Culture - all the ways of life including arts, beliefs and institutions of a population that are passed down

from
generation to generation.

Culture – cultivation, cultivated:

- physical
- social
- Educational

19th century – division into high art. and popular art.

A sign - something that simply makes you think of something else.

Signs may have cultural implications as well as personal meanings. Signs may contain ideological aspects.

Ideology is about a cultural group’s perceptions about the way things are and assumptions about the way they ought
to be.

Ideologies are formed and reformed through rhetoric – rhetoric is persuasive communication.

A rhetorical argument - a persuasive message designed to strengthen or challenge established thoughts.

4000 B.C – the first settlers - Celts

Stonehenge 2000 B.C

The White Horse at Uffington in Oxfordshire - between 1380 and 550 BC

It is one of the most powerful images from prehistoric Britain. Standing at the junction between three tribal
communities in Iron Age England, it was perhaps the ‘logo’ of the people on whose land it lay and also appears on
their coins.
Defensive fortifications built by Romans

Alfred the Great – the first Anglo-Saxon king, he established the monarchy, convertion of christianity

1066 – the Battle of Hastings – William the conquer – he led Normans to the final victory, in this b

1066 – 1485 – medieval period

The Wars of the Roses - a series of civil wars fought over control of the English throne (1455 to 1487) between
supporters of two rival cadet branches of the royal House of Plantagenet: Lancaster and York. The wars extinguished
the male lines of the two dynasties, leading to the Tudor family inheriting the Lancastrian claim. Following the war,
the Houses of Lancaster and York were united, creating a new royal dynasty, thereby resolving the rival claims.
Tudors’ Britain - (1485-1603) - separation from the catholic church and formation of the Anglican church (Henry VIII)

In 1658 Oliver Cromwell, the father of the English Revolution, died. Power was then assumed by his son Richard
Cromwell. However, he ruled incompetently and was disobeyed by the army, which the royalists took advantage of.
In 1660, the English Parliament elected Charles II Stuart (1660-1685) as king.

VII – VIII – restored Britain

1665-1666 – The great plague

1666 – The great fire of London – ended the great plague

after the middle of the 18th century – the first industrial power, London became a cultural centre

1793 – war with France – war of Trafalgar

1707 – I act of union – Scotland + England

1901 – II act of union – Scotland + England + Ireland

Uprisings – partition of Ireland

Victorian age - (1837-1901) - Edwardian era (1901-1910)

1900 – Labour party was founded

Suffrage (1918 – some women could vote, 1928 – all women could vote)

1948 – The Empire Windrush - was a passenger liner and cruise ship best, remembered today for bringing one of the
first large groups of post-war West Indian immigrants to the United Kingdom.

Map of the UK

The United Kingdom- a sovereign nation spread across multiple islands on the coast of northwestern Europe. It
consists of the countries of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

The Great Britain - a large island on which most of England, Scotland, and Wales are located.

How to separate ‘English’ from ‘British’?

Why, given the objective situation of a multinational state, did ‘Britain’ and ‘Britishness’ not gain ascendancy? Why
does ‘patriotic emotion’ attach itself so passionately to ‘England’ and not to ‘Britain’?

- None of the names available for the United Kingdom is suitable

- The British state is the classic example of the ‘state-nation’, the state identified not by ethnicity but by
state institutions such as Parliament and the monarchy

The rise of nationalism is usually dated to the aftermath of the French Revolution, with its fundamental doctrine of
the equality of all citizens.

England before the late nineteenth century was not populist in this sense. The English nation, the political nation
was mainly based on the class system.

English national consciousness developed towards the end of the nineteenth century.

What kinds of identity were available before the nineteenth century?

For much of the eighteenth and the first half of the nineteenth centuries, the inhabitants of the newly formed Great
Britain saw themselves as Britons and their country as Britain.

On all occasions, the dominant identity was likely to be British rather than any other available alternatives.

John Bull – the typical Englishman (the image invented in 1712).

The Englishness in this sense did not require the definition of an exclusive national identity for any stress on an
English identity would have been counter-productive.

Towards the end of the nineteenth century, English national identity began to emerge:

- nationalist movements were on the rise

- national speech model – Oxford English Dictionary
- The canon of English literature

Englishness was mostly a cultural definition in the late nineteenth century – it was a concept that involved cultural
interaction through art and literature.

The rise of the Labour Party emphasised Britishness.

After the 1960s, the Empire was gone. Britain was no longer an industrial world power.

The decline of Britishness brought back the emphasis on Englishness.

Essay on oppening ceremony – why some things are emphasised

How was it received?

There were mixed ideas regarding the ceremony. Some critics said the entire ceremony focused on the underground
culture. Some critics found it a very great show. But people mostly enjoyed it, they found it creative, amusing,
enteraining, inclusive etc.

What historical events were highlighted in the ceremony?

transformation, industrial revolution, references to women’s rights, position of immigrants

In what ways does the ceremony connect culture with literature?

TV industry, characters from child books

Is the depiction of British culture on the show different from popular British cultural exports?
people visit to see where the royal family lives

What is the rhetorical argument put forward in the ceremony?

Persuasive discussion, important idea about British culture, Britain as a country Idealised view of Britain? Voice to
underground culture (non-dominant) Britain is very multicultural,References to certain aspects

Highlights:
 - World Wide Web – invented by Tim Berners-Lee in 1989 - This is for everyone.
- Jerusalem
o takes its words from a poem by William Blake
o juxtaposition (peace and beauty) - The poem compares England before the Industrial Revolution to
biblical Jerusalem, a metaphor for heaven. There is a powerful juxtaposition between the beauty and
peace of a bright, green land and the gloomy land. In this respect, the poem moves away from the
vision of an idealised England to the clouded hills and the unforgettable image of the dark, satanic
mills. At the heart of the poem is the contrast between the harmonious, peaceful society Blake
aspired to and the harsh reality of the industrialising world symbolised by the satanic mills. Although
the poem contains elements of darkness and despair, it also underlines the idea of hope and peace.
And did those feet in ancient time
Walk upon England's mountains green?
And was the holy Lamb of God
On England's pleasant pastures seen?

- social stages that the country has undergone – it shows how British culture was cultivated starting from its
early stage
- Danny Boyle – the director of the opening ceremony (director of the film Slumdog Millionaire)
- British social history (Pandemonium)
o transformation from agricultural Britain to industrial Britain (between 1760 and 1830)
o The suffragettes
o The Empire Windrush – firs-wave of West Indian immigrants arriving in 1948
o The Jarrow March
o Pearly Kings and Queens of London
- Literary figures – Milton, Shakespeare, Blake
- Children’s literature (Why is children literature emphasised during the Opening Ceremony? Because children
are the future.) - Reference to children books and films – Voldemort, Marry Poppins, the Queen of Hearts,
Captain Hook, Cruella de Vil
- Health – GOSH (Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children)
- Entertainment – British film industry, music, humour - Mr Bean
- British engineering
- Wenlock – the mascot of the Olympics
- Kenneth Branagh (a well-known Shakespearean actor) – representing Isambard Kingdom Brunel, a
prominent English engineer in Victorian Age who developed the British Railway steamships and made some
significant bridges, reads Caliban’s speech from Shakespeare’s Tempest (1610-11).
- Poppy flowers – symbolising The Armistice Day
- The Chelsea pensioners
- Multiculturalism and diversity – from the point of view of the director these are the most significant

“Great” is merely a geographical term nothing to do with superiority.

During the Olympics, the British team was referred to as the team GB, an expression which was found not very
appropriate since it excluded other parts of the UK such as the Northern Ireland, and the other islands surrounding
the UK such as the Shetlands, the Isle of Man, the Isle of Wight.

The monarchy and the commonwealth

Germaine Greer has noted that England is the only country that threw the monarchy out and invited it back.

The commonwealth of England refers to the period between 1649 and 1660 when Oliver Cromwell abolished
monarchy for the Republic, and when King Charles I was executed (in 1649). Commonwealth at that time meant a
state governed by the people of a republic.

The commonwealth of nations, on the other hand, means a group of people united by some common interests.
The commonwealth is one of the world’s oldest political association of states. Its roots go back to the British Empire
when some countries were ruled directly or indirectly by Britain.

The Commonwealth Association was formally established in 1931 with the initial member of the UK, Canada,
Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and Dominion of Newfoundland.

They are held together by shared traditions, institutions, and experiences as well as by economic self-interest.

Today, it is an organization of 54 independent countries located in various parts of Asia, Africa, Europe, Caribbean,
Americas, and Pacific. Most of these countries were former British colonies.

British culture is strongly affected by Britain’s specific history as a former colonial power and its passage through a
post-colonial epoch.

National culture is not an ‘objective reality’: rather, a nation’s identity is formed by the perspective of its many
diverse inhabitants

The origins of parliament as a place of discussion stretch back the Anglo-Saxon witan (members of the council of the
Anglo-Saxon kings of England).

But, it was in the 13th century that the modern form of parliament began to take shape. Monarchs had always
relied on their noble people such as lords (aristocrats: duke, marquis, earl, viscount, baron) for advice. In this way,
the Royal Council came into being.

During the 13th century, King John held meetings with the Royal Council, and as a result of these meetings Magna
Carta Libertatum in Latin –The Great Charter of the Liberties was signed in 1215 which was a big step towards
democracy and human rights:

- The Monarch doesn't have absolute power. The Law is above all men and applies to everyone equally.
- All free citizens can own and inherit property

Magna Carta brought restrictions upon the King regarding tax collection (landowners used to pay taxes to the King),
in this way the document placed limits on the power of the crown.

Magna Carta controlled the ways in which the King could raise money.

The King agreeing to limits on taxation was a fundamental moment in the development of democracy.

It was a turning point in human rights. With Magna Carta, all citizens gained the freedom to own and inherit
property and to be protected from excessive taxes.

The tradition of having regular meetings with the Royal Council went on, and during the reign of King Henry III
(1216), these meetings turned into a forum for discussion of major issues and subsequently formed the House of
Lords.

The House of Lords was composed of the nobles and high clergy.

An important factor in the development of Parliament’s authority was the encouragement by Edward I (13th
century) of ‘petitioning’.

Petitions requesting favour or justice were presented to the parliament by individuals or organizations such as town
authorities or merchant guilds (trade unions).

In 1265 Simon De Montfort rebelled against Henry III.

For the first time he invited representatives of the towns together with knights of the shires to his Parliament.

They met separately from the nobility, and in 1332 the House of Commons was formed.

In this separate chamber, representatives of counties, cities, and boroughs began to bring the concerns of these
organizations into focus, and they sat in another chamber, or house, separate from the House used by the nobles
and high clergy.
By the late 17th century, the House of Commons had gained the sole right to initiate new regulations (i.e. taxation).
The House of Lords retained its veto power over bills passed by the Commons.

After the English Civil War, a period known as the Restoration (1649-1660) began under the leadership of Lord
Protector –Oliver Cromwell. In 1660 Charles II was restored to the throne but he was under specific limits placed by
the parliament.

Within this period, there were two main political parties in the House of Commons:

Tories and Whigs

The Tories: were the gentry party and they were the majority in the Parliament, because the land tax was the main
source of income for the State. The gentry was also the class paying most of the taxes. They represented the desires
of the monarch. They were conformists.

The Whigs: was mainly composed of the middle class. It included puritans and traders. The Whigs represented the
desires of industrialists/tradespeople. They were non-conformists.

By the mid-19th century, the Tories had evolved into the Conservative Party and the Whigs into the Liberal Party.

Conservatives believe in a corporate tax system which rewards entrepreneurship and punishes evasion. Lower
taxation.

In addition to these two main political parties, at the turn of the century (1900), the Labour Party was founded.

In today’s Britain, the political power still rests with the House of Commons, which is the chamber for the elected
representatives – MPs of the political parties) have a seat, as opposed to the House of Lords whose members are
appointed not elected.

The leading party is the ruling party, and the leader of the ruling party is the Prime Minister.

The opposition party is called the Shadow Cabinet.

The head of state is the monarch.

The mace in Parliament is the symbol of royal authority. If the mace is removed, MPs cannot debate or pass laws.

Black Rod is best known for the State Opening of Parliament, knocking on the door of the House of Commons to
summon MPs for the Queen's Speech.

When Black Rod summons MPs to the House of Lords to hear the Queen's Speech, she (or he) has the door to the
Commons slammed in her face, and has to knock three times to gain entry.

Black Rod is the Monarch's representative in the Lords and the routine is symbolic of the Commons' independence
from the Crown.

Parliament has three parts:

The House of Commons
The House of Lords
The Monarchy

Politics refers to all aspects of social life.

«personal is political»

power relations – struggle for power

The British state comprises:

- Parliament
- The civil service and the local councils
- Judicial institutions
- Various organisations that provide economic services
 - The armed forces

The members of the House of Lords currently consist of:

- the Lords Spiritual, including the archbishops of Canterbury and York and the bishops of Durham, London,
and Winchester, as well as 21 other bishops
- the Peers (nobility) - Duke, Marquess, Earl, Viscount, Baron
- the Law Lords, consisting of the judges of the Supreme Court

The house of lords – functions:

- To challenge ang question he work of the government

- To work with the commons to shape laws
- To investigate issues throught commites and debates

The house of commons – functios:

- To debate important issues

- To make and review laws
- To represent the public
- To hold the government to account

In the 19th century, power came to reside more with the House of Commons. Political parties also began to develop
in the House of Commons.

Pressure groups appeared – one of those pressure groups was the Anti-Corn Law League.

The Brtish landowners were producing corns and they had the power to make laws.

They made a law which restricted traders to the authority of the land-owning elite. This arrangement was
implemented to protect rich people’s riches.

In 1839, the Anti-Corn Law League changed this arrangement and in this way challenged the unequal distribution of
power.

Spin doctor: press secretary, protecting the image of the Prime Minister.
the pluralist approach - Pluralists argue that power in Britain is dispersed and fragmented. Different groups
influence policy on different issues. The pluralists further argue that the role of the government is to make sense of
all the competing groups’ demands, and in this way fair policy emerges.

the elite approach - this approach argues that policies are organised in favour of small groups of people, restricted
to the welfare of a small number of people – elite groups. This approach is criticised because issues on their agenda
are relatively safe and do not challenge the general unequal distribution of power and privilege.

According to the elite approach, the British state partly operates behind the scenes as a powerful secret state not
accountable to elected representatives.

The secret state has considerable autonomy from Parliament and from the government of the day.

The security services are the most secretive of all.

Even the prime minister may not be aware of the scale of the operations undertaken by security services.

MI 5 – Military Intelligence Section 5

UK’s domestic security/intelligence

MI 6 - Military Intelligence Section 6

deals with foreign intelligence

GCHQ – Government Communications Headquarters at Cheltenham. (worldwide network of intelligence)

FVEY - The 5 eyes

Refers to an alliance in intelligence, military intelligence.

the ruling class approach - this approach asserts that the major political parties are capitalist and are all concerned
with running the capitalist economy as efficiently as possible. They argue that the state acts as instrument of the
ruling class.

The candidate with the most votes then becomes the MP for that area, called a constituency. The party with the
most elected MPs forms the government, and their leader becomes the prime minister.

External factors are related to the power of the state to control the content of the newspapers,

Internal factors are related to the social background of the journalist which might affect his/her impartiality in
presenting a news story. That is to say, because most journalists come from upper or middle classes, their response
to a story might be biased.

BBC (The British Broadcasting Corporation) was founded in 1922, and experimental TV broadcasts started in 1932.
During the Second World War, broadcasting was suspended, and it was reintroduced in the early 50s

One significant event in the history of British television was the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in Westminster
Abbey in 1953, which was broadcast on TV and watched by millions of people. This event brought the public
together and strengthened their patriotic feelings.

TV is seen as an instrument of national cultural development. It also shapes national culture.

Television has two purposes: to entertain and to educate, aiming for popular entertainment and public knowledge.

BBC 1
ITV
BBC 2
Channel 4
Channel 5
These channels tried to introduce multicultural and pluralist programmes with the aim to diversify British
broadcasting.

Coronation Street (1962) broadcast on ITV was the first popular soap on British TV dealing with the everyday life of
an ordinary community.

EastEnders (1985) broadcast on BBC and Brookside on Channel 4 (which ran between 1982 and 2003) were other
popular soaps about the working class life.

British soaps deal with cultural issues such as locality, social class, wealth, and family.

Workplace dramas such as hospital dramas and police series.

Situation comedies (Sitcoms) have been popular on British telly. These series not only highlighted the importance of
comedy to the social identity, but it also showed how this identity is reflected, strengthened or
subverted/challenged/satirised in popular comic forms.

Fawlty Towers is a comedy show in the 70s displaying middle class humour which aims for sophisticated, satirical,
and witty humour.

Another example of popular British sitcom is The Black Adder in the 80s.

Fawlty Towers and The Black Adder were the great British TV comedies.

They tend to address largely a white middle class audience

The tendency to exclude ethnic groups on British telly changed with the 80s new comedy which was diverse,
politically correct, very left-wing and anti-Thatcher.

Music has been one of Britain’s strongest cultural exports.

Britain has an active and varied music scene. Over the last 60 years, the country has made a major contribution to
popular music.

The Beatles were the most influential band of the 1960s.

The swinging 60s was a period of cultural revolution initiated by youth.

London, as an energetic city, was at the centre of pop music.

The very name of the Beatles (changed by John Lennon from the “Beetles”) is regarded as an allusion to the Beat
culture of the late 1950s and early 1960s.

The Beat generation (Beatniks) – a literary movement, a counterculture that influenced American culture in the
1950s and 60s.

Notable poets – Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac. Their works were unconventional, rebellious in tone and were
characterized by their literary protest against inequality.

The Hippi movement of the 1960s and 70s was an anti-war movement that rejected mainstream American culture.
They believed in «free love» encapsulated in their slogan «Make love, not war».

The Kinks were another famous group of the 1960s.

ROCK was highly popular between the 1960s and 80s.

Some subgenres of rock appeared in the 70s. In the progression of heavy rock, it went from rock to hard rock to
metal and then to heavy metal.

GLAM ROCK: gender blending, extravagant clothes, displaying a fusion of femininities and masculinities. (e.g. The
Sweet, Queen, David Bowie)
HARD ROCK /METAL: a very loud form of rock, represented by Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Iron
Maiden.

PROG ROCK: progressive rock - progressing further beyond the limits of normal rock. It was rebellious.

PROG ROCK was represented by bands like Genesis, YES, King Crimson.

By about 1975 and 76, people were fed up with this sort of rock and then punk rock appeared, which was the
opposite of PROG ROCK.

PUNK ROCK: As opposed to PROG ROCK, PUNK ROCK songs were short, simple, brutal, energetic, and fast.

PUNK ROCK began as a small underground movement in New York, and was picked up by British bands in the mid-
70s.

It was characterized by youthful rebellion.

Johnny Rotten’s, the lead singer in Sex Pistols, interview with Bill Grundy in 1976 (you can watch it on youtube)
shows the extremely rebellious attitude of the punk movement.

REGGAE

PUNK ROCK (initiated by white working class young men and women) and REGGAE (black people) formed an unlikely
partnership in the 70s.

They were both underprivileged, and they found common ground in their non-conformist attitude.

They put joint concerts with the motto: “Black and white unite”.

Bob Marley – “Punky Reggae Party”

DISCO and pop music were other music genres in the 70s.

Bee Gees, Kate Bush

This musical dynamism defined a new form of performance – rock opera

Andrew Lloyd Webber – Cats, The Phantom of the Opera, Jesus Christ Superstar

Since the end of the rock in the late 80s, two genres have emerged: INDIE AND ELECTRONIC DANCE MUSIC (HOUSE)

INDIE referred to albums made and distributed by independent regional record companies.

Sony – is a big global company but not independent.

Radiohead, Coldplay, Kaiser Chiefs, Amy Winehouse

ELECTRONIC DANCE MUSIC (HOUSE): it was hedonistic (pursuit of pleasure), dance music.

Eurythmics

Particularly, in the 80s there were modes of performance in which gender blending became popular. (Boy George,
Annie Lennox - Eurythmics)

In the early 90s, some new British rock bands achieved significant success, and the term “Britpop” began to be used
widely in the press.

BRITPOP is alternative rock, it grew out of indie. It had a powerful effect in reaffirming nationalism. In the 90s, during
the government of Tony Blair (1997-2007), the country was self-confident. “We’re British and we’re proud” was the
motto that defined Britpop.

Blur, Oasis, and Suede represent this music genre. Spice Girls (teen pop)

However, this genre failed to represent the multiplicity of the 1990s British culture:
It was not Britpop but Engpop. Bands from England were more popular.

Britpop equated Britishness with white Englishness, reproducing the sound of the former white English bands.

Britpop could be seen as a reaction against globalization.

Music has been associated with youth and youth culture contributed to the processes of social, political, and cultural
change in the UK.