- •Lectures in british studies lecture 01 one of the greatest countries of the world
- •1.1. General description: what comes to mind first?
- •1.2. Contributions to human civilization.
- •1.3 Contributions to world culture.
- •1.4 English, one of the world languages.
- •Lecture 02 britain’s geography and climate
- •2.1. The geographical position.
- •2.2. Britain's relief.
- •2.3. British climate.
- •2.4. Mineral resources.
- •Lecture 03 an outline of early british history
- •3.1. Ancient history of the nation.
- •3.2. The beginning of the Christian era and after.
- •3.3. The Anglo-Saxon period.
- •3.4. Christianity in Britain.
- •Lecture 04 an outline of medieval british history
- •4.1 The formative centuries, 1066 – 1500s.
- •4.2 Wars and conflicts.
- •4.3 Tudor England.
- •4.4. The age of Elizabeth.
- •Lecture 05 the puritan revolution and after
- •5.1. The Civil War.
- •5.2. The Republican rule
- •5.3. The events after 1660.
- •5.4. The Industrial Revolution.
- •Lecture 06 the victorian age, long and glorious
- •6.1. The Victorian Age (1837 – 1901).
- •6.2. Political movements of the Victorian Age.
- •6.3. Social issues during the Victorian Age.
- •6.4. Cultural life: literature and other arts.
- •Lecture 07 britain in the XX century
- •7.1. World War I.
- •7.2. The period between the world wars.
- •7.3. World War II
- •7.4. Postwar Britain.
- •Lecture 08 education in the uk
- •8.1. Secondary education.
- •8.2. Tertiary education.
- •8.3. Great universities: Oxford and Cambridge.
- •8.4. Other establishments of note.
- •Lecture 09 social life in the uk
- •9.1. Social life.
- •9.2. Social issues.
- •9.3. Youth life.
- •9.4. Communications and travel.
- •Lecture 10 the mass media in the uk
- •10.1. The mass media.
- •10.2. Radio and television.
- •10.3. The era of computers.
- •10.4. Top 10 Britons of all time.
9.3. Youth life.
9.3.1. Youth and youth movement are important factors in the life of Britain. Hundreds of voluntary youth groups and organizations play an active role in the moral and physical nurture of young people in Britain. There are thousands of Youth Clubs which are part of a highly organized national network. These can provide good all-round facilities for games, music, project development and other activities and encourage young people to take part in dramatic productions, residential visits, community work or environmental projects.
9.3.2. The Scout Association, founded in Britain by Lord Robert Baden-Powell about a century ago (1908), is still popular. Girls were admitted to the Scouts for the first time in 1990. Boys and girls scouts organize outdoor activities such as camping and social responsibility. Scouts wear uniforms. Their motto is "Be prepared". Young Farmers' Clubs embrace thousands of members in country areas. The clubs visit farms and research stations and enjoy social meetings as well. Most of them are directly involved in community activities such as programs to help in the protection of the local environment. Youth organization Greenpeace deals with most urgent ecological problems of today's world. It protests against nuclear weapon tests, water and soil pollution, etc. Religious organizations are the largest voluntary sector provider of accommodation training for young people, particularly those who are homeless, unemployed or otherwise disadvantaged.
9.3.3. The “youthful” image of Britain was consolidated in 1994 when the Labour Party elected Tony Blair, a 41-year-old lawyer, as its leader. Blair became the youngest person ever to lead the Labour Party, and he secured landslide victories for his party in the 1997 and 2001 general elections. He insisted that his party abandon its nearly century-old commitment to creating a socialist state. Blair benefited immediately from a series of scandals involving Conservative ministers and Members of Parliament, as well as the public spectacle surrounding Prince Charles and Princess Diana.
9.3.4. In the wake of the September 11 attacks on the United States in 2001, Blair proclaimed that the United Kingdom would stand “shoulder to shoulder” with the United States in the effort to root out global terrorism. More than 100 British citizens were among the thousands of people who died in the attacks. Blair began an intensive round of diplomatic negotiations that took him to European capitals and to a host of Muslim countries to build international support for action against the terrorists. The United Kingdom sent British forces to participate in the assault on Afghanistan’s Taliban regime, which was accused of harboring terrorists. Blair also offered to contribute British military forces to the attack on Iraq. In March 2003 British forces joined the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, despite a failure to secure a UN resolution explicitly sanctioning the action.