Britain Today

Historically, developments in Great Britain shaped much of the modern world, and the many current developments in the country continue to make for fascinating areas of study for scholars and students of Anglophone societies. In Britain in the 21st Century, topics and key issues are chosen to reflect the most important social, political and cultural issues affecting Britain today, with a particular focus on those that Scandinavian teachers and students will find more important and engaging. Avoiding overly descriptive approaches, the book provides introductions to prominent ideas, social, political and cultural critique and responses, all of contemporary relevance. In addition to providing the necessary basic factual information, the book suggests student assignments, topics for presentations and essays, and literature for further reading, and thus sets the stage for investigations of particular relevance to Scandinavian students that will enable them to critically relate to attitudes and ideas, as well as inspire students’ own in-depth exploration in the form of essays, project work etc. Throughout the book, we aim to avoid the jargon and implied understandings of British studies that many other textbooks take for granted. Consequently, we believe, students will find the texts more engaging and easier to relate to. The chapters of the text are organized thematically and arranged in balanced and substantial modules. This means that each chapter can stand alone and need not be read or taught as part of a particular sequence. This, in turn, allows teachers to easily design any course according to given curricular demands and their own preferences.