124000 VO STEOP: Introduction to Anglophone Cultures and Societies (2011W)

It is the aim of this course is to establish an historical sense of various ways in which national and cultural identities in the British Isles have been constituted and re-defined in the 20th century. The medium of film (cinema history) provides an ideal textual basis for such a procedure. Between them the films selected for analysis cover the four nations constituting the geographical (and cultural) unit known as the British Isles (i.e., England as well as the nations of the 'Celtic Fringe').
In Laurence Olivier's celebrated screen adaptation (1944) of Shakespeare's history play Henry V one of the key scenes is the so-called 'four nations' scene, which brings together representatives of the four so-called home nations to discuss politics and the mechanics of war. The question posed by Macmorris, the Irish captain, points to one of the most controversial issues ("What ish my nation?"), not only in the obvious field of political discourse (in Shakespeare's time, during WWII, in our time), but also in Cultural Studies generally.
Films to be discussed include among others:
England: The Remains of the Day, Bend It Like Beckham, This Is England; Ireland: Man of Aran, The Quiet Man, Adam and Paul; Wales: How Green Was My Valley; Scotland: Braveheart, Trainspotting.