Contemporary English History and Culture

Year
0
Academic year
2018-2019
Code
01011434
Subject Area
Área Científica do Menor
Language of Instruction
Portuguese
Other Languages of Instruction
English
Mode of Delivery
Face-to-face
Duration
SEMESTRIAL
ECTS Credits
6.0
Type
Elective
Level
1st Cycle Studies

Recommended Prerequisites

Not applicable.

Teaching Methods

Some expository classes but more often class discussion of texts, images or films.

Learning Outcomes

The course offers a survey of contemporary Britain in its political, social, cultural and identitary dimensions.
- Students will develop a historical consciousness and an awareness of the interaction between the political, the social and the cultural.
- Students will acquire theoretical tools for a critical reading of social discourses and practices.

Work Placement(s)

No

Syllabus

The course provides an overview of Britain since World War II, with an emphasis on the social, political and economic history of the country from 1945 to the present. A variety of texts and films will be used to cover, among others, the following topics: 1. Britain 1945-50: the immediate postwar and the creation of the Welfare State; 2. The 1950s: the affluent society and the British New Deal; 3. The sexual/social revolution of the 1960s; 4. The 1970s: the economic crisis and social unrest; 5. The ‘Thatcher Years’ and the new enterprise culture; 6. New Labour and the ‘Blair Years’; globalization and Devolution. (N.B.: The syllabus may change depending on teaching staff).

Head Lecturer(s)

Manuel José de Freitas Portela

Assessment Methods

Continuous evaluation
Mini Tests: 25.0%
Other: 25.0%
Frequency: 50.0%

Final evaluation
Exam: 100.0%

Bibliography

Clark, P. (1996). Hope and Glory. Britain 1900-1990. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books.

Hennessey, P. (2007). Having it so Good. Britain in the Fifties. London: Penguin Books.

Garnet, M. (2007). From Anger to Apathy. The Story of Politics, Society and Popular Culture in Britain since 1975. London: Vintage Books.

Gourvish, T. & O’Day, A. (Eds.) (1991). Britain since 1945. London: Macmillan.

Jenkins, S. (2006). Thatcher & Sons. A Revolution in three Acts. London: Penguin Books.

Marwick, A. (1990). British Society since 1945. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books. 

Matos, J. (2013). De ‘Rule Britannia a ‘Cool Britannia’: questões identitárias na Grã-Bretanha Contemporânea. In Luís, A. R. (Ed.). O cruzamento de Saberes na Aula de Inglês. Contributos para uma prática Multidisciplinar (pp.28-43). Coimbra: Imprensa da Universidade de Coimbra.

Turner, A. W. (2008). Crisis? What Crisis? Britain in the 1970’s. London: Aurum Press Ltd.