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:
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 / Discussion topic / reading assignment for classand(Possible presentation topics)
Class 1, Sept 12 / Introduction, requirements, basic concepts, guidelines for term paper, class lists
Class 2, Sept 19 / Geography and its impact, regions and their characteristics, geographical objects and their significance (! Blank map in mid-term test) / Text for class 2: Ch I. of core text,
Locate and study a map of the British Isles
Class 3, Sept 26 / Scotland: regions, cities, traditions, distinctive institutions / Text for class 3: Ch II.
(Devolution)
Class 4, Oct 3 / Wales: regions, cities, traditions, distinctive features; Northern Ireland: Catholics v. Protestants, origin of the conflict, distinctive features / Text for class 4: Chs III & IV.
(The Troubles,
Anglo-Irish relations today)
Class 5, Oct 10 / 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, non-European immigrants, multi-racial society / Text for class 5: Chs X & VIII.
(Old and New Immigration,
Ethnic suburbs?,
Hungarians in London)
Class 6, Oct 17 / British society and lifestyles: social classes and their characteristics, changing families, cities and suburbs, the welfare state
Deadline for term paper title/topic / Text for class 6: Ch VIII.
(Class mobility;A high society event;
the changing face of the East-End)
Class 7, Oct 24 / Mid-term test / REVISION
Autumn break (28-31 October)
Class 8, Nov 7 / 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 / Text for class 8: Ch V.
(The Lords today;
The role of the royal family)
Class 9, Nov 14 / System of government Part II: the Cabinet, the elections, the major parties and their policies, and the civil service / 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 Schools and Universities)
Class 13, Dec 12 / End-term test / REVISION
Note: The syllabus is designed for 13available 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:
- 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”.
- PLEASE DO NOTMISS 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.
- You should prepare for each class. Read the assigned text and reviseyour 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 relativeweight of each component is given in parenthesis:
- The combined result of the Mid-term and the End-term Tests (30%)
- Class work: meaningful participation in class discussions, the results of the quizzes, presentation (30%)
- 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.