INTRODUCTION TO BRITISH AND AMERICAN CULTURE
PART : UK (CHRISTOPHE DECLERCQ)
INFORMATION
The book = important sections look at slide 25 for the pages
- Not high on dates (vague date e.g. beginning of the 20 th century)
- Some dates are important e.g. 1066
- Nation/ country = they do not really differ (don’t know themselves)
- Majority of the “good” newspapers = from London (not a lot of representation form other
parts of the UK)
- Current prime minister = Keir Stamer
Rachel Reeves = second in command of the UK government; in charge of all the finances;
lives at 11 Downing Street
- The pay gap is no where near being equal
(devious = sneakily, backhanded)
EXAM
- Do not forget: UK, GB, Ireland (the island or the land), nations, states = different
- Ireland is not a part of UK
- Marked out of 20 (overall CHUKUS mark is the average or nearest above)
Fill in the blanks – current affairs
Blind map – a map of the British Isles and X number of locations (all cities). Very likely 6
and marked out of 1 (you lose 0.2 per wrong one).
Timeline – see earlier
Multiple choice
Yes / No (right/wrong)
Fill in the blanks – Oakland + classes
one open question (small)
- Names that reappear = on the exam!!
- Open question (we do not need the dates)
At the exam you will get one of the following as an open question. Prepare the answers
at home, make sure you have key dates and perhaps keep an eye on current affairs. Dates
that appear more than once throughout Oakland and classes obviously are more
important than others. If you are bad at remembering year references, then stick to
centuries (and preferably start/early/mid/late/end). This question will probably be 2/20.
1) The historical relations between England/Britain/UK and Ireland
2) The historical relations between England/Britain/UK and the EU (including France and
Germany)
3) The historical relations between England/Britain/UK and their Empire/
Commonwealth
4) The historical relations between England/Britain/UK and the US
5) The historical developments in terms of democracy emerging from centuries of
monarchy.
6) The historical developments in terms of devolution and devolved power.
1
,INTRODUCTION
TONY BLAIR
- Elections 1997: “I only see one future, and that is education, education, education”
LONDEN 2012 OLYMPICS (IN LONDON)
- Send shock range into Britain
- The ceremony commenced at 21:00 with a captivating one-minute countdown film titled '60
to 1.’
This film featured a montage of shots displaying various numbers found throughout
London, including those on house doors, street nameplates, London buses, station
platforms, and market labels.
Notably, the number 39 appeared at the foot of a flight of steps, referencing John
Buchan's novel "The Thirty-Nine Steps," while the number 10 represented the iconic door
of 10 Downing Street.
- The festivities began with a two-minute film entitled Journey along the Thames/ Isles of
Wonder directed by Danny Boyle.
Accompanied by the track "Surf Solar" by the band Fuck Buttons, the film traced the River
Thames from its source to the heart of London.
It juxtaposed contemporary British life with pastoral scenes, featuring beloved characters
like Ratty, Mole, and Toad from "The Wind in the Willows."
A humorous 'Monty Python hand' was seen pointing towards London on umbrellas, while
an InterCity 125 train zoomed past Olympic rings imagined as crop circles in a field.
The film also showcased a flying Pink Floyd pig between the towers of Battersea Power
Station, intertwined with the iconic clock sounds from Pink Floyd’s song "Time," as the
visuals passed Big Ben.
Following an aerial view of East London, which mirrored the iconic title sequence of the
BBC soap opera "EastEnders," the film transitioned to a sequence that flew down through
the Thames Barrier, into Bow Creek, and below the surface through a London
Underground train and station.
It also featured historic footage of Isambard Kingdom Brunel's Thames Tunnel, leading
into the Rotherhithe Tunnel.
The imagery then shifted to scenes filmed outside the stadium shortly before the
ceremony, superimposed with posters from various past Summer, all set to a recording of
"Map of the Problematique" by Muse.
- The portrayal of rural life in the arena was described as "a reminder and a promise of a future
better life."
- The atmosphere transitioned as youth choirs began a cappella performances of the informal
anthems representing the four nations of the UK.
"Jerusalem," performed by a live choir in the stadium, celebrated England,
while "Danny Boy" resonated from the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland.
"Flower of Scotland" was sung from the historic Edinburgh Castle in Scotland, and
"Bread of Heaven" echoed from Rhossili Beach in Wales.
These choirs were interspersed with footage of memorable Rugby Union tries, including
England's winning drop goal from the 2003 Rugby World Cup Final, along with live shots
capturing the audience's energy.
2
,- As the final choir performance came to a close, vintage London General Omnibus Company
stagecoaches made their entrance, carrying businessmen and early industrialists dressed in
Victorian attire and top hats.
Leading this procession was Kenneth Branagh, portraying the renowned engineer
Isambard Kingdom Brunel.
The men descended from the carriages and surveyed the land with approving
expressions.
Upon reaching Glastonbury Tor, Brunel delivered Caliban's poignant speech, "Be not
afeard."
Caliban is a character from Shakespeare's "The Tempest“. He serves as a complex
symbol of the natural world and the impact of colonization on personal identity.
This delivery, which aligned with Boyle's introductory remarks in the ceremony's
program, symbolized an aspiration for new industry and a new era in Britain, setting the
stage for the next segment of the celebration.
- Danny Boyle’s opening ceremony for the London games was meant to be a dreamlike
celebration of Britain’s diverse history and its open-minded values. Ten years later, it seems
more like a requiem
Dreams figured prominently in the London 2012 Olympic opening ceremony.
The first speaker of the night was Kenneth Branagh, channeling both Isambard
Kingdom Brunel and Shakespeare’s Caliban: “The clouds methought would open, and
show riches. Ready to drop upon me, that when I waked, I cried to dream again!”
An entire section was devoted to children’s bedtime nightmares. Rowan Atkinson
lapsed into a dream during his cameo in Chariots of Fire. And hallucinatory spectacles
such as the Queen jumping out of a helicopter with James Bond made 900 million
viewers around the world wonder if they were the ones dreaming.
Ten years on, the whole ceremony feels more dreamlike than ever. This was Britain as a
rich, diverse, multicultural, imaginative, inventive nation comfortable with its identity and
capable of reconciling its contradictions.
We were traditional yet modern. We were powerful yet caring. We were orderly yet
anarchic. We had a vast back catalogue of world-changing culture from which to
draw. We knew how to put on a good show. And we had a sense of humour.
The author Jonathan Coe summed up the feelings of many in his 2018 novel Middle
England: proud to be British, proud to be part of a nation which had not only achieved
such great things but could now celebrate them with such confidence and irony and lack
of self-importance.
We could even laugh about our notoriously crap weather.
- Fake clouds were paraded around the stadium that night, but real clouds were looming for
Britain:
Brexit and its ongoing repercussions
Not to mention the Windrush scandal,
the Covid pandemic,
the cost-of-living crisis,
deportations to Rwanda
- Such a moment of national pride, confidence and unity now seems almost unimaginable. As a
result, the 2012 opening ceremony – officially titled Isles of Wonder – has become something
of a cultural touchstone. For many, it has effectively become shorthand for Britain, before it
all turned to shit.
3
, - But with a decade’s hindsight, we are left wondering what kind of dream the London 2012
opening ceremony was. Was it a dream in the Martin Luther King sense: an aspiration for
what we wanted Britain to be? Or was it more a dream in the Sex Pistols “England’s
dreaming” sense: an illusion of something that never really existed?
- Admittedly, Britain circa 2012 was still a long way from anyone’s dream of Jerusalem.
The Conservative-led coalition government had already begun making savage cuts to
public services under its austerity programme.
In August 2011 there had been riots in London and other British cities.
In May 2012 then-home secretary Theresa May introduced the term “hostile
environment” to describe her government’s increasingly hardline immigration policies.
- The obsession with the 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony is revealing, because Britain was
not the utopian wonderland many thought it was. The 2012 London Olympics was four years
after an epic financial crash and the Tories were hacking the British welfare state into tiny
little pieces.”
- Perhaps the ceremony lay bare the growing disconnect between the devolved nations and
the concept of (being) British, of Britain.
Maybe England was dreaming after all, then.
Pining for an imaginary time “when Britain was great” can also be a counterproductive
and possibly hypocritical road to go down.
- Identity is always about storytelling, and as much as it was a cultural event, Isles of Wonder
was one of the few attempts to tell a fresh, modern, inclusive story about what Britain was, is
and could be. We might not have lived up to it in the short term, but the fact that the vast
majority of us responded so positively to it is as important now as it was then. Given all that’s
happened since, Britain needs stories like this more than ever.
REVISION TOPICS
Austerity Brexit Conservatives
Devolved nations (Wales, Engeland Jerusalem
Scotland, Northern Ireland)
Kingdom Isambard Brunel The Sex Pistols Victorian
United Kingdom Shakespeare Windrush Scandal
UNITED KINGDOM/ GREAT BRITAIN/ ENGLAND/ SCOTLAND/…
4
PART : UK (CHRISTOPHE DECLERCQ)
INFORMATION
The book = important sections look at slide 25 for the pages
- Not high on dates (vague date e.g. beginning of the 20 th century)
- Some dates are important e.g. 1066
- Nation/ country = they do not really differ (don’t know themselves)
- Majority of the “good” newspapers = from London (not a lot of representation form other
parts of the UK)
- Current prime minister = Keir Stamer
Rachel Reeves = second in command of the UK government; in charge of all the finances;
lives at 11 Downing Street
- The pay gap is no where near being equal
(devious = sneakily, backhanded)
EXAM
- Do not forget: UK, GB, Ireland (the island or the land), nations, states = different
- Ireland is not a part of UK
- Marked out of 20 (overall CHUKUS mark is the average or nearest above)
Fill in the blanks – current affairs
Blind map – a map of the British Isles and X number of locations (all cities). Very likely 6
and marked out of 1 (you lose 0.2 per wrong one).
Timeline – see earlier
Multiple choice
Yes / No (right/wrong)
Fill in the blanks – Oakland + classes
one open question (small)
- Names that reappear = on the exam!!
- Open question (we do not need the dates)
At the exam you will get one of the following as an open question. Prepare the answers
at home, make sure you have key dates and perhaps keep an eye on current affairs. Dates
that appear more than once throughout Oakland and classes obviously are more
important than others. If you are bad at remembering year references, then stick to
centuries (and preferably start/early/mid/late/end). This question will probably be 2/20.
1) The historical relations between England/Britain/UK and Ireland
2) The historical relations between England/Britain/UK and the EU (including France and
Germany)
3) The historical relations between England/Britain/UK and their Empire/
Commonwealth
4) The historical relations between England/Britain/UK and the US
5) The historical developments in terms of democracy emerging from centuries of
monarchy.
6) The historical developments in terms of devolution and devolved power.
1
,INTRODUCTION
TONY BLAIR
- Elections 1997: “I only see one future, and that is education, education, education”
LONDEN 2012 OLYMPICS (IN LONDON)
- Send shock range into Britain
- The ceremony commenced at 21:00 with a captivating one-minute countdown film titled '60
to 1.’
This film featured a montage of shots displaying various numbers found throughout
London, including those on house doors, street nameplates, London buses, station
platforms, and market labels.
Notably, the number 39 appeared at the foot of a flight of steps, referencing John
Buchan's novel "The Thirty-Nine Steps," while the number 10 represented the iconic door
of 10 Downing Street.
- The festivities began with a two-minute film entitled Journey along the Thames/ Isles of
Wonder directed by Danny Boyle.
Accompanied by the track "Surf Solar" by the band Fuck Buttons, the film traced the River
Thames from its source to the heart of London.
It juxtaposed contemporary British life with pastoral scenes, featuring beloved characters
like Ratty, Mole, and Toad from "The Wind in the Willows."
A humorous 'Monty Python hand' was seen pointing towards London on umbrellas, while
an InterCity 125 train zoomed past Olympic rings imagined as crop circles in a field.
The film also showcased a flying Pink Floyd pig between the towers of Battersea Power
Station, intertwined with the iconic clock sounds from Pink Floyd’s song "Time," as the
visuals passed Big Ben.
Following an aerial view of East London, which mirrored the iconic title sequence of the
BBC soap opera "EastEnders," the film transitioned to a sequence that flew down through
the Thames Barrier, into Bow Creek, and below the surface through a London
Underground train and station.
It also featured historic footage of Isambard Kingdom Brunel's Thames Tunnel, leading
into the Rotherhithe Tunnel.
The imagery then shifted to scenes filmed outside the stadium shortly before the
ceremony, superimposed with posters from various past Summer, all set to a recording of
"Map of the Problematique" by Muse.
- The portrayal of rural life in the arena was described as "a reminder and a promise of a future
better life."
- The atmosphere transitioned as youth choirs began a cappella performances of the informal
anthems representing the four nations of the UK.
"Jerusalem," performed by a live choir in the stadium, celebrated England,
while "Danny Boy" resonated from the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland.
"Flower of Scotland" was sung from the historic Edinburgh Castle in Scotland, and
"Bread of Heaven" echoed from Rhossili Beach in Wales.
These choirs were interspersed with footage of memorable Rugby Union tries, including
England's winning drop goal from the 2003 Rugby World Cup Final, along with live shots
capturing the audience's energy.
2
,- As the final choir performance came to a close, vintage London General Omnibus Company
stagecoaches made their entrance, carrying businessmen and early industrialists dressed in
Victorian attire and top hats.
Leading this procession was Kenneth Branagh, portraying the renowned engineer
Isambard Kingdom Brunel.
The men descended from the carriages and surveyed the land with approving
expressions.
Upon reaching Glastonbury Tor, Brunel delivered Caliban's poignant speech, "Be not
afeard."
Caliban is a character from Shakespeare's "The Tempest“. He serves as a complex
symbol of the natural world and the impact of colonization on personal identity.
This delivery, which aligned with Boyle's introductory remarks in the ceremony's
program, symbolized an aspiration for new industry and a new era in Britain, setting the
stage for the next segment of the celebration.
- Danny Boyle’s opening ceremony for the London games was meant to be a dreamlike
celebration of Britain’s diverse history and its open-minded values. Ten years later, it seems
more like a requiem
Dreams figured prominently in the London 2012 Olympic opening ceremony.
The first speaker of the night was Kenneth Branagh, channeling both Isambard
Kingdom Brunel and Shakespeare’s Caliban: “The clouds methought would open, and
show riches. Ready to drop upon me, that when I waked, I cried to dream again!”
An entire section was devoted to children’s bedtime nightmares. Rowan Atkinson
lapsed into a dream during his cameo in Chariots of Fire. And hallucinatory spectacles
such as the Queen jumping out of a helicopter with James Bond made 900 million
viewers around the world wonder if they were the ones dreaming.
Ten years on, the whole ceremony feels more dreamlike than ever. This was Britain as a
rich, diverse, multicultural, imaginative, inventive nation comfortable with its identity and
capable of reconciling its contradictions.
We were traditional yet modern. We were powerful yet caring. We were orderly yet
anarchic. We had a vast back catalogue of world-changing culture from which to
draw. We knew how to put on a good show. And we had a sense of humour.
The author Jonathan Coe summed up the feelings of many in his 2018 novel Middle
England: proud to be British, proud to be part of a nation which had not only achieved
such great things but could now celebrate them with such confidence and irony and lack
of self-importance.
We could even laugh about our notoriously crap weather.
- Fake clouds were paraded around the stadium that night, but real clouds were looming for
Britain:
Brexit and its ongoing repercussions
Not to mention the Windrush scandal,
the Covid pandemic,
the cost-of-living crisis,
deportations to Rwanda
- Such a moment of national pride, confidence and unity now seems almost unimaginable. As a
result, the 2012 opening ceremony – officially titled Isles of Wonder – has become something
of a cultural touchstone. For many, it has effectively become shorthand for Britain, before it
all turned to shit.
3
, - But with a decade’s hindsight, we are left wondering what kind of dream the London 2012
opening ceremony was. Was it a dream in the Martin Luther King sense: an aspiration for
what we wanted Britain to be? Or was it more a dream in the Sex Pistols “England’s
dreaming” sense: an illusion of something that never really existed?
- Admittedly, Britain circa 2012 was still a long way from anyone’s dream of Jerusalem.
The Conservative-led coalition government had already begun making savage cuts to
public services under its austerity programme.
In August 2011 there had been riots in London and other British cities.
In May 2012 then-home secretary Theresa May introduced the term “hostile
environment” to describe her government’s increasingly hardline immigration policies.
- The obsession with the 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony is revealing, because Britain was
not the utopian wonderland many thought it was. The 2012 London Olympics was four years
after an epic financial crash and the Tories were hacking the British welfare state into tiny
little pieces.”
- Perhaps the ceremony lay bare the growing disconnect between the devolved nations and
the concept of (being) British, of Britain.
Maybe England was dreaming after all, then.
Pining for an imaginary time “when Britain was great” can also be a counterproductive
and possibly hypocritical road to go down.
- Identity is always about storytelling, and as much as it was a cultural event, Isles of Wonder
was one of the few attempts to tell a fresh, modern, inclusive story about what Britain was, is
and could be. We might not have lived up to it in the short term, but the fact that the vast
majority of us responded so positively to it is as important now as it was then. Given all that’s
happened since, Britain needs stories like this more than ever.
REVISION TOPICS
Austerity Brexit Conservatives
Devolved nations (Wales, Engeland Jerusalem
Scotland, Northern Ireland)
Kingdom Isambard Brunel The Sex Pistols Victorian
United Kingdom Shakespeare Windrush Scandal
UNITED KINGDOM/ GREAT BRITAIN/ ENGLAND/ SCOTLAND/…
4
