Brexit

Of course, everyone  in France who feels close to Britain was surprised by the Brexit, and probably most of them were disappointed.

In Britain, dissatisfaction with the European Union goes back many years, far further than the referendum campaign. The most audible parts of the referendum campaign underlined the "problem" of immigration from EU countries, and expressions of racism were not rare. There was also a separate, Left Exit campaign, which emphasized the neoliberal constitution of the EU and how badly the Greek people had been treated.

Since the result there have been a large number of analytical articles ranging from the serious to the superficial, with more of the latter.

I was interviewed in French on Radio Bleu Normandie here  .   I only had five minutes to explain my opinion.

There is much more to say about it: Cameron has resigned and Corbyn is faced with a major revolt of Labour MPs. Watch this space.

Préparation agrégation d'anglais, civilisation britannique 3

How can you keep with current affairs as well as beginning your preparation for the agrégation on "Le Royaume Uni à l'épreuve de la crise, 1970-79"?

Well , you could listen to this lecture about the British referendum on Europe ... in 1975.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BijWSNYPSn8


 If like me you are very busy, convert the videos  to Mp3 withwww.clipconverter.cc/fr so you can listen to them while doing your washing up.

Préparation agrégation d’anglais civilisation britannique 2

Préparation agrégation d’anglais civilisation britannique 2

This is the second in a long series of posts on this subject.

The first few months of preparation is about becoming very familiar  with the most important trends in British history in the 1970s : later there will be time to concentrate on competing analyses, and on methodology. In the first months, quantity is what counts :  I will be recommending videos and reading.

From a historical point of view as well as a humanist one, one of the most important changes in the last few decades has been that in attitudes towards homosexuality. In 1967 when male homosexuality became legal, absolutely nobody imagined that less than 50 years later, a Conservative government would introduce gay marriage. The changes were very slow, though. This documentary from 1979 shows what happened in the 1970s. Try to read between the lines, to understand the unspoken attitudes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YV_h2FoQJxs

The visuals help you to memorize. If like me you are very busy, convert the videos  to Mp3 with www.clipconverter.cc/fr so you can listen to them while doing your supermarket shopping.

Réunion Rouen pour futurs agrégatifs

Si vous pensez préparer l'agrégation (externe ou interne) d'anglais à l'Université de Rouen, il y aura une courte réunion le 30 juin à 16h30 en salle L 316.

Venez nombreux.

Préparation agrégation civilisation britannique 1

This is the first in a long series of posts on preparing the British Civilisation question for the agrégation exam 2017.

As you know the subject is Le Royaume Uni à l'épreuve de la crise 1970-1979

It is certainly not too early to start preparing the subject. You should read several times the description of the subject on official websites.  And then...

Il faut commencer en lisant les chapitres sur 1960-1980 dans des histoires générales du Royaume Uni par Roland Marx, Kenneth Morgan et Peter Clark.  Ensuite c’est l’ouvrage de Andy Becket  “When the lights went out: Britain in the Seventies” auquel il faut s'attaquer. Il y a peu de livres sur la période spécifiquement. Chez Ellipses, à la rentrée, nous en sortirons un.

There are quite a number of documentaries on YouTube which will be useful, if examined intelligently, especially in the first part of the preparation ( before Christmas) when the main thing is to become very familiar indeed with the principal issues.

In these posts I will be recommending quite a number videos. 

Here is the first one : Wilson vs Heath, the ten-year duel.

What governments and politicians decide to do is  governed by a web of forces : economic, ideological, party political, and personal feelings and ambitions. Since one of their aims is to make "good television" , documentaries will generally over emphasize the importance of  personal motivations and ambitions. Nevertheless, you will learn a lot. Make sure you look up on the internet questions and events which are mentioned which you do not know about.

The visuals are useful for helping to memorize. However, if, like me, you are very  busy, you can easily convert YouTube videos to Mp3 files, and listen to them in the bus or in the car. Use an online tool like this one http://www.clipconverter.cc/fr/ 

Consultation de copie

L3 civilisation : Culture populaire.
Consultation de copie lundi 13 à 17h

I know this is short notice so if you want to see your work and can't make it, send me an email.

Anti-Black Racism in British Popular Music (1880-1920)

From a few years back, but now online at revues.org



Anti-Black Racism in British Popular Music (1880-1920)