This course is trying to fill in a gap that used to be general in Hungarian higher education, namely, that from among all fields of culture only literature was part of the studies of a student of English. Even when other aspects of culture were discussed within the framework of ‘British civilisation,’ only contemporary Britain used to be the subject of the investigation. Though the word ’culture’ can be used in very differing senses, we try to concentrate on ’high’ culture from both a historical and contemporary perspective. We will, however, also pay attention to the development of English culture in a wider sense, such as education, entertainment, living conditions, etc. in various ages.

 

Students’ academic achievement will be evaluated in the course of an oral exam. Exam topics and the slide shows of the lectures will be made accessible via Internet (https://elearning.uni-eszterhazy.hu/). The exam topics are be based on the lecture material. No up-to-date English language survey of British Cultural History in general is available today; however, students are advised to consult F. E. Halliday’s An Illustrated Cultural History of England (London: Thames and Hudson, 1981, available on my website) as a reference book and sources on the specific culture of certain historical periods, or surveys of the history of arts in Britain.