Global Citizen: The British Experience - units 2024/25
Tea and biscuits, kings and queens and empire, slavery and abolition, Shakespeare, Dickens, and Austen - what is it exactly that defines Great Britain? This study theme explores the many facets of the British history, culture, and society, from the celebrated to the unknown, the innovative to the destructive.
This cannot be done in isolation, however, so many of the units adopt a comparative or postcolonial lens, reconsidering iconic British writers, the long shadow of imperialism, and British society today from a more global perspective. Several units focus specifically on the city of Bristol, giving students the chance to get to know this unique corner of the UK.
You will find units on:
- decolonisation, colonialism, and empire
- literature, poetry and theatre
- cinema, art, and visual culture
- society, including the NHS (health care), education, youth justice system
This theme is available for General Pathway students. You can choose as many (or as few) units from this study theme as you like. There are no requirements to pick units only within this list.
Pre-requisites
- Year 1 – units suitable for all students.
- Year 2 – for students with some university study in a relevant discipline (see below for details of the related discipline for each unit).
- Year 3 – for students with a strong background of study in a relevant discipline (see below for details of the related discipline for each unit).
Feature units
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Contemporary European Cinema (TB1) MODL10009
Comparative British & Continental European cinema, exploring diverse topics from the low-budget Cornish thriller, to Asian-British comedy and the James Bond blockbuster in IMAX.
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Introduction to Visual Cultures: from Bristol to the World (TB2) MODL10019
Get to know the city of Bristol through weekly guided and self-guided field trips around the city to see visual culture and theory in action.
Year 1
Pre-requisites: suitable for all students.
Teaching Block 1
- Contemporary European Cinema - MODL10009 (Cultural Studies)
- Literature 1150-1550 - ENGL10042 (English Literature)
- The Early Modern World: The British Isles - HIST10063 (History)
Teaching Block 2
- Decolonise the Future! - UNIV10009 (University-wide)
- Education, Schooling and Diversity - SPOL10039 (Policy Studies)
- Introduction to Visual Cultures: from Bristol to the World - MODL10019 (Cultural Studies)
- Literature 1550-1740 - ENGL10043 (English Literature)
- The Medieval World Britain and Ireland - HIST10064 (History)
Year 2
Pre-requisites: some university study in a relevant discipline (literature, history etc.)
Teaching Block 1
- Art and Empire - HART20038 (History of Art)
- Art in Britain - HART20024 (History of Art)
- Early Modern Women Writers - ENGL20139 (English Literature)
- Literature 1740-1900 - ENGL20063 (English Literature)
- Revenge Tragedy - ENGL29008 (English Literature)
- Shakespeare - ENGL20068 (English Literature)
- Social Care in Crisis - SPOL20047 (Policy Studies, Politics)
- The Tudor World - HIST20119 (History)
Teaching Block 2
- Arthurian Literature - ENGL20060 (English Literature)
- Black British Literature - ENGL20041 (English Literature)
- Britain AD - ARCH20068 (Anthropology & Archaeology)
- British Cinema and Television - FATV20001 (Film & Television)
- Chaucer and Chaucerians - ENGL20061 (English Literature)
- Decolonisation - HIST20116 (History)
- Drinking in the words: the pleasures and pains of alcohol in British fiction and culture - ENGL20127 (English Literature)
- Literature 1900-present - ENGL20064 (English Literature)
- Modern British Government and Politics - POLI20014 (Politics)
- Old English Language and Literature - ENGL20065 (English Literature)
- Paradise Lost: Inception and Reception - ENGL29032 (English Literature)
- The Making of Contemporary Britain - HIST20114 (History)
- Youth Justice - SPOL20022 (Policy Studies, Politics)
Year 3
Pre-requisities: strong background of study in a relevant discipline.
Teaching Block 1
- Britain's Long Nineteenth Century, 1789-1914 - HIST30120 (History)
- Children and Young People in the Law A - SPOL30057 (Policy Studies, Politics)
- Shakespearean Tragedy: Textual and Literary Criticism - ENGL39027 (English Literature)
- Victorian Fiction: Art and Ideas in the Marketplace - ENGL30117 (English Literature)
Teaching Block 2
- Millennial Britain - HIST30125 (History)
- The Politics of Contemporary Labour Party - POLI30024 (Politics)
- Victorian Poetry: Belief, Doubt, Dissent - ENGL30143 (English Literature)