English-Speaking Countries after World War II

Master 2021/2022

Category 'Best Course for Broadening Horizons and Diversity of Knowledge and Skills'

Type: Elective course (Foreign Languages and Intercultural Communication)

Area of studies: Linguistics

Delivered by: School of Foreign Languages

Where: School of Foreign Languages

When: 1 year, 3, 4 module

Mode of studies: distance learning

Open to: students of all HSE University campuses

Instructors: Alexey Bakulev, Elena Styrina

Master’s programme: Иностранные языки и межкультурная коммуникация

Language: English

ECTS credits: 5

Contact hours: 50

Full Syllabus

Abstract

Designed to encourage language skills and critical thinking, the course invites students to learn about and reflect on important aspects of the history, culture, and language of English-speaking countries since 1945. Students are exposed to various materials including primary sources, analytical essays, interviews, and films and encourage to evaluate and interpret those materials and draw their own conclusions about historic, political, social, economic, and cultural phenomena of the countries both in the regional and worldwide contexts.

Learning Objectives

To provide extensive knowledge on history, geography, culture, political environment, and social life of the English speaking countries, especially the UK and the USA, since 1945.
To develop skills of intercultural communication in English-speaking environments in the UK and US context since 1945.
To further develop students’ critical thinking skills in the context of the UK and US studies.
To teach students to analyze historic, cultural, economic, social, and political phenomena in terms of the 5 C's of historical thinking: context, causality, change over time, contingency, and complexity.

Expected Learning Outcomes

Students will adhere to British behavioral culture taking into consideration English, Scottish, Welsh, Irish attitudes, values, linguistic norms, and conversational formulas
Students will review the WWII immediate context and evalutate critically the role of the major English-speaking countries in it, with the focus on the U.S.
Students will review, analyze, and evaluate the context, causes, and effects of major political and socio-cultural events in the UK after WWII.
Students will review, analyze, and evaluate the context, causes, and emerging effects of the Containment and the Cold War
Students will review, analyze, and evaluate the U.S. identity in the language, cross- and intercultural contexts.
Students will review, analyze, and interpret the contexts of the Civil Rights Movement and other internal conflicts, including the tensions between the Democrats and Republicans.
Students will review, analyze, and interpret the major international affairs the U.S. has been involved in since 1945.
Students will analyze the current political situation in the UK, paying special attention to the reasons and outcomes of Brexit.

Course Contents

Identity in the UK.
20-21 centuries. The UK as part of the world
Internal conflicts in the UK in modern era. What is what in modern Britain?
The U.S. Identity
The End of WWII
The U.S. and Russia/U.S.S.R: The Cold War and Containment
The U.S. International Affairs
The U.S. Internal Conflicts

Assessment Elements

Final Examination
The final exam is conducted orally and includes questions covering the materials of both Module 3 and Module 4. The final exam materials and criteria can be updated closer to the end of the course, but no later than the terms specified in the HSE University regulating documents.
Online course test
Link to the online course: https://ru.coursera.org/learn/the-south . Students do not have to complete the final test given by the platform; they will be given the one designed by their course professor(s).
Quizzes/Tests
For certain quizzes, specific sets of criteria may be applied, of which the students will be notified in advance. The number of quizzes will depend on the course dynamics.
Essays
The number of essays to be submitted will vary depending on the course dynamics.
Class Participation and Home Assignments
Class participation involves taking part in discussions, debates, round-table talks, case studies; independent preparation for seminars (information search; reading papers; watching videos; annotating and rendering the obtained materials). If a seminar is held online, class participation is graded under the condition that the student keeps their camera on. Online participation via chat only is worth 1 point maximum.
Presentations
The number of presentations will depend on the class dynamics. If a student reads the script of the presentation, they get a warning. If the reading continues, the student gets a zero.

Interim Assessment

2021/2022 4th module
0.1 * Class Participation and Home Assignments + 0.2 * Essays + 0.1 * Presentations + 0.1 * Online course test + 0.2 * Quizzes/Tests + 0.3 * Final Examination

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

A Few Lessons from American History: Reader for Students of English . — Москва : СТАТУТ, 2014. — 80 с. — ISBN 978-5-8354-1011-8. — Текст : электронный // Лань : электронно-библиотечная система. — URL: https://e.lanbook.com/book/61518 (дата обращения: 00.00.0000). — Режим доступа: для авториз. пользователей.
American history : a very short introduction, Boyer, P. S., 2012
An illustrated history of Britain, McDowall, D., 2014
Britain in Close-Up : an in-depth study of contemporary Britain, NEW EDITION, now with website addresses, 208 p., McDowall, D., 2006
Royle, E. (2012). Modern Britain Third Edition : A Social History 1750-2011 (Vol. 3rd ed). London: Bloomsbury Academic. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=435126
The Oxford illustrated history of Britain, , 2009
Голицынский, Ю.Б. Великобритания : пособие по страноведению / Ю. Б. Голицынский : [2-е изд., испр.] — Санкт-Петербург : КАРО, 2019. — 480 с. - ISBN 978-5-9925-1350-9. - Режим доступа: https://new.znanium.com/catalog/product/1047325
Зайцева С.Е., Щавелева Е.Н. - Curious Facts about Great Britain. (Бакалавриат и специалитет) - КноРус - 2019 - ISBN: 978-5-406-00958-1 - Текст электронный // ЭБС BOOKRU - URL: https://book.ru/book/932467

Recommended Additional Bibliography

Loewen, J. W. (2007). Lies My Teacher Told Me : Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong (Vol. Touchstone trade pbk. ed). New York: The New Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=516592
The United States since 1945 : a documentary reader, , 2009

Course Syllabus