Code scolarité : LG20AM30
This course aims to provide students with a foundation for further studies of the British Isles as an area. It is divided into two parts. During the first weeks, the course investigates what the United Kingdom is today politically speaking. It presents the key institutions of the Kingdom and the way they work, the main political parties and figures. It also deals with the way the United Kingdom came into existence as the union of 4 nations. The issues of devolution and Europe are introduced in order to help students grasp current events.
To better understand today’s United Kingdom, it is necessary to introduce key moments of its long history. The rest of the course deals with more than sixteen hundred years of British history, from the coming of the Romans to the Glorious Revolution of 1688. It focuses on the major events, which shaped the development of the monarchy and parliament in Britain and contributed to transform the country into the constitutional monarchy it is today.

The objectives of the course are :
- to foster an understanding of the United Kingdom today and in the past.
- to help students become familiar with a political system and a political history which is very different from their own.
- to enhance a better understanding of historical and political texts, often written in a variety of English used in previous centuries.
- to enhance critical and analytical thinking of very diverse primary sources dating back to many different centuries.
- to provide students with guidelines that will drive them to identify the context in which a document was produced and the point of view defended in a document.
- To encourage students to learn about different historical contexts.
- To foster an understanding of a number of crucial notions, political and cultural facts and a better grasp of the timeline of events in British history.

Les compétences que ce cours vise à faire acquérir aux étudiants sont:
- comprendre un texte et se familiariser avec l’anglais d’autres époques.
- se familiariser avec des sources primaires de diverse nature et de diverses époques.
- identifier les éléments du paratexte et faire des recherches contextuelles.
- chercher de l’information dans un texte.
- apprendre à identifier un point de vue.
- devenir capable de maîtriser des notions et une chronologie.

Les deux ouvrages dont la lecture est fortement recommandée en complément au cours sont:
- Bucholz, Robert & Key Newton, Early Modern England 1485-1714: a narrative history, Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2004.
- Mioche, Antoine, Les grandes dates de l’histoire britannique, Paris: Hachette, 2017. (dernière édition).

D’autres références disponibles à la Bibliothèque des Langues ou dans les Bibliothèques de l’Université seront indiquées en début de semestre.