Britain in the 20th Century: Politics, Economy, Society, Culture
Prof. von Rosenberg
The lecture is meant to provide an overview of the most important political, economic, social and cultural developments in Britain from the »Golden Era« of the Edwardian period through the »Great War«, the »Devil's Decade« of the 30s, World War II and the post-war period up to Blair's Britain. We will deal with Britain's involvement in the world, i. e. her way from the colonialism to decolonisation, from appeasement politics to fighting Hitler in World War II, her special relations to the US and her difficult relations to Europe in recent decades, as well as with such aspects of home politics as institutional develop mends, industrial relations, welfare state, education politics, etc. All this implies looking at Britain's perception of herself, i. e. questions of Britishness, Englishness, Scottishness, etc. Further we will look at the way people lived and live, i. e. their income, housing and working conditions as well as leisure activities of the rich and poor not to forget the changing position of women, family relations and situation of the young. Finally, we will deal with the cultural repercussions in literature, the visual arts, architecture, music and film.
Recommended books:
Hobsbawm, Eric, The Age of Estremes. The Short Twentieth Century 1914 - 1991, London: Abacus 1995 / Kastendiek, Hans, et. al., Länderbericht Großbritannien, Bonn: Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung (1994, rev. Ed. 1998) (kostenlos!) / Marwick, Arthur, British Society since 1945, Harmondsworth: Penguin 1996 (1982, rev. ed. 1990)/Marwick, Arthur, A History of the Modern British Isles, 1914 - 1999, Oxford: Balckwell 2000 / Niedhart, Gottfried, Geschichte Englands im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert, Nördlingen: Beck 1987 / Sinfield, Alan, Literature, Politics and Culture in Postwar Britain, London: Athlone Press 1997 / John Stevenson, British, Society 1914 - 1945, Oxford: OUP 199 2
Voraussetzungen:
Kenntnisse der englischen Sprache