1) Compare chapters 1 and 2 in the course book with chapters 6

Make space! Spatial dimensions in cultural research and 7 Time

please! Historical perspectives in Johnsons Practice of Cultural
Studies.
- Practice of Cultural Studies chpt: 6 (deals with terms which
have to do with place): backshift to previous chapter and
outlook to following chapter, half a page of brief introduction
and limitation/designation of the topic. Conclusion at the end of
chapter. Author addresses reader with we.
- discussion of complex / abstract terms like site, scale,
scape, map, positionality / spatiality, identity / locality, some
also mentioned in the lecture (identity mentioned in the
lecture).
- PoCS chpt: 7 (deals with terms which have to do with time):
what is this chapter all about and what isnt it about? Reflective
backshift to previous chapters. Conclusion at the end of
chapter.
- ->chapters 6 & 7 are all about time & place (very abstract
thinking and abstract words discussed).
- -> certain backshifts within the chapters, which are in the
course book realized as bells to establish a network of
knowledge
- chapter 1 course book: the where (geography)
- chapter 2 course book: the when (history)
- ->comparison:
- -PoCS theoretical, academic, abstract style, Anglo-American
Cultural Studies: practical, clear-cut, student-oriented
- PoCS p0
- -AACS tries to break down the contents of PoCS and put it into
a readable, student-oriented text -> apply it on practical
examples
- AS pictures, POCS no pics

2
Compare education in British Civilization and American
Civilization.
- >->Both BC and AC have the same number of pages (29).
Both chapters come with information regarding history, higher
education and public attitude to education.
BC distinguishes between state / private (fee-paying) schools; AC
distinguishes between elementary / secondary schools.
- BC comes with 6 colored images and 1 small figure
(independent school sector), AC comes with 4 images (partly
colored) and 1 big figure (American school system).
- style: style and complexity of sentences is almost equal
becuase the two books were written by the same author,
whereas AC has an additional listed author (David Mauk)

3
Say something about your favorite course material item for learning
more about politics in the US/UK.

Chris Barker's "SAGE Dictionary of Cultural Studies"

-> arranged alphabetically, not connected to one specific country,
more in general about CS
-> not about political systems or situation in any country but
contains general aspects of politics

-> not about a political system / situation in the US / UK but about

general aspects of politics -> can be applied to both US / UK
-> the term politics refers to GENERATION & ORGANIZATION of
SOCIAL & CULTURAL ORDER
FAVORITE BECAUSE: alphabetically ordered, not restricted to any
country, find out very quickly if there is information on a certain topic
or not
entries about half a page long, no pics

4
Say something about economy in Michael Ryans Cultural Studies
a Practical Introduction and American Civilization.

Cultural Studies - A Practical Introduction:

->Presenting economy from a general point of view
->basic theoretical handbook, can, contrary to American
Civilization, only deal with this topic in a very general way without
focusing one particular country (rather theoretical approach)
->Does not have an own dedicated chapter on economy, theme
is covered by various chapters (transnationality globalization and
postcoloniality, consumer culture, policy and industry)

->connects economy with social class (lecture: distributional

model of class analysis by Wysong and Perruci)
->uses US film industry as an example for policy and industry
- book has no pics

AmericanCiv: Own chapter on economy, deals with a variety of

crucial subtopics concerning economy such as: economic history,
contemporary economy, economic inequality, agriculture forestry
and fisheries, environmental issues, attitudes to the economic
system of the US

->specific information e.g. in the history part (how economy

developed in different years in US history e.g. during the Civil War

->very precise, many year designations (student-oriented, practical

approach
- book has few pics

5
Say something about US/UK minority groups using your favorite
sources.

American Cultural Studies (Campbell / Kean):

->Chapter 2: Ethnicity and immigration

->learn something about Native Americans, who today still can be

considered a minority group in the United States of America.
->back in the days, white people in positions of cultural power
designated the native Americans as racially inferior and childlike,
Un-American
->they were said to be in need of radical readjustments (lecture:
act of stereotyping -> reducing everything about a person to a few
exaggerated & simplified traits)
->they tried to put the Native Americans into Indian reservations to
systematically educate and civilize them

->bloody massacre at Wounded Knee (also mentioned in the

course book ->chapter the when) which finally broke the
resistance of the Native Americans against cultivation

British Civilization
-> learn something about the Jewish community in Britain
-> estimated to be the second largest Jewish population in Europe

-> decreasing number of members in the past 20 years

-> religion does not matter to the Jews so much anymore,
ongoing emigration of young Jews for whom their Jewishness is
simply a matter of birth.
-> East end of London has been a place of Jewish settlement

6
Say something about the most interesting American and British
religions.

->US have always been marked by variety of religions and a

variety of religious beliefs & practices
->In colonial times, Anglicans and Roman Catholics, as well
as Jews, arrived from Europe
->dissenting protestants, who had left the Church of England also
greatly broadened the American religious landscape
->beginning in the 16th century, the Spanish (and later the French
and the English) introduced Catholicism, a form of Christianity,
which today is the church with the most members to the US. (From
the 19th century to the present, Catholics came to the US in large
numbers due to immigration
of Italians, Hispanics, Portuguese, French and other ethnic
groups)

->In the UK, religion has been dominated by various forms

of Christianity
->Among Christians, Anglicans are the most common religion,
followed by Roman Catholics
->Church of England (Anglican church) is the established church
in England. Its most senior bishops sit in the House of Lords (also
described in the course book) and the Queen is its supreme
governor (she is able to appoint archbishops, bishops and deans
of cathedrals on the advice of the Prime Minister (who is Theresa
May since 2016) --> also shows link between state and church

7
Say something about national parks US and/or UK.

National parks UK
-first national parks were founded in 1950s (later as in the US -
> Yellowstone ->late 19th century)

-> after conflicts about the right to roam and the right of access to
countryside were solved
-within a decade 10 of the current 15 parks were founded

-parks are spread around the entire island of Great Britain, big parts
of Wales are part of national parks
-large areas of British national parks are privately owned and still
used

-you can find farms, villages and towns within the boundaries (which
does not apply for NP in the US -> remote and unspoilt)
-population in it varies from a few thousand to more than
one hundred thousand
->One example for a national park: Lake District (also talked
about in the task group presentation about environment)
-its in the north-western mountain region in England,
the Cumbrian Mountains
-you can find there the highest peak in England, the so-
called Scafell Pike

A picture of Britain - E1 The Romantic North and the course

book: Lake District became famous through Wordsworth`s poetry
who wrote about the beautiful landscape

8
Say something about media people and/or events in three course
material items.

Andrew Marrs: History of Modern Britain

Episode 1
-Ealing Studios (London)
->produced many british comedies after WWII
Episode 3
- opening of Post office Tower (today called BT tower) -> opening
was a media event where many famous and important people were
attending
- Vietnam war (,,TV WAR``first t5ure television war - footage
available on TV for the vast majority of society)
- David Bowie from Brixton (Ziggy Stardust) -> changing music
style from optimistic (60s) to about fantasy, escape (to the past,
the future, in space)

British Civilization
- first titled London newspaper was first published in early 17th
century (The Daily Courant)
- The Times (daily national newspaper): first published in late 18th
century

Blackwell Companion to Television

Essay "television and sports" by Michael Real
-Rupert Murdoch -> has a worldwide media empire -> owner
of Fox network, more than 30 television stations and prestigious
newspapers in US & UK -> partly owned the German TV station
VOX
-> his contribution has been less in techniques of presentation but
more in buying, combining, promoting, and selling televized
sports both national and international
-> book published in 2010 -> he might be even more
powerful today

9
Say something interesting about British and/or American food in the
context of our seminar.

Task group said that today there are more and more multicultural
restaurants in Great Britain

Britain for Learners of English:

reason why visitors of Britain say the food is bad:
-> they do not get the opportunity to try home cooking, rather
eating in a canteen or cheap restaurants -> not where to find good
British food
->because people usually dont go out to eat often, but when they
do, they want sth special

->Restaurants which serve British food are rare

->restaurant culture is being dominated by Indian, Italian and
Chinese/Thai restaurants

->Britain: Poor food standards, no interest in food

->badly educated regarding food: In a 2004 poll, children said
that margarine came from cows, ham came from chickens
and bread was made of potatoes or rice 1

one minute sharing (Christian & Julia): Van Loon: Introducing

Cultural Studies (ice cream) book with cartoon showing cultural
studies topics -> shows a scene in an Indian restaurant
->tells us that the British did not distinguish between different sorts
of Indian Food - they designated everything as ,,curry``.
10. Describe in the context of the seminar US/UK places, figures,
and events mentioned in the first two chapters of the course book
adding information from three very different course material items.

1) Place: Mississippi, Ol Man River (documentary)

-> Mississippi is an Indian name which means "great river" or
"gathering of all the waters"
-> gave rise to cotton plantations where black slaves had to
harvest cotton
-> says that the development of the Blues was a result of
plantations -> using ancient film material showing slaves
-> best-known symbol for Mississippi -> steam boats

2) Figure: President Theodore Roosevelt

-> Square Deal, had three functions -> protection/preservation of
natural resources, control of corporations, consumer protection
->Cambridge Companion to Modern American
Culture(anthology) "African Americans since 1900" by Werner
Sollors-
President Roosevelt was the first president to ever invite a black
person (Booker T. Washington) to dine in the White House in 1901
-> criticized by mostly southern newspapers -> result of
predominant racism (create races or categories of people based on
their outer appearance -> consider the own category as racially
superior) and stereotyping (reduce everything about a person to a
few simplified and exaggerated fixed traits)

3) event: Great Fire of London

-> Britain for Learners of English (basic introductory textbook)
-> had good and bad effects -> bad: old wooden houses were
destroyed
-> good: bubonic plague was destroyed and never
reappeared afterwards

--> items are very different: documentary, basic introductory

textbook for Britain, advanced anthology for US
11) Say something about your favourite source for information on
British and American education other than the course book
New Keywords
-> mixture between anthology & dictionary

-> question of whether education is

1) the training in economically important skills or
2) the preparation for civilized living and citizenship

-> roots in Latin

1) educare -> "bringing up"
2) educere -> "leading forth"

FAVORITE BECAUSE: conceptualized as a dictionary ->

alphabetical order, you can find out very easily if the book contains
information on a topic or not, articles have some kind of "personal
impact" because they were all written by different authors

12) Say something about LGBT in the US and/or UK.

->Acronym which refers to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and

Transgender, used since the 1990s
->today - self-designation, is used to emphasize the diversity of
sexuality and gender identity-based cultures, sometimes even used
to describe anyone who is non-heterosexual
->until after WWII the term 3rd sex was used to describe all people
who were not heterosexual, which was later on replaced with the
term homosexual (negative connotation) and
then homophile which should emphasize the love in the
relationship.
->can also be described by the phenomenon trans-coding (lecture) -
> which means taking a term with negative connotation and change
its meaning from an insult / offense to a proudly-used term (e.g.
gay, queer, LGBT)
->whether LGBT people designate themselves as such depends on
local political concerns and whether they live in a discriminatory
environment - this is only possible in an environment where you
dont get persecuted for being non-heterosexual
example USA - same-sex marriage is legal since a Supreme
Court decision (2015).

13) Say something about economics and/or international relations in

"American Civilization" and "British Civilization" in the context of our
seminar.

Both are basic introductory handbooks which follow a practical,

student-oriented approach

Both "American Civilization" and "British Civilization" have an own

dedicated chapter on economy which also
contain exercises and further reading sections

SEMINAR: Encouraged students to think outside the box, practical

approach, restricted to UK&US only (all connections to the books) /
course book: limited to US / UK

->both deal with some crucial subtopics of economy

for instance economic history, contemporary economy, social
class, financial institutions, public attitude to the economic
system

AC chapter comes with additional information regarding economic

inequality & social inequality which is a big problem in the US,
although the US is often portrayed as classless society (course
book, lecture)
->as a result of 19th century industrialization, the gap between
rich and poor got bigger and bigger

BC chapter comes with information regarding privatization of

formerly state-owned companies like British Steel, British
Telecom and British Airways ("Thatcherism" in course book
because Thatcher was the head of the Conservative party which
was in power to that time)
-> believed that Thatcherism led to a society of 2 nations with rich
and poor

style: style and complexity of sentences is almost equal becuase

the two books were written by the same author, whereas AC has
an additional listed author (David Mauk)
14)
Say something about immigration US/UK using your favorite
sources.

Alistair Cooke's America:

-> documentary series with visible presenter

-> opening shot of 1st episode -> Statue of Liberty -> symbol of
hope for all new immigrants to the US
-> says that he immigrated by choice (voluntary immigration) from
Cambridge
-> was offered a fellowship (scholarship) at Yale University
-> Immigration to the US in the 1930s -> Impressions of Great
Depression with ancient film material showing the shelters of the
unemployed
-> came by ship and the first thing he saw was the Statue of Liberty
(symbol of hope and restart for the immigrants)

-> FAVORITE source because Alistair Cooke experienced

immigration by himself and therefore is a reliable source for first
handed information about voluntary immigration -> authentic

WDYTYA:
-> learn something about different ASPECTS OF IMMIGRATION

FAVORITE SOURCE because the protagonists contact living

sources and therefore get information at first hand -> you see
emotions -> very authentic

15) Justify and criticize Ken Burns The Shakers for learning more
about religion.

The Shakers -> episode of the documentary series Ken Burns

America
Narrated by David McCullough (historian & lecturer) who also
narrated another episode namely Ken Burns The Congress
features interviews of historians, philosophers and shaker members
and shows old photographs of them

+features information on the furniture and architecture (inspired by

religious beliefs) which the shakers were famous for
+tells us something about religious intolerance and persecution in
the US (shows a memorial which says here a shaker was being
whipped by a mob for religious beliefs) -> accused of witchcraft and
therefore persectued by conservative Catholics -> connection to the
lecture IDENTITY -> people who do not meet identity expectations
are seen as a threat
-today (and even back in the days) the Shakers were a comparably
small and irrelevant religion (never heard of them before the
seminar)
->only 2 active members left
->could only recruit orphans / other grown-ups who decided to
become a Shaker -> based on their religious beliefs they had no
offspring
-released in 1980s -> information you get (about member figures
etc.) may be outdated -> information may be more or less useless
for studies -> have to do additional research -> not using time
efficiently

16. Say something about your favorite multimedia source on nature

and wildlife in the context of the seminar.
Titchmarsh's "British Isles - A National History"
-> documentary series with visible presenter Alan Titchmarsh

-> Alan Titchmarsh (very active and entertaining)

-> series focuses on the Islands of Britain and the development of
nature & wildlife over time
-> how humans and nature have shaped the land

Episode "Revolution"
-> development of canal system in Britain -> scene with canal
bridge -> dangerous because there was no railing -> no protection
against falling down
Episode "Three Billion Years in the Making"
-> white sea lions are a legacy of the ice age -> back then, they
were perfectly hidden on the snow
-> nowadays they can be easily spotted because the ice has gone
context of the seminar: strong focus on geography (isles)
<, history (development over time), environment
(nature & wildlife) + economy (Industrial Revolution)
FAVORITE BECAUSE Titchmarsh is very well informed about flora
& fauna -> quite authentic impression (he is a gardener) -> very
long timeframe covered from the very start until predicitions about
environmental developments in the future

17. Say something about television in the context of our seminar

using "A Companion to Television" and "American Civilization".

American Civilization
-> 99% of all US households own at least 1 television set
-> the "big four" (also talked about in task group presentation) -
> private television networks ABC American Broadcasting
Company, NBC National Broadcasting Company, CBS Columbia
Broadcasting System, Fox -> Owner of Fox network is Rupert
Murdoch
-> TV and Video-On-Demand services are melting
together (networks let viewers watch episodes of popular shows on
their websites for free)
Blackwell A Companion to Television Essay "Television &
Sports" by Michael R. Real
-> learn something about Rupert Murdoch (powerful media and
television tycoon) -> also mentioned in the course book
-> has a worldwide media empire -> owner of Fox network, more
than 30 television stations and prestigious newspapers in US & UK -
> partly owned the German TV station VOX (course book ->
embodies monopolistic tendencies on both sides of the ocean, he
has very conservative political views)
-> his contribution has been less in techniques of presentation but
more in buying, combining, promoting, and selling televized sports
both national and international
-> book published in 2010 -> he might be even more powerful today
18. Say something interesting about American and/or British art
using your two favorite course material items.

Dimbleby's A Picture of Britain

-> documentary series
-> visible presenter Dimbleby (journalist & presenter) explores
different British regions & discusses the ways that landscapes
have influenced painters, poets & composers
EXAMPLE
Episode 1
-> mentions how writer William Wordsworth became infatuated
with the nature of the north (Lake District)
-> field of daffodils, quoting Wordsworth's poem
-> today, many people come to Grasmere (Lake District) to grasp
the inspiration nature had on Wordsworth
FAVORITE BECAUSE: -> you do not only learn about art (painters)
but also about writers, poets -> LITERATURE and the connection to
ENVIRONMENT -> how environment influenced the arts and
HISTORICAL development
-> is unique because of used cinematic effects combined with
intriguing music and interesting intonation (mostly orchestra music)

Britain for Learners of English

-> music is more popular than painting in Britain
-> theater has always been very strong (and today still is)
-> every town and also some small towns have theaters in
Britain
-> people consider cinema as not being part of the arts - it is just
entertainment
-> therefore the government gives much less financial help to the
film industry than other countries
FAVORITE BECAUSE: very useful additional information in side
columns (e.g. definition of culture -> way of life or the arts ->
VERY useful for seminar), possible because of unique format
19. Givereasons for one country getting more detailed treatment
than the other in chapter 3 of the course book.

-> chapter 3 is about special issues (book is written for German

students of AngloAmerican Studies so there are issues described
which are special or difficult for Germans)
The UK as a member of the EU can still be considered more or
less comparable to Germany and so to the students' own
experience

-Higher diversity of people, opinions

->social system (social problems e.g. health insurance which apply

to five times more inhabitants than the UK), laws (concerning
gun carriage / ownership, abortion, capital punishment)

->some aspects which may sometimes not meet with our European
image of a modern civilization and therefore have to get more
treatment for better understanding

->In the UK there are only 4 countries which all are limited by the
restrictions of the EU and therefore are not allowed to create exotic
laws which do not meet the standards of the EU but are rooted in
the history of the US

->every state in the US has its own laws -> goes back to settlers
with different nationalities in the states, former colonies of the United
States
20. Which British and American schools would you choose?

If I had to choose a school for my children:

US: private school
->have good reputation and a long tradition
->have more control over their curriculum while state schools
have to follow the general curriculum determined by their respective
state
->although the tuition fees can be quite high, the students are
offered more opportunities and better learning environments than in
state schools which are free

If my child would be talented in a special way:

magnet schools (specialized courses / curricula)
-> MAGNET: can ignore school district system -> help students
in increasing their abilities & specialize their knowledge

UK: public school (independent school)

-> as the name might not suggest, these schools are nothing near
"public" but private
->private schools with extraordinarily high tuition fees, but
->better chance of gaining a place at a prestigious university such
as Oxford and Cambridge and then getting positions of power in the
government or business.

If I hadnt enough money to send my children to public schools I

would choose grammar schools:
-> not as prestigious or expensive as public schools but the goal
of these schools is to improve education by gaining
independence from government control.
-> shall prepare students for university life
21) Would you rather be President or Monarch?

-> Most people would answer: depends on whether the Monarch is

just a figurehead or not
-> rather monarch of the UK than president of the United States
-> Monarch because his time of reign is not limited
-> US - regular presidential term is limited to a maximum of 8 years
(4 year term each)

-> Supreme Governor of the Church of England

-> assign archbishops, bishops & deans of cathedrals on the advice
of the Prime Minister
-> shows the bond between state & church which today is still
existent

Supreme Commander of the British military forces (British army,

Royal Army, Royal Air Force)
-> queen has the power to knight people e.g. "Sir" Elton John

Head of the Commonwealth

-> formation of former British colonies

Britain for Learners of English:

-> glamorous lives of the royals provide a source of
entertainment -> would love to be part of that
-> on the one hand, the royals are using tax money for their
everyday life, on the other hand, they are helping the tourist industry
a lot

22) Describe your favorite source with information on international

relations.

Britain for Learners of English

-> basic student handbook for British Studies especially for learners
of English
-> corresponding workbook to test knowledge
-> relatively simple vocabulary (readable for foreign students of
English)
-> Text is structured by different subheadings
-> unique format (broad) -> only book with similar format
is Keywords for American Cultural Studies

-> useful: blue colored words within the text which are described
in side columns (possible because of format)
-> e.g. in chapter "international relations" -> "Commonwealth"
-> chapter comes with world map which shows the "remnants of
the Empire"
-> dedicated chapter comes with colored images -> "eye catchers"
(e.g. Welsh boy showing a cheer hand with the Welsh flag on it)
beyond a text which describes the development of the Welsh flag
-> chapter comes with further questions which broaden your horizon
towards the topic
-> suggestions for own studies

23) Say something about aspects of immigration in selected

WDYTYA episodes.
Episode: David Baddiel
-> immigration is not always voluntary like depicted in Alistair
Cooke's America
-> can be based on political persecution

-> jewish roots

-> grandparents (Ernst & Otti) came to Britain in 1939
-> old photos of grandparents shown
-> grandfather & grandmother immigrated to UK
-> family was granted a month to emigrate from Germany before
"purge" began
-> forced immigration -> because of political persecution
-> immigration to America & Palestine was restricted -> Britain was
the only option
-> "last minute escape" -> got the money for the travel in the last
minute
-> has to vomit in the Airplane to Konigsberg

Episode: Gurinder Chadha (author of "Bend it like Beckham")

-> voluntary immigraton because of economic purposes -> start
from scratch in Britain
-> negative consequences of immigration -> racism and hostility
because of religious beliefs / practices
-> father left his family in Kenya and immigrated to Britain to make a
new start
-> father faced hostility and racism when he arrived, although he
was greatly educated -> impossible to find a job
-> had to compromise his religious beliefs to get a job as a postman
by removing his turban and beard
-> Indian/kenyian rap song when she arrives in Kenya

24. Justify and criticize Modern America A-Z in the context of the
seminar for learning more about religion.

-> conceptualized as dictionary, there is not a chapter or text which

gives information about religion in the US like e.g. in American
Civilization -> maybe it takes more time to get the wanted
information -> terms regarding religion spread all over the book

-> the seminar was about UK AND US, Modern America A-

Z focuses on US only
-> there is no keyword "religion"
-> context of the seminar: especially in the last sessions we talked
about using our time efficiently and maybe using a dictionary for
getting a general overview is not appropriate

-> if you want to know something specific -> use time efficiently but
-> if you want a basic introduction it may take more time to find
everything

-> See also? at the end of every keyword-> build a ,,network of

knowledge'' which does not only consist of religious terms and
shows that some topics may have overlapping contents

-> if you want to want to know sth specific about American religion -
> very appropriate because it helps using your time efficiently
-> if you want to get a general overview over the CS field religion ->
not appropriate
25. Compare relevant keywords about the environment in New
Keywords, Keywords for American Cultural Studies, and Modern
America A-Z.

New Keywords:
-> mixture between anthology & dictionary
-> keyword Environment / Ecology
-> environment: back in the days, used to refer to "surroundings" or
"neighborhood" of the human -> shows egocentric world view ->
because human is seen as the "center of life"

Keywords for American Cultural Studies:

-> mixture between dictionary & anthology for American Studies
-> says that range of environment goes from narrow to broad
1) broadest sense: environment refers to the terrains which e.g.
political, cultural and economical economies struggle for
2) narrowest sense: the place of nature in human history

Modern America A-Z:

-> dictionary for American Studies
-> no keyword "environment" but "environmental movement"
-> collective word to refer to all activists & groups which fight for
protecting environment, are against bulding dams or mining for
resources
example: Sierra Club

26. Give some interesting aspects about the internet in British

Culture: An Introduction, The Cambridge Companion to Modern
British Culture, and American Cultural Studies: An Introduction to
American Culture. **LEARN!

Christopher: British Culture - an Introduction

-> social media
-> Increasing relevance of social media for large organizations or
political parties
-> Facebook has become the most important and popular social
medium in the UK
-> Like function gives information about the cultural
preferences of British people (-> series Mr. Bean has the fastest
growing Facebook page and Manchester United has the most liked
sports page)
Cambridge Companion to Modern British Culture
-> essay "Contemporary British Television"

-> the internet takes over, television will soon be transported into an
online retailer, a lot of television programs are now available online,
people are spending more time online
BBC is huge on the Internet: you can watch a lot of documentaries
online, they even have an own YouTube channel

American Cultural Studies:

-> when the internet was becoming successul, countries other than
the US always had a two-letter suffix in their domains, whereas the
US was the only country with a three-letter suffix .com
-> The big American internet company Google is accused
of influencing the search results of its users in a non-transparent
way

27. Say something interesting about British and/or American sports

in the context of the seminar.

task group mentioned that we coud find information in Datesman's

American Ways:
American Ways:
Sports -> Focus on the sense of competition
-> good about that -> Learning values like ambition and working
in a team
->bad about that -> Competitive pressure / performance-
enhancing drugs
recreation -> non-competitive sports/activities -> nevertheless
often physically demanding
-> health & fitness -> issue of overweight / obesity (#2 cause of
death in the US)

Britain for Learners of English:

-> Cricket -> You may think of it as being the national sports of
Britain, but by the number of people playing it, it is not -> Most
Britains do not even understand the rules
-> Upper-class sport activities often involve animals -> fox
hunting (today illegal), fishing, shooting (mostly shooting birds)
28. Use three very different course material items for more
information about what you consider to be the most difficult to
understand special issue in chapter 3 of the course book.

-> class system in both US and UK

Oakland's "British Civilization - an Introduction" (basic

introductory textbook for British Studies)
-> learn something about the social mobility rate (possibility to
change your social class by yourself) in Britain which is the lowest
among all Western nations
-> new way of how to determine social class -> adding more factors
than just occupation or job -> 1) economic capital, 2) cultural capital,
3) social capital -> reminded me of the distributional model of class
analysis by Perrucci & Wysong -> also introducing certain types of
capital

New Keywords (mixture between dictionary and anthology)

-> keyword "class"
-> in Britain, the phenomenon of social class
was institutionalized e.g. in politics (e.g. House of Lords, not
everyone can be a part of that) or in education (e.g. the existence
of public schools -> extraordinarily expensive private schools
which are only open for higher class students which cann afford
that)

also the case in the US, example for instutionalized social class in
education
-> "Dead Poets' Society" (film)
-> students are attending an private boarding school which only
students who are part of the upper class can attend
-> scene when father of Neil shows up at the play and announces
that Neil has been withdrawn from Welton because the teaching
methods of Keating are not meeting with his expectations of
"good" teaching -> based on his beliefs of fundamental
knowledge for a certain social class
-> sees education as capital
29) Say something about the most controversial aspects of
American and British higher education using specific course
material sources.

British Civilization:
-> ASPECT 1: universities depict themselves as independent
institutions, academic freedom, BUT in fact depend on
governmental money of Universities Funding Councils -> free
until they are running out of money
-> education basically dependent on government although they
are claiming that they're not

American Civilization:
-> ASPECT 2: -> because of variation of quality in secondary
school education: degree of high school diploma is very
different -> "how much students know" is very different
-> many students are not well-prepared for college
-> state involvment for universities is only needed
for operating and granting degrees, besides that, governmental
influence is very low in university life

30) Say something about the presidential election process.

-> every 4 years, a new president of the US is elected, every

president can be re-elected for another 4 years so the maximum
presidential term is 8 years

-> in order to become president ->

1) born in the USA
2) at least 35 years old
3) lives in the US for 14 years without interruption

-> indirect election -> citizens elect representatives which then make
the choice

-> at the same time, all of the seats in the House of Representatives
and 1/3 of the Senators are re-elected
-> direct election
the winner takes it all
-> the majority vote determines whether the candidate or his
opponent gets all the votes from a certain state
-> especially relevant for so-called swing states like Florida where
the final election result is never really predictable while other states
have some kind of tradition to vote either for Republicans or
Democrats

-> as a result, a lot more election campaigning is done in this

swing states because they can make the difference at the end
-> the Electoral College vote can greatly differ from the original
popular vote
surprising: vice president can theoretically be in power for a total of
10 years max -> less than 2 years of presidential term left -> re-
elected -> re-elected

31) Mention specific economic and international aspects presented

in a documentary series of your choice.

Andrew Marr's History of Modern Britain

Episode 1:
-> in 1945 Britain controlled the world's largest empire, 1/4 of all
people alive on earth
-> Winston Churchill -> living symbol of British power
-> Britain was suffering under loans which it had to pay back after
WWII (mostly to USA ->during the war their economy had boomed,
British economy had flatened)

-> shortly afterwards the US claimed their money back (loans from
WWII) -> no more loans were granted -> Britain was weeks away
from going bankrupt
-> the economist John Maynard Keynes -> was sent to negotiate
in the US for loans which had not to be paid back
-> granted a loan which was half of the claimed amount-> US
added a condition -> exchange controls which had protected the
Pound and the weak British economy had to come down -> made
Britain dependent on the US

-> information about British film industry:

-> Ealing Studios produced primarily comedies in post-war Britain
32) Say something about the naming of US/UK minority groups
using very different sources.

KEYWORDS for American Cultural Studies (mixture between

anthology & dictionary for American Studies)
-> Indian -> referring to people in America -> Christopher
Columbus's mistaken idea that he had discovered India,
but actually he had discovered America
-> related to terms like "Native American" or "Indigenous"
-> Most scholars and natives protest against the usage of the
word "Indian" -> they want to be called "American Indian" ->unique
term to avoid misunderstandings
-> preferred term for referring to all indigenous people in the US is
"Native"

-> not only ethnic minorities but also sexual minorities

New Keywords
Keyword queer
-> umbrella term sometimes used to refer to everyone who is non-
heterosexual and non-cisgender
-> formerly used as an offense -> now proudly used for self-
designation
-> can also be described with the phenomenon "trans-coding"
(lecture) -> take a term with negative connotation and turn its
meaning upside down, make it a proudly-used term

33) Justify and criticize using an episode of your choice from

WDYTYA for learning more about religion.

Episode: Gurinder Chadha

JUSTIFICATION:
you learn something about religious beliefs & practices
-> as a sikh, it is common to wear a turban and beard
you learn something about thinking outside the box
-> sikh religion may be a religion of which you have never
heard before

You learn something about religious intolerance

-> Gurinder's father had to cut down his religious beliefs (take off his
turban & beard) in order to get a job -> job was still not as good as
one that he would have deserved -> well-educated, worked as bank
employee (-> social exclusion because of religious beliefs -> based
on stereotyping)
-> positive: information at first hand -> authentic

CRITIC: You only learn about 1 particular religion in 1 particular

country
-> only learn about sikh religion which is relatively irrelevant (fewer
than 1% of UK people are Sikh)
-> not suitable for getting a basic overview in the cs topic religion
BUT if you already have some previous knowledge the episode
might be helpful to understand the religious diversity in the UK

-> good for additional, in-depth information, not suitable for

introduction / basic overview

34) Say something about American and British attitudes towards the
environment using at least two different sources.

American Civilization, British Civilization

-> Have own dedicated subchapters about public attitude towards
the environment

British Civilization

-> British environmental authorities are criticized for their lack of

strong policies responses to climate change and extreme weather
(e.g. the hesitant reaction on serious flooding in Britain in
2013/14)
-> British people are not really convinced of the phenomenon of
global warming -> they think that it is not a human-
made phenomenon
-> based on a poll in 2014, environmental concerns were only in
16th place of 36 important issues regarding Britain
-> but the polls show that environmental concern is slowly rising in
Britain

Modern America A-Z

-> no keyword "environment" BUT "environmental movement"
-> collective word to refer to all activists & groups which fight for
protecting environment, are against building dams or mining for
resources
example: Sierra Club
35 Justify and criticize using Empire of the Air to learn more about
American media.

-> documentary by Ken Burns

-> not good to get a basic overview on the cs topic media because:
-> just about one aspect of media which today is rather outdated
(today, internet and TV are more interesting)
-> mentioning mainly 3 important figures of radio development (de
Forest, Armstrong, Sarnoff) not really related to cs topics but rather
portraits the struggle for power

-> on the other hand:

-> detailed information on the development this particular section of
media
-> if you already have some previous knowledge, this item might be
helpful to go more into detail
-> if the inventions described in the documentary had not been
made, maybe technology (and how we use the media, how it
determines our modern lives) would not be where it is today

-> "brought the world into their living room"

-> sold them things they had not known they wanted"
-> using ancient radio snippets -> authentic

36) Compare information about American movies in three very

different sources.

Cambridge Companion to Modern American Culture

-> Before WWI, American filmmaking was mostly based in New

York -> specialized in the production of short films
-> Effects of WWI (French were not able to distribute their movies
globally anymore) gave rise to the development of Hollywood as the
center of movie production in the US
-> Success of the movie "Psycho" 1960 -> produced with a small
budget but was very successful.
Course Book

-> problem of distinguishing American and British filmmakers ->

boundaries are blurred
-> example Alfred Hitchcock (Psycho) was British citizen and then
immigrated to the US

-> Hollywood: founded as a small town near L.A.

-> first Hollywood movie set: Griffith "father of Motion Picture"

Modern America A-Z

-> Hollywood
-> many agencies / companies for talent promotion
-> because of warm climate and constant sunlight -> site for film
studios to settle down

37) Describe how Simon Schama's History of Britain presents

historical figures and events.

S1, E7 The Body of the Queen

->Story of two Queens (Elizabeth I of England / Protestant & Mary
Queen of Scots / Catholic)

->Schama describes Elizabeth I as arrogant, frequently unjust and

indecisive but at the same time as brave, shockingly clever, an
eyeful to look at & wise
->shows videos of a peacock (Pfau)
-> symbolically stands for Elizabeth being majestic

-> shows ancient paintings of Elizabeth I (uses the Ken Burns effect
-> zooming in and scrolling through images)
->letter written by Elizabeth I is presented vividly through a reading
of an actress

-> letter written by Mary Tudor

-> actress reading with a French accent, indicating that Mary had
been brought up at the French coast
S3, E4 The two Winstons
->Event of Winston Churchills death is presented by a contrast: first
footage of the throbbing city (pulsierende Stadt) London (music,
colorful images) then footage of Churchills funeral (black & white,
funeral: sad music)

->Presenting Englands intervention in WWII by playing the original

radio snippet of the declaration of war made by Neville Chamberlain
in September 1939

38) Describe how Alistair Cooke's America describes historical

figures and events.
->subtitle ,,A personal history of the US'
implies that the visible presenter Cooke offers a personal /
subjective view on the US

Episode 10 ''The Huddled Masses''

-> dealing with immigration to the US
-> Cooke in a supermarket showing products immigrants could not
do without (e.g. noodles)
-> they would bring the products from their home countries -> says
that today you have to tell the children that gulash comes from
Hungary and Bockwurst from Germany
-> learn something about Theodore Roosevelt -> half a heroic,
half a comic figure in history -> also celebrated hunter & explorer -
> believed that America was not a rural civilization anymore ->
believed in Americas economic power -> much ancient film
material used -> old orchestra music

Episode 13 ''The More Abundant Life''

-> event of Malcolm X's & Martin Luther King's death -> original
newspaper title pages reporting deaths
-> speeches by Malcolm X & MLK are presented by original
snippets e.g. ''I've been to the Mountaintop'' speech by MLK
-> disturbing: speech and then uncommented newspaper article
about the murder of MLK
39) Compare the different approaches in Sardar/van Loon's
Introducing Cultural Studies and Walton's Introducing Cultural
Studies in the context of our seminar. **LEARN
Walton: practical heuristic approach
->generating ideas & encourages thinking (what to focus on
while reading) by asking specific questions (main learning goals)
-> creative focus on presentation
->comes with some comic illustrations, chat, rap, song

Sardar/van Loon:
presenting cultural studies topics from a very general, quite funny
way
->cartoons, short texts

-> the two books are connected by this creative aspect

Seminar: practical approach

-> task groups and shared learning
-> heuristic approach in course book (usage of concrete examples
for cs theory)
-> adressing reader with "you" -> encouraging a dialogue
-> adressing reader with "we" -> asserting that reader is not alone -
> author and reader as a "team"

40) Connect the keyword ''America'' in Keywords for American

Cultural Studies with the specific aspects of the seminar.

-> Adresses the problem of definition regarding the term

America: Geographically: commonly used as a short form of the
United States of America (excluding Canada & South America)
-> we discussed the term continental US which is problematic
because it commonly only refers to the lower 48 states -> excluding
Alaska & Hawaii

-> course book: America is described as a melting pot (metaphor)

(-> elements of different cultures melting together, creating a new
culture) or salad bowl -> elements not merging into a single
homogenous culture (->cultures keeping own distinct qualitites)
-> mentions historical aspects, e.g. Americas discovery: Columbus
thought that he had arrived in India -> chapter history: named
inhabitants of the New World'
-> Indians: two meanings -> 1) All people who originally lived in
North America 2)Inhabitants of former British colony; people living in
India

41) Compare Modern America A-Z, American Civilization, and

British Civilization.

Modern America A-Z:

Cultural Dictionary -> Not neccessarily only for students
-> alphabetical order, no chapters

-> academic style but also for all non-Americans who want to learn
sth about America
->short definitions of terms with cross references just like in our
course book

American Civ & British Civ

-> basic introductory handbooks
-> written for students, structured in chapters (helpful for using time
efficiently)
-> overview: great variety of topics

-> discussing recent developments and public attitudes towards

specific topics (MA A-Z is NOT doing this)
-> regarding style & complexity: nearly equal because the 2 books
were written by the same author, although American Civ has
an additional listed author at the cover (David Mauk)

using time efficiently:

for basic overview: American / British Civilization
for detailed information in American Studies: Modern America A-Z

42) Compare the Cambridge Companion to Modern American

Culture and the Cambridge Companion to Modern British Culture.
**LEARN
> both books have no author but only editors because they are
anthologies (collections of academic essays written by academics)
-> CC to Modern American Culture: list with contributors
contains little information about them
-> CC to Modern British Culture: Advanced list with more
information about contributors

-> Both contain a chronology of historical key events

-> Both books contain no images at all but some tables (AC:
immigration figures, BC: media figures)

Cambridge Companion to Modern American Culture:

Information about Theodore Roosevelt, first President to ever invite
a black person (Booker T. Washington) to dine with him in the White
House. -> Criticized by mostly southern newspapers -> result of
racism and stereotyping
Cambridge Companion to Modern British Culture
-> "Contemporary British Television" by Jane Arthurs

-> the internet takes over, television will soon be transported into an
online retailer, a lot of television programs are now available online,
people are spending more time online
-> sky+ was the first television broadcaster to give their viewers
access to on-demand video services
BBC is huge on the Internet: you can watch a lot of documentaries
online, they even have an own YouTube channel

43) Pick the one Ken Burns documentary which has the most
relevance for our seminar.

-> Extremely hard to pick only one Ken Burns documentary because
every single documentary deals with another specific topic we
discussed in class
-> Therefore: Statue of Liberty
-> deals with the making of the monument how it was made and
shipped over to the US -> ARCHITECTURE & GEOGRAPHY

-> mentions that the Statue was a gift from France to the US
regarding the 100th anniversary of the US -> commemorate the
French-American alliance during War of Independence ->
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS and HISTORY
-> first thing immigrants saw when they arrived in NYC: symbol for
hope and chance for a better life -> IMMIGRATION
-> learn about many topics in one documentary
-> why I chose this episode instead of the other documentaries: they
focus more or less on 1 particular aspect of cultural studies
(congress: politics, empire of the air: media, shakers: religion)

44) Compare Jeff Lewis "Cultural Studies - The Basics" with Chris
Barkers "Cultural Studies - Theory and Practice" within the context
of our seminar.

Both
-> advanced theoretical handbooks
-> not restricted to US/UK but treat CS as an abtract topic
-> going deep into CS theory
-> written by academics for academics (not primarily for foreign
students of English)
->therefore quite complicated and not suitable as an introduction
to CS

-> come with some key concepts (new media, feminism) and well-
known scholars like Barthes, Marx (also heard about in the lecture)

Seminar
-> restricted to Anglo-American CS (UK&US)
-> covering specific aspects of Anglo-American Culture
-> no CS theory

-> serves as intro for non-native students of English

-> practical approach (seminar: task groups, shared learning,
course book: student-oriented, clear-cut)

-> you can use Theory & Practice as a connecting element between
lecture & seminar because it connects theoretical approach &
practical approach
-> grey boxes with examples

45) Describe your most favorite essay and least favorite essay in
"What is Cultural Studies? A Reader".

MOST FAVORITE: Race, Culture & Communications: Looking

backward & forward at Cultural Studies by Stuart Hall
-> starts with a personal experience ->CS did not exist, how he
came to what is CS today and how he & Richard Hoggart
established CS as an academic subject at the University of
Birmingham
-> Tries to define CS: Interdisciplinary field of study, activity of
intellectual self-reflection
-> talks about racism and that the term should be used in
the plural because every country has its own kind of
racism depending on the respective historical developments

-> Humourosly written e.g. As an Englishman, telling an American

audience about race is like carrying coal to Newcastle

LEAST FAVORITE: The circulation of CS by Lawrence

Grossberg
-> says that CS loses its justification & becomes constantly
harder to define
-> cs loses its specificy and its object of study
-> says that cs has been "hijacked"
-> always repeating one core element of the essay -> "cs is
constantly changing"

-> he therefore criticizes the new complexity of CS but I think this

should be seen as an enrichment
-> CS has to be seen as complex as the topics it investigates

46) Summarize the information in Longhurst's "Introducing Cultural

Studies" that you found most helpful for our seminar.

-> the book provides information on a variety of topics that we

discussed in the seminar & lecture (e.g. subcultures)
-> chose 1st part to be the most useful for the seminar because it
deals with basics and establishes a connection to lecture

-> difference between culture and Culture -> also talked about in the
2nd part of the course book
-> culture with a small c -> "way of life"
-> culture with a capital C -> "Products of higher arts"
-> culture is a "product of humans living together"
-> People become part of cultures by SOCIALIZATION
(unconscious influence of e.g. language)
-> 2 stages of SOCIALIZATION: 1) from birth until secondary
school-age 2) From secondary school-age onwards

47) Compare the content of American Leisure time in Datesman's

"American Ways" with the corresponding chapters in O'Driscoll's
"Britain for Learners of English".

American Ways:
Sports -> Focus on the sense of competition
-> good about that -> Learning values like ambition and working
in a team
->bad about that -> Competitive pressure / performance-
enhancing drugs

recreation -> non-competitive sports/activities -> nevertheless

often physically demanding
-> health & fitness -> issue of overweight / obesity (#2 cause of
death in the US)

-> impact of TV -> chaning the ideal of beauty -> leading to eating
disorders
-> showing sex & violence
-> question of how to control what children watch

Britain for Learners of English: sports -> plays an important role

in British people's lives -> national passion
-> many kinds of sports -> most uniquely British (Cricket, football,
rugby)
-> animals in sports -> hunting, shooting, fishing

-> theater / cinema -> going to the cinema is a quite popular leisure
time activity in the UK
-> pubs -> unique places to socialize, informal atmosphere, pub
games like darts
48) Compare content and form of Andrew Marr's "A History of
Modern Britain" with "Ol' Man River".

A History of Modern Britain

-> FORM: Documentary series (full lenght ~5h)
-> 5 episodes
-> chronologically ordered (1945-2007)
-> visible presenter -> Andrew Marr

Ol Man river
-> FORM: Documentary (about 100 Minutes long)
-> 2 episodes
-> somewhat chronologically ordered but with a lot of flashbacks
with acted scenes

A History of Modern Britain

-> CONTENT: About history of Britain from the end of WWII until
today
-> e.g. how Britain struggled under debts -> rationing of food in
1947
Ol Man River
-> CONTENT: connecting geography (rivers Missouri &
Mississippi) with history
-> history of exploration of the river by Spanish conquerors until
today
-> Indian culture & relationship to nature, slavery in the context of
cotton plantations

49) Describe Cultural Studies topics presented in Martin Clune's

"Islands of Britain".

-> visible presenter Martin Clunes wants to know what it means to

be an islander, how they live & how people handle isolation
-> explores some of Britains islands himself

Episode 1 "The North"

GEOGRAPHY
-> Isle Unst -> geographically so far north that it gets barely dark
-> Lewis & Harris -> biggest island in the UK
RELIGION
-> Lewis & Harris -> most religious island in the UK -> church
attendance is higher than everyone else in the UK
-> Barra -> every year: fishermen's mess in order to pay respect
to the sea and the life it has taken

MEDIA
-> Stuart Hill from Forewick Holm put up a website where he sells
parts of the island & people can become citizen of the island
(Episode 3 "The South")
-> Eigg -> two young men can live their dream of living on an island
-> thanks to the internet -> work from home

FOOD
-> on all islands people are mostly drawn to seafood because of the
closeness to the sea
Episode 2 "The West"
EDUCATION
-> on Rathlin there used to be 3 schools but now there is only 1
primary school left -> other pupils have to take the ferry to go to
school on mainland

50) Compare Storry/Child's "British Cultural Identities" with

Campbell/Kean's "American Cultural Studies".

British Cultural Identities:

-> conceptualized as anthology (collection of academic essays
written by different scholar authors)
-> focuses on British Studies -> makes the impression of an
introductory book

-> each chapter: timeline, discussion, questions/exercises,

further reading, websites -> helpful
-> language/visuals: accessible, well-structured, good overview

American Cultural Studies:

-> introductory textbook by two authors about American Studies ->
makes the impression of an anthology
-> mixes history, theory, and analysis
-> each chapter: introductory part, different subchapters, conclusion,
references and further reading, questions, companion website

-> language / visuals: not as well-structured as British Cultural

Identities, advanced vocabulary, no tables & less photographs
(from academics for academics)
-> British Cultural Identities more suitable for foreign learners of
English