
The UK and the EU, Money Matters: British capital
abroad
Text for class 11: TBA
(British-Hungarian Relations;
EU: contentious issues;
Significant British companies)
Class 12, Dec 5
Education: state and independent schools, university
system
Text for class 12: Ch. IX.
(The Oxbridge Myth;
Hungarians in British
Universities)
Schools
and
Class 13, Dec 12
End-term test
REVISION
Note: The syllabus is designed for 13 available class sessions. It is subject to change due to unforeseeable events.
Recommended Readings: Books on British culture, especially the following:
Scholarly texts:
 Oxford Guide to British and American Culture, OUP, 1999: an excellent reference volume on both Britain and
America, which contains definitions of cultural concepts, identifies various famous personalities, and offers brief
and very clear descriptions of many of the exam topics.
 James O'Driscoll: Britain: The Country and Its People, OUP, 1995; the best introductory book on the country.
 Jancsó-Pintér-Suba-Surányi-Szántó: Cultural Relations, Akadémiai, 2010; with succinct introductory texts on the
four largest English-speaking countries: Britain, the USA, Canada and Australia.
Literary texts:
 Jeffrey Archer: The First Among Equals. Opt for a non-US edition, also available in Hungarian. A novel following
the careers of four fictional British politicians, also a case study of ascendance to power and one of the best
sources on the intricacies of the British Parliament, the election system, and party politics.
Attendance, class work, and evaluation:
1. You may miss a maximum of 3 classes during the semester. That means, a total of 25% of the course can be
missed without any consequence. Please use this considerable freedom judiciously and responsibly. Since you
may be bound to miss classes due to an illness (counted into the 3 possible absences), do not miss a class for
an alluring alternative activity. If you miss more than 3 classes, your course will be marked “incomplete”.
2. PLEASE DO NOT MISS THE MID-TERM AND THE END-TERM TESTS! The seminar group is to complete the
same test at the same time. A make-up exam by appointment should be saved for an extraordinary situation.
Having a cold does not qualify as extraordinary.
3. You should prepare for each class. Read the assigned text and revise your understanding of the previous
discussion topic and its key terms. Occasional quizzes at the beginning of class sessions will check your
knowledge. They are also useful means to practice for the tests and to provide feedback on your progress.
Quizzes will be graded and the scores are included in your classwork grade. The fact that you have missed a class
does not exempt you from preparing for the next. The dates of comprehensive tests and the compulsory text for
each class are specified in the syllabus. Additional homework can be obtained using the course email list.
Evaluation: Your final grade will be based on the following components. The relative weight of each component is
given in parenthesis:
1. The combined result of the Mid-term and the End-term Tests (30%)
2. Class work: meaningful participation in class discussions, the results of the quizzes, presentation (30%)
3. Term paper (20%)
You may fail the course in one of the following ways: by failing to reach an average of 2.0 (defined as 55% of the
maximum score possible) in the Mid-Term and End-Term tests; by being an absentee student or coming to class
absolutely unprepared on a regular basis; by failing to submit your term paper.