BBNAN 03407: Contemporary British Society
Karáth Tamás PhD
Spring 2012
BBNAN 03407 - CONTEMPORARY BRITISH SOCIETY: COURSE DESCRIPTION
Lecturer: Karáth Tamás (kartauzi@gmx.de)
Courses:
15 Feb (Wed) 17.00-18.30 (Amb 129)
17 Feb (Fri) 12.00-13.30 (Amb 110)
22 Feb (Wed) 17.00-18.30 (Amb 129)
24 Feb (Fri) 12.00-15.00 (Amb 110)
2 March (Fri) 12.00-15.00 (Amb 110)
9 March (Fri) 12.00-15.00 (Amb 110)
23 March (Fri) 12.00-15.00 (Amb 110)
The BA program in general invites you to encounters with modern British society at several
points of your studies (UK Civilization seminar, British History lecture, and other courses
related to modern cultural studies and literature). Most of these courses, as well as most of the
relevant and authoritative literature on modern British society, approach to social issues from
a post-WWII historical perspective, as e.g. British education in the context of post-WWII
development, ethnic tensions in the context of post-WWII immigration, or devolution as a
result of post-WWII changes in British identity. This course will experiment with the
opposite: we will focus on very recent issues that stirred up British society (by virtue of the
shock, the surprize or the outstanding nature of an event) and will trace back the causes of the
shock and tension to earlier developments. Above all, we will clarify the context(s) in which
contemporary social and cultural phenomena can better be understood. The major events and
phenomena in focus: (1) “Race” riots in Britain 2011, (2) An independent Scotland after
2014?, (3) The new film on Margaret Thatcher (“The Iron Lady”).
Seminar work and methods
As the classes will be held in larger blocs, class work and the methods will follow nonconventional paths. Each thematic unit will be introduced by a small-group presentation on
the media coverage of the related issue. Subsequently, we will discuss the larger context of
the issue on the basis of articles and studies. The last thematic unit will be illustrated with the
recent film on Margaret Thatcher (“The Iron Lady”, 2011) to be seen individually in the
movies. The seminar will endeavour to develop academic skills necessary for the discussion
and the oral presentation of scholarly ideas and texts.
Requirements
(1) Class attendance: do not miss more than 3 times 90 minutes.
(2) Participation in a small group presentation: review of the media coverage of an issue
(3) Preparation for classes: read the assigned texts and bring 2 questions and at least 1 critical
observation in connection with the text. Questions and observations have to be submitted
in a written form.
(4) Active participation in discussions: moderating a class discussion. For each class there
will be a text specially assigned for the moderators who will have to write a summary on
it. Others do not have to read this text.
(5) End-of-term test: The material of the test is based on the seminar readings (cf. syllabus)
Assessment of the course
The course is not valid if you miss more than 3 times 90 minutes. The following tasks will be
graded with marks: (1) presentation of media coverage, (2) moderator’s summary, and (3) the
end-of-term test. Your reflections on the assigned readings and the moderation of discussions
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BBNAN 03407: Contemporary British Society
Karáth Tamás PhD
Spring 2012
will not be graded; nevertheless, your performance will be assessed by your fellows and your
teacher in the course of the semester. You fail the course, if you attend it regularly, but:
- miss to submit questions and observations more than 3 times
- fail two of the three graded components of the course.
The final grade will constitute of the following elements:
- participation of small group presentation
20%
- moderator’s summary
30%
- term test
50%
Your end-of-term grade may be modified by your participation group discussions and the
quality of the submitted questions and observations.
Syllabus
INTRODUCTION
15 Feb (Wed) – Introducing the seminar and assigning the tasks.
Topic: A reminder of what we know about post-WWII British society
UNIT 1: “RACE” RIOTS 2011
17 Feb (Fri) – Topic: Ethnicity and racism
Presentation: Media coverage on the 2011 ‘race’ riots
Reading: Satnam Virdee, “Racial Harassment” in Nicholas Abercrombie and Alan
Warde, eds. The Contemporary British Society Reader. Cambridge. Polity Press, 2001,
pp. 126-34
22 Feb (Wed) – Topic: Ethnicity and racism
Reading: Nicholas Abercrombie and Alan Warde, eds. Contemporary British Society.
3rd ed. Cambridge: Polity Press, 2000; Chapter 8: “Ethnicity and Racism”, pp. 226-63
Reading only for moderator(s): John Benson. Affluence and Authority: A Social
History of 20th Century Britain. Oxford: Hodder Arnold, 2005; Chapter 4: “The
Coercive Power of the State”, pp. 85-110
UNIT 2: AN INDEPENDENT SCOTLAND AFTER 2014?
24 Feb (Fri) – Topic. Devolution and Scottish Achievements
Presentation: Media coverage of Scottish plans of independence
Reading 1: John Oakland, ed. Contemporary Britain. A Survey with Texts. London:
Routledge, 2001; Chapter 5, Texts 3-7. “Devolution”, pp. 128-38
Reading 2: John Oakland, ed. Contemporary Britain. A Survey with Texts. London:
Routledge, 2001; Chapter 3, Text 6, pp. 78-81
Reading only for moderator(s): Frank Bechhofer et al. “The Framing of Scottish
national Identity” in Nicholas Abercrombie and Alan Warde, eds. The Contemporary
British Society Reader. Cambridge. Polity Press, 2001, pp. 33- 44
2 March (Fri) – Topic: The Transformation of Scottish Identity
Reading: Harkányi Ádám Máté, “A skót nemzet a devolúció előtt és után”
http://www.mtaki.hu/docs/ter_es_terep_07/tet07_harkanyi_a_skot_nemzet_a_devoluci
o_elott.pdf
Reading only for moderator(s): John Benson. Affluence and Authority: A Social
History of 20th Century Britain. Oxford: Hodder Arnold, 2005; Chapter 8: “The Power
of Class, the Power of Nation”, pp. 192-217
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BBNAN 03407: Contemporary British Society
Karáth Tamás PhD
Spring 2012
UNIT 3: THATCHERISM
9 March (Fri) – Topic: Why is Britain hung up on Thatcherism?
Presentation: Media coverage of recent evaluations of Thatcherism, reviews of film
“The iron Lady”
Reading 1: John Oakland, ed. Contemporary Britain. A Survey with Texts. London:
Routledge, 2001; Chapter 1, Text 5, pp. 16-18
Reading 2: Nicholas Abercrombie and Alan Warde, eds. Contemporary British
Society. 3rd ed. Cambridge: Polity Press, 2000; Passage “Reform and welfare:
Conservative governments 1979-97”, pp. 436-39 and Passage “’Popular capitalism’
and the growth of shareownership: a case study”, pp. 44-47
Reading only for moderator(s): Salman Rushdie, “The New Empire within Britain”
http://www.intralinea.it/intra/ipermedia/IperGrimus/_private/sr/newempire.htm
CONCLUSION AND TERM-TEST
23 March (Fri) – Topic of free choice
Presentation: Media coverage on the chosen topic
Assessment of the course
End-of-term test
Enjoy the seminar and the readings. Good luck for the semester.
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