British Culture and Society Essay Example

British Culture and Society Essay Example British Culture and Society Essay British Culture and Society Essay r PREPARATIONS FOR BRITISH CULTURE AND SOCIETY 1. The features of the United Kingdom’s culture The culture of the United Kingdom is rich and varied, and has been influential on culture on a worldwide scale. It is a European state, and has many cultural links with its former colonies, particularly those that use the English language. The origins of the UK as a political union of formerly independent states has resulted in the preservation of distinctive cultures in each of the home nations. Britains culture and creativity is flourishing as never before, whether in creative industries such as advertising, music and film, or in the visual and performing arts. Like the US, Britain is proud of its multicultural heritage and diversity. Multicultural Britain with different communities has helped build todays vibrant Britain and contributed to its economic, social, democratic and cultural development. 2. The sociological issues in the United Kingdom Housing The United Kingdom has one of the highest population densities in Europe. Housing tends to be smaller and more closely packed than in other countries, particularly compared to North America. In modern Britain more detached housing has started to be built, most beginning in the mid-nineties. Demographic changes are putting great pressure on the housing market, especially in London and the South East. Living arrangements In the 20th century, the general trend is a rise in single people living alone, the virtual extinction of the extended family (outside certain ethnic minority communities), and the nuclear family reducing in prominence. From the 1990s, the break up of the traditional family unit, when combined with a low interest rate environment and other demographic changes, has created great pressure on the housing market. In the 21st century young people are tending to continue to live in the parental home for much longer than their predecessors. Sport The national sport of the UK is football, having originated in England, and the UK has the oldest football clubs in the world. A great number of major sports originated in the United Kingdom, including: Football (soccer), squash, golf, tennis, boxing, rugby (rugby union and rugby league), cricket, snooker, billiards, badminton and curling. National costume There is no specifically British national costume. Even individually, England, Wales and Northern Ireland have only vestiges of a national costume; Scotland has the kilt and Tam oshanter. In England certain military uniforms such as the Beefeater or the Queens Guard are considered to be symbolic of Englishness, though they are not official national costumes. Morris dancers or the costumes for the traditional English May dance are cited by some as examples of traditional English costume. Naming convention The naming convention in most of the United Kingdom is for everyone to have a given name, usually (but not always) indicating the childs sex, followed by a parents family name. This naming convention has remained much the same since the 15th century in England although patronymic naming remained in some of the further reaches of the other home nations until much later. Since the 19th century middle names have become very common and are often taken from the family name of an ancestor. Traditionally given names were largely taken from the Bible; however, in the Gothic Revival of the Victorian era, Anglo Saxon and mythical names became commonplace. Since the middle of the 20th century however given names have been influenced by a much wider cultural base. 3. The differences in Driving between Commonwealth and American Culture The first thing to be considered is that fact that Americans drive on the RIGHT and in the Commonwealth you drive on the LEFT. Now if that isn’t confusing enough, even the road markings are opposite. In America YELLOW lines signify the center of the road and white the edge while exactly the opposite occurs in most Commonwealth countries. In the USA, highways are VERY specific in how you refer to them. For example, the 635 is pronounced the â€Å"six thirty-five† and NOT the â€Å"six three five† or the â€Å"six hundred and thirty five†. Highways in Commonwealth countries generally begin with a N for national (e. g. N3) meaning they traverse the entire country or M for motorway (e. . M25) meaning they traverse only through or around a city (the M25 is a circular highway around London). Or R for route. There is a very good reason behind the highway marking system in the USA. Highways marked â€Å"US† (i. e. the famous US 66), the lower numbers start in the northeast and get higher as they move southwest. However, for highways marked Interstate (such as I-75 going from Michig an to Florida), lower numbers start in the southwest, with road numbers getting higher as they go to the northwest. This was to help prevent confusion and overlapping numbering, as the Interstate highway system was created after many â€Å"US-##† highways had been created 4. The approaches to deal with immigrant groups and their cultures In dealing with immigrant groups and their cultures, there are essentially four approaches: Monoculturalism: In some European states, culture is very closely linked to nationalism, thus government policy is to assimilate immigrants, although recent increases in migration have led many European states to experiment with forms of multiculturalism. Leitkultur (core culture): A model developed in Germany by Bassam Tibi. The idea is that minorities can have an identity of their own, but they should at least support the core concepts of the culture on which the society is based. Melting Pot: In the United States, the traditional view has been one of a melting pot where all the immigrant cultures are mixed and amalgamated without state intervention. Multiculturalism: A policy that immigrants and others should preserve their cultures with the different cultures interacting peacefully within one nation. 5. The Features of Culture Culture: is a shared, learned, symbolic system of values, beliefs and attitudes that shapes and influences perception and behavior: standards of beauty. 7) Internalized. Habitual. Taken-for-granted. Perceived as natural. 6. Difference in Drinking between Commonwealth and American Culture. The first drinking difference to consider is the legal age to drink. In the USA it is 21, while in all Commonwealth countries it is only 18! While in Canada some provinces are 19 and some are 18. Bars in Britain traditionally closed at 11 p. m. by law while in the USA they close at 2 a. m. by law. England has recently passed a new law that allows late night drinking, so some bars are now open until the wee hours. Bars in Australia and South Africa vary considerably. In Britain, beers (ales or bitter), are served warmer than in America! Ales (as opposed to lagers) are served at cellar temperature which is below room temperature, but definitely not chilled chilled bitter is tasteless (as is a lot of lager at whatever temperature) but warm bitter is foul (but not as foul as warm lager! . The reason is simple: beer should be served at the temperature that it ferments at ales are fermented at a slightly higher temperature than lagers.. This applied to English ales and bitters, but not to foreign lager or beer, which is always chilled. In the USA beers are chilled to almost freezing point. Drinking bitters and ales is an English practice that has not been extended to the rest of the Commonwealth. Countries like Australia and South Africa serve mostly locally made lagers, well chilled. In America, beers are mostly served in the bottle (even by 5 star hotels). They will wrap a paper napkin (serviette) around the bottle to soak condensation. Up market hotels in the Commonwealth would frown at a patron requesting to drink straight from the bottle. Australia is metric, therefore a nip of alcohol is 30ml. In the US, a nip is 1 fl ounce which is quite a lot larger. One of our contributors worked in a bar at an up market hotel in Australia and had regular arguments with US clients who insisted she was short-pouring them! 7. The science and technology in the United Kingdom Science and technology in the United Kingdom has a long history, producing many important figures and developments in the field. Major theorists from the UK include Isaac Newton whose laws of motion and illumination of gravity have been seen as a keystone of modern science and Charles Darwin whose theory of evolution by natural selection was fundamental to the development of modern biology. Major scientific discoveries include hydrogen by Henry Cavendish, penicillin by Alexander Fleming, and the structure of DNA, by Francis Crick and others. Major engineering projects and applications pursued by people from the UK include the steam locomotive developed by Richard Trevithick and Andrew Vivian, the jet engine by Frank Whittle and the World Wide Web by Tim Berners-Lee. Scientists from the UK continue to play a major role in the development of science and technology and major technological sectors include the aerospace, motor and pharmaceutical industries. England and Scotland were leading centres of the Scientific Revolution from the 17th century and the United Kingdom led the Industrial Revolution from the 18th century, and has continued to produce scientists and engineers credited with important advances. Scientific research and development remains important in British universities, with many establishing science parks to facilitate production and co-operation with industry. Between 2004 and 2008 the UK produced 7% of the worlds scientific research papers and had an 8% share of scientific citations, the third- and second-highest in the world (after the United States and China and the United States respectively). 8. The Three Elements of Culture Another common way of understanding culture is to see it as consisting of three elements: values, norms, and artifacts [Dictionary of Modern Sociology, 1969, 93] Values are ideas about what in life is important. They guide the rest of the culture. Norms are expectations of how people will behave in different situations. Each culture has different methods, called sanctions, of enforcing its norms. Sanctions vary with the importance of the norm; norms that a society enforces formally are called laws. Artifacts - things, or material culture - derive from the cultures values and norms. 9. The cause to the change in Culture? Three kinds of influence cause both change and resistance to it: +forces at work within a society +contact between societies +changes in the natural environment. Cultural change can come about due to the environment, to inventions (and other internal influences), and to contact with other cultures. For example, the end of the last ice age helped lead to the invention of agriculture, which in its turn brought about many cultural innovations. 10. A snapshot of the United Kingdom: The United Kingdom, constitutional monarchy in northwestern Europe, is officially the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Great Britain is the largest island in the cluster of islands, or archipelago, known as the British Isles. England is the largest and most populous division of the island of Great Britain, making up the south and east. Wales is on the west and Scotland is to the north. Northern Ireland is located in the northeast corner of Ireland, the second largest island in the British Isles. The capital of the United Kingdom is the city of London, situated near the southeastern tip of England. The United Kingdom is a small nation in physical size. At 244,110 sq km (94,251 sq mi), the United Kingdom is roughly the size of Oregon or Colorado, or twice the size of New York State. It is located as far north in latitude as Labrador in North America, but, like the rest of northern Europe, it is warmed by the Gulf Stream flowing out of the North Atlantic Ocean. The climate, in general, is mild, chilly, and often wet. Rain or overcast skies can be expected for up to 300 days per year. These conditions make Britain lush and green, with rolling plains in the south and east and rough hills and mountains to the west and north. Despite its relatively small size, Britain is highly populated, with an estimated population density of 251 persons per sq km (650 per sq mi) in 2006. It is highly developed economically, preeminent in the arts and sciences, sophisticated in technology, and highly prosperous and peaceful. In general, British subjects belong to one of the more affluent states of Europe and enjoy a high standard of living compared to the rest of the world.