CORE-UA9549L01
Cultures and Contexts: Multinational
Britain
NYU London: Fall 2018
Instructor Information
● Dr Philip Woods
● mobile: 07922046578
● Office hours immediately before and after class & by appointment
● pgw1@nyu.edu
Course Information
● Wednesdays 0900 to 1200
● Room number tba
● This is an Upper Division Class
Course Overview and Goals
The idea of British national identity has been built around a sense of united statehood
within the confines of the four nations comprising the United Kingdom, ruling overseas
territories. As such, it conveyed a sense of a multi-national empire ruled by monarchs, but
developing over time into a benign, democratic, constitutional monarchy, generally
through peaceful, not revolutionary change. The British have seen themselves historically
as freedom-loving, independent, industrial, tolerant, Protestant and individualistic. These
myths of national image have been forged partly through conflict with other nations over
many centuries and reflect a nationalistic pride in military success and the maintenance of
the largest empire the world has ever seen. Changes since 1945 have seen the collapse
of that empire, membership in the European Union, large-scale immigration, changing
gender politics, and the devolution of power to Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales.
This has inevitably led to major challenges to traditional British views of their national
identity.
Teaching is by a mixture of lecture, discussion sessions, video materials and includes
fieldtrips to key sites.
Upon Completion of this Course, students will be able to:
Demonstrate a knowledge and critical understanding of key issues in the changing
views of British national identity, especially in the period since 1940
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Comment critically and creatively on fieldtrips, using a blend of personal response
and research to illuminate what the trip has contributed to an understanding of
British national identity
Make a group presentation based on a chosen primary document source, which
sets the text in its context and explains its importance in an understanding of
British national identity
Course Requirements
Grading of Assignments
The grade for this course will be determined according to these assessment components:
% of
Assignments/
Description of Assignment Final Due
Activities
Grade
Short Essay on current images of national Week 5,
Short essay 10%
identity (800 words approx.) 3 Oct.
Group Based around primary texts- dates by
15% By 14 Nov.
Presentation agreement
Research Essay 1500-2000 word essay 30% 21 Nov.
Usually 1 week
1,000 words max. on ONE of the 3
Fieldtrip essay 15% after the
fieldtrips
fieldtrip
Final ‘seen’ exam Questions listed in syllabus 20% 12 Dec.
Participation Based on contributions in class 10%
Failure to submit or fulfill any required course component results in failure of the class
Grades
Letter grades for the entire course will be assigned as follows:
Letter
Percent Description
Grade
Excellent work. Shows a full mastery of the
topic. Is well researched, well organised and
A 94% and higher well referenced. It shows the stamp of an
individual or original approach to the problem
set
Good work. Has done the necessary research
and made a clear answer to the problem set,
B 80 to 90%
using reasonable referencing. Shows some
insights
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Letter
Percent Description
Grade
Satisfactory work. Has done necessary
research but no more. Makes attempt to
C 70 to 80% answer the problem but perhaps not always
very clearly. Rather mechanical and lacking
individual insights
Passable work. Meets minimum requirements
D 60 to 70% but may not be very coherent or well argued.
Perhaps not very well focused on the problem
F Below 60% Fails to meet minimum learning requirements
Course Materials
Required Textbooks & Materials
● Paul Ward, Britishness Since 1870, Routledge: 2004 (0-415-22017-3) [useful for
historical background]
● David Morley & Kevin Robins (eds.) British Cultural Studies: Geography,
Nationality, and Identity, Oxford University Press:2001 (0-19-874206-1)
N.B. These are suggested texts which will be useful throughout the class.
Purchase of them will make weekly preparation much easier but you are
encouraged to look for alternative readings and viewpoints
Optional Textbooks & Materials
Linda Colley, Acts of Union and Disunion- What Has Held the UK Together and What Is
Dividing It? London: Profile Books, 2014. (9781781251850)
Andrew Gamble & Tony Wright (eds.) Britishness: Perspectives on the British Question,
Wiley, & Political Quarterly : 2009 (978-1-4051-9269-9)
Jeffrey Richards, Film and British National Identity: from Dickens to "Dad's Army,
Manchester University Press: 1987 (978-0719047435) [chapter in Resources
Richard Weight, Patriots. National Identity in Britain 1940-2000, Pan:2003 (978-
0330491419)
Norman Davies, The Isles, A History, Macmillan:2000 (0333692837) [section in
Resources]
Robert Tombs, The English and their History, Penguin: 2015 (9780141031651) [brilliant,
up-to-date]
T.M. Devine, Independence or Union: Scotland’s Past and Scotland’s Present, London:
Penguin, (2017 978-0-141-98157-4)
N.B. This list is only indicative. For fuller advice please e-mail, philip.woods@tiscali.co.uk
Resources
● Access your course materials: NYU Classes (nyu.edu/its/classes)
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● Databases, journal articles, and more: Bobst Library (library.nyu.edu)
● NYUL Library Collection: Senate House Library
(catalogue.libraries.london.ac.uk)
● Assistance with strengthening your writing: NYU Writing Center
(nyu.mywconline.com)
● Obtain 24/7 technology assistance: IT Help Desk (nyu.edu/it/servicedesk)
Course Schedule
Session/ Assignment
Topic Reading
Date Due
Required Reading:
David Marquand, ‘How Can Britain exit the EU? As a
nation state Britain
doesn’t really exist.’, Guardian, 13 January 2017,
Using these and other websites of your choice,
Introduction:
prepare to discuss how well Britain manages to
Session 1: Images of
balance images of tradition and modernity in the way
5 Sept. British national
that it presents itself to the world.
Identity
Websites: Britannia Website
This England Website
Visitbritain Website [see the section on Campaigns;
also the
research section]
Required Reading
Linda Colley Forging the Nation 1707-1837; pp. 1-54
especially
Introduction (pp.1-9) [resources] and Conclusions
Debates on the (pp.364-375)
formation of
Session 2:
British national Open University ‘National Identity in Britain and
12 Sep
identity: (a) pre- Ireland 1780-1840’
1837 [resources]
Paul Ward Britishness Since 1870, Intro. ‘Being
British’
Required Reading
Paul Ward Britishness Since 1870; esp. chs. 1&2
OR
Richard Weight Patriots. National Identity in Britain
Debates on the
1940-2000, Pan:2003, ch. 1 ‘Warriors’
formation of
Session 3: OR
British national
19 Sept. Krishan Kumar ’”Englishness” and English National
identity (b) 1837
Identity’, in Morley &
to 1980
Robins (eds.) British Cultural Studies: Geography,
Nationality, and Identity, Oxford University
Press:2001, pp. 41-55
Northern Ireland
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Session/ Assignment
Topic Reading
Date Due
Marc Mulholland The Longest War: Northern Ireland's
Troubled History,
OUP: 2002
Ireland
BBC's: The Story of Ireland no. 5 ‘Age of Nations’
[2011, BBC1]
Required Reading
Bruce Coleman ‘,Monarchy and Nation in Britain Since
the Eighteenth
Century’ in Keith Cameron (ed.) National Identity,
Intellect Books, Exeter,
Political 1999 (1871516056) [Resources]
institutions and OR
Session 4:
national identity- David Cannadine, ‘The Context, Performance and
26 Sept.
Parliament and Meaning of Ritual: The
Monarchy British Monarchy and the 'Invention of Tradition,'
c.1820-1977," in Eric
Hobsbawm and Terence Ranger, The Invention of
Tradition, Cambridge
University Press: 1992, Canto edn., (978-0521437738
), pp. 101-164
Required Reading
For the Myth of the Blitz - see an outline of the
debate in BBC.
War and the
For a counter-view see Stephen Inwood, 'Historical
height of
Notes: Propaganda
Session 5: national unity- 1st short
and the London Blitz', The Independent , 14 August
3 Oct. the People’s essay due
1998
War- the
Welfare State
Welfare State:
Chris Renwick ‘Who Needs the Welfare State?’,
Guardian 21 Sept. 2017
Required Reading
Jeffrey Richards Film and British National Identity:
from Dickens
Film and British
to "Dad's Army, ch. ‘National Identities’ [Resources]
Session 6: national identity-
10 Oct. World War Two
Nicholas Reeves The Power of Film Propaganda:
to the present
Myth or Reality?
(London: Cassell, 1999) ch. 4 ‘Official Film
Propaganda in Britain During
the Second World War’ [resources]
Saturday Fieldtrip to
Attendance required- see fieldtrip handout for
13 Houses of
reading
October Parliament
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Session/ Assignment
Topic Reading
Date Due
Required Reading
Paul Ward Britishness Since 1870, ch. 6 ‘A New Way
of Being
British: Ethnicity and Britishness’ Parliament
Session 7: Multicultural
fieldtrip essay
17 Oct. Britain
David Olusoga, Black and British: A Forgotten History. due
London: Macmillan, 2016,, ch. 14 ‘Swamped’ [ covers
period 1948 to 1981] [resources]
Session 8:
24 Oct.
Southall See fieldtrip handout [resources]
Parliament Fieldtrip Houses of Parliament Fieldtrip Essays due today-
fieldtrip
essay due
Required Reading
Paul Ward Britishness Since 1870, ch. 1 ‘Monarchy
and Empire’
Catherine Hall ‘British Cultural Identities and the
Legacy of
the Empire’ in Morley & Robins (eds.) British Cultural
Studies
Session 9:
Empire & its Geography, Nationality, and Identity, pp 27-39
Friday 26
legacy OR
Oct.
Denis Judd, ‘Britain: Land of Hope and Glory?’ ,
History Today, 49, 4,
April 1999, pp.18-24 [resources]
OR John M. Mackenzie Propaganda and Empire
(MUP: 1984) Introduction, (0719018692) pp. 1-13
[resources]
Required Reading
BBC
Johann Hari ‘If We Care About the BBC We Must
Fight to Defend It’ ,
Cultural Independent, 2.10.09,
Session
Institutions: the accessed 16.4.13
10:
BBC, Arts
31
Council and Eamonn Butler ‘Abolish the licence fee and end Southall
October
museums/galleri this privileged status, says Eamonn Butler, Fieldtrip
es: half session Observer, 3 Nov. 2013, essay due
Southall
fieldtrip to
fieldtrip
British J. Curran & J. Seaton, Power Without Responsibility.
essay due
Museum The Press and
Broadcasting in Britain (Routledge, 7th edn. 2009)
978-0415466998,
Part II ‘Broadcasting History’ SH NYU
Session Devolution;
Required Reading
11: Scottish and
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Session/ Assignment
Topic Reading
Date Due
14 Nov. Welsh Paul Ward Britishness Since 1870, ch. 7 ‘Outer
nationalism Britain’
T.M. Devine ‘Three Hundred Years of the Anglo-
Scottish Union.’in
T.M. Devine (ed.) Scotland and the Union. Edinburgh:
Edinburgh
University Press, 2008. [resources]
OR
David McCrone ‘Scotland and the Union: Changing
Identities in the
British State’ in Morley & Robins, British Cultural
Studies, pp. 97-108
Required Reading
Martin Johnes ‘A Brief Overview of the History of
Sport in the UK’
in D. Levinsen & K. Christensen
(eds.), Encyclopaedia of World Sport,
(GreatBarrington, USA: Berkshire Publishing, 2005)
AND
Peter Wilby ‘Aside from football, sport in Britain is still
Session British sports
a game for the elite’, Research
12: and sporting
Guardian, 1 Aug.2012 essay due
21 Nov. culture
OR
Adrian Smith & Dilwyn Porter, Sport and National
Identity in the Post-war
World, Routledge: 2004 (978-0415283014),
Introduction, ’Sport
and National Identity in Contemporary England’, pp.
10-31
Session Fieldtrip to
13: Lord’s cricket See fieldtrip handout
28 Nov. ground
Required Reading
P. Addison & H. Jones (eds.) A Companion to
Session
Contemporary Britain
14:
Blackwell, new edn.: 2007 (978-1405167307)
5 Dec.
ch. 27 ‘The End of Empire’, pp. 482-98
Britain in the Lord’s fieldtrip
ch. 28 ‘The Anglo-American Special Relationship’,
Lord’s world; Revision essay due
pp.499-
fieldtrip
516
essay due
ch.29 ‘Britain and Europe’ pp. 517-538
Final Final ‘seen ‘
Exam exam. 2
12 Dec. hours
Co-Curricular Activities
Saturday 13 October House of Parliament tour
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24 Oct. Southall Gurdwara fieldtrip
31 Oct. British Museum visit
28 Nov. Lord’s cricket ground tour
£4.40 oyster card cost for visits to Parliament, Southall and Lord’s Cricket Ground
(estimated)
Classroom Etiquette
No food to be eaten in classroom; no mobile phones; laptops strictly for class-
related use.
NYUL Academic Policies
Attendance and Tardiness
Key information on NYU London’s absence policy, how to report absences, and
what kinds of absences can be excused can be found on our website
(http://www.nyu.edu/london/academics/attendance-policy.html)
Assignments, Plagiarism, and Late Work
You can find details on these topics and more on this section of our NYUL website
(https://www.nyu.edu/london/academics/academic-policies.html) and on the
Policies and Procedures section of the NYU website for students studying away at
global sites (https://www.nyu.edu/academics/studying-abroad/upperclassmen-
semester-academic-year-study-away/academic-resources/policies-and-
procedures.html).
Classroom Conduct
Academic communities exist to facilitate the process of acquiring and exchanging
knowledge and understanding, to enhance the personal and intellectual development of
its members, and to advance the interests of society. Essential to this mission is that all
members of the University Community are safe and free to engage in a civil process of
teaching and learning through their experiences both inside and outside the classroom.
Accordingly, no student should engage in any form of behaviour that interferes with the
academic or educational process, compromises the personal safety or well-being of
another, or disrupts the administration of University programs or services. Please refer to
the NYU Disruptive Student Behavior Policy for examples of disruptive behavior and
guidelines for response and enforcement.
Disability Disclosure Statement
Academic accommodations are available for students with disabilities. Please contact the
Moses Center for Students with Disabilities (212-998-4980 or mosescsd@nyu.edu) for
further information. Students who are requesting academic accommodations are advised
to reach out to the Moses Center as early as possible in the semester for assistance.
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Instructor Bio
Dr Philip Woods has lectured at the University of West London and Kingston University,
London. He studied History at the London School of Economics and at the School of
Oriental and African Studies, University of London. His doctorate, which was published,
was on British-Indian politics after the First World War. His current research is on the
British use of film propaganda in India and the role of war correspondents in Burma in the
Second World War. His book Reporting the Retreat: War Correspondents in Burma in the
Second World War was published in March 2017. He has published in a number of
academic journals including Historical Journal of Film Radio and Television, South Asia
and Indian Horizons.
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