University of Languages and International Studies, VNU Hanoi

FACULTY OF LINGUISTICS AND CULTURES OF ENGLISH SPEAKING COUNTRIES

Division of Country Studies

INTRODUCTION TO BRITISH & AMERICAN STUDIES

Course Code: ENG2052 Number of credits: 03
Instructor: Lê Thành Trung, Ph.D. email: [email protected]

OVERVIEW
This course aims to foster critical understanding of some of the key constructs in studying the
British and the American, namely nation, nation state, culture, identity, and power. As you
examine the British and American society in these terms, you are encouraged to attend to
how you yourself relate to what is presented as the British and the American. Be aware of
your limits of thought and recognizant of different perspectives. As well, this course is
practical in the sense that it offers language to participate in common conversations about the
two peoples and countries.
OBJECTIVES
If you successfully complete the course, you will demonstrate the following competences:
Knowledge
● Understand key concepts in studying the UK and the US, namely nation, nation
state, culture, identity, and power.
● Understand how British and American histories, modern beliefs and values, national
systems of politics, economy, and education, everyday life activities are constructed
and organized.
● Apply these understandings in relevant conversations.
Skills
● Conduct a seminar in English on a given topic.
● Work in teams to achieve planned goals.
Attitudes
● Be responsible for social issues
● Respect differences

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ASSESSMENT
Quizzes (15%)
This element of assessment provides a frame of practice that supports students’ regular
reading of course materials and acquisition of basic vocabulary about the UK and the US.
The teacher may deliver a lecture, receive and answer questions before giving the quizzes,
but you are supposed to be able to answer the questions in the quizzes due to your reading of
the relevant prescribed texts before coming to class.
Seminars: Presentation & Discussion (25%)
This course features 04 student led seminars, whose topics and key questions are
given and specified in the description of the course’s contents, materials and schedule.
The seminars are case studies aiming to allow participants to see the complexity of
contemporary social phenomena, to become open to multiple perspectives, to formulate and
articulate ethical commitments.
You will work in groups to prepare for, participate in, and lead 04 seminars during
the course. There should be 08 groups. Each seminar will be led by two groups. The leading
groups make oral presentations to introduce the issues of interest and then facilitate in-class
discussions of the issues. Before leading a seminar, make sure that you have sent a detailed
plan of your presentation and discussion to your teacher and received feedback. To
participate in the in-class discussions, the other groups must get prepared by at least having
read the relevant prescribed texts before coming to class.
Not only your presentation and facilitation as leaders but also your participation as
common participants is evaluated. Your performance is graded individually. Prepare a
detailed report of each member’s contributions if you want your teacher to see beyond what
is observable in class.

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 Grading Criteria

1. Addressing the Thoughtful organization 1

issue(s)
Sufficient information 1

Multiple perspectives 1

Logical arguments 1

Relevant and interesting details 1

2. Performing the Intelligible, effective, and beautiful language 2

presentation

3. Leading the Thoughtful questions, answers, and comments 1

discussion

4. Collaborating Positively contributive to the group’s performance 1

as a whole

5. Participating in Thoughtful questions, answers, and comments 1

seminars led by
other groups

Total 10

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Sitting Exam (60%)
The final exam would last 80 minutes. It consists of two compulsory parts and one
experimental element.
The first compulsory part (Part 1/ 5 points) estimates your ability to understand common
references and conversations about the UK and the US. It includes short questions about the
course’s key concepts and facts.
The second compulsory part (Part 2/ 5 points) mobilizes your in-depth understanding of a
socio-political and cultural phenomenon in the UK or the US as well as your capacity to
produce clear and effective written English. It asks you to write a short essay of 400 words
to address one or some of the issues discussed in the seminars.
You can choose whether to respond to the experimental element, which elicits your
interpretation of figurative expressions related to the course contents. If your response is of
good quality as judged by the examiners, you will receive a bonus point.

General Class Policies

Discussion: Contribute to discussion each class and participate in all small group activities
Readings: Complete readings by the day assigned. Bring the textbook to class.
Class Time: Being significantly tardy or leaving early will result in you being marked absent.
Absences: Keep your teacher informed about your absence if possible. You are allowed 03
unexcused absences, and this doesn’t mean that you should use up all these opportunities and then
try to make excuses for other absences. Absences may be excused only for very limited reasons
(including hospitalization).
Late/Missed Assignments: The schedule of the quizzes and seminars is fixed. If you miss one or
some of them affects your final grade severely, please discuss the problem with your teacher. If
the teacher does not manage to propose any alternative measure of assessment or deadline, please
accept the fact that your grade does not meet your expectation.
Academic Integrity: Academic dishonesty is not tolerated. Penalties are an F on the assignment
and an F in the course.
Always communicate with your teacher first if you encounter any problem with the course. If you
run into problems that call for a third party, contact the course coordinator.

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Course Syllabus
Contents

W1 Introduction

W2 History and Historiography

Brief History of the UK and the US

W3 History and Historiography (cont.)

Brief History of the UK and the US (cont.)

W4 National Beliefs and Values

W5 British and American Political Systems: An Overview

W6 Self-study: Preparing for Seminar 1

W7 Seminar 1 – The Making, Unmaking, and Remaking of Abortion Laws in the US

Presentation 1: The case of Roe v. Wade
Presentation 2: Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization or The overturning of
Roe v. Wade

W8 British and American Economic Systems

W9 British and American Educational Systems

W10 Self-study: Preparing for Seminars 2 & 3

W11 Seminar 2 – Brexit & Economic Reasoning

Presentation 1: Brexit – Background information and non-economic arguments
Presentation 2: Economic arguments for and against Brexit

W12 Seminar 3 – American Public Schools in Education Reforms

Presentation 1: Overview of the movie and the stratification of schools in the US
Presentation 2: Review of teachers’ issues

W13 British and American Cultures of Everyday Life

W14 Seminar 4 – Watching British and American Lives

● Presentation 1: Motherhood in Boyhood (2014)
● Presentation 2: Working-class women in All or Nothing (2002)

W15 Review

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CONTENTS, MATERIALS, & SCHEDULE
Week 1: Introduction
● Course Introduction
● Introduction to British and American Studies
○ What is Britain (the UK)? What is America (the US)? (country, idea, and
both)
○ What does being British/American mean? (citizenship, culture, belonging,
identity, value, stereotype)
○ Why are we studying the UK and the US, not Botswana and Russia, for
example? (power, relation, positionality)
○ Give examples to illustrate the following statement: ‘Britain’/ ‘America’ is a
set of places, peoples, and ideas that are always contested and which change
with the political, economic, and social tides of history.
● Nation State, Nation, Culture, Identity, and Power as Organizing Concepts in
Country Studies

Prescribed texts
Introduction to British and American Studies (2023). Chapter 1. Division of
International Studies
Other resources
British Studies, the Latest Import from the US?
Cultural Studies
American Studies

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Weeks 2 + 3: Brief History of the UK and the US // Quiz 1
● Why study history?
● In our time, the dominant history of a country is usually a history of wars. What does
this kind of history often tell you?
● Briefly describe the following significant events and periods in the making of the
UK and the US (as sovereign states and empires) as they appear in common
historical accounts. Notice that the same years might belong to different historical
periods. How is this possible? From your knowledge of these historical events and
periods, name some of the key issues in/emerging from the ongoing formation of the
UK and US.
○ The UK: Birth of the Union (1707), Acts of Union (1800), Napoleonic Wars
(1803-1815), Victorian Era (1837-1901), UK Decolonization (1945-1975),
Thatcher Era (1979-?)
○ The US: American Civil War (1861-1865), Jim Crow Era (1876–1965), First
Red Scare (1917-1920), Second Red Scare (1947-1957), American Civil
Rights Movement (1954-1968), Vietnam War (1955-1975), Reagan Era
(1980-?)
○ The UK & the US: Boston Tea Party (1773), American Revolution (1765-
1783), First-wave Feminism (19th century–early 20th century), World War I
(1914-1918), Paris Peace Conference (1920), Roaring Twenties (1920s), The
Great Depression (1929-1939), World War II (1939-1945), Bretton Woods
Conference (1944), Washington Conversations on International Peace and
Security Organization (1944), Cold War (1947-1991), Second-wave
Feminism (1960s-1970s), War on Terror (2001-present)
● UK-US relations: What does the Special Relationship mean? How has the
relationship between the UK and the US changed over time?

Prescribed texts
Introduction to British and American Studies (2023). Chapter 2. Division of
International Studies.

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Week 4: National Beliefs and Values
● What are some of the beliefs and values that are usually claimed as British and
American? How is this possible to make these claims? (history, evidence)
● What is “the American dream”?
● What is American exceptionalism? Describe instances of American exceptionalism.

Prescribed texts
Introduction to British and American Studies (2023). Chapter 3. Division of
International Studies.
Other resources
The Cost of the American Dream

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Week 5: British and American Political Systems: An Overview // Quiz 2
● Forms of government
● Constitution, passage of a bill, election
● UK: fusion of powers, monarchy, government, parliament
● US: federalism, separation of powers, branches of government, checks and balances
Prescribed texts
Introduction to British and American Studies (2023). Chapter 4. Division of
International Studies.
Other resources
Parliamentary vs. Presidential Democracy Explained
An Introduction to Parliament

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Week 6: Self Study: Preparing for Seminar 1

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Week 7: Seminar 1– The Making, Unmaking, and Remaking of Abortion
Laws in the US
Presentation 1: The case of Roe v. Wade
- Who represented the two sides in the case of Roe v. Wade? What was Roe’s claim in
the case?
- When and how did the case make its way to the Supreme Court? What was the social
and political context at the time?
- What was the final ruling? What arguments were raised to support the majority
decision vs. the dissent? Did these arguments primarily rely on moral, legal, or
empirical grounds*? What other factors contributed to the controversy?
- How did this Supreme Court’s decision interact with state laws about abortion?
What was the impact on abortion access across the US?
- What was its impact on other laws or on related social outcomes (such as health and
well-being, gender equality, and income equality)?
Presentation 2: Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization or The overturning of
Roe v. Wade
- Who represented the two sides in the case of Dobb v. Jackson Women's Health
Organization? What was Jackson WHO’s claim in the case?
- When and how did this case make its way to the Supreme Court?
- What was the public opinion about the issue? Please consult & cite specific surveys
and note the exact wording of the questions asked.
- What was the final ruling? What arguments were raised to support the majority
decision vs. the dissent? Did these arguments primarily rely on moral, legal, or
empirical grounds*? What other factors contributed to the controversy?
- How did the American public and other countries/international bodies react to the
decision?
- How has this Supreme Court’s decision interacted with state laws about abortion?
What has been the impact of the decision on abortion access across the US? What
other laws could be affected?
DISCUSSION
- An article in the Guardian called the ruling “a mockery of democracy”. Do you agree
or disagree with the article?
(Source: https://www.theguardian.com/law/2022/jun/26/us-supreme-court-abortion-
ruling-democracy)
REFERENCES:
Main texts
How a case gets to the US Supreme Court
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Public opinion:
Gallup News on Abortion (trends from 1976 to 2022)
Pew Research on 2022 public opinion on abortion
Roe v. Wade case summary
From Quimbee (video, basic facts)
From Khan Academy (video, more detailed)
From Wikipedia
The case was brought by Norma McCorvey—known by the legal pseudonym "Jane
Roe"—who, in 1969, became pregnant with her third child. McCorvey wanted an
abortion, but she lived in Texas where abortion was illegal, except when necessary
to save the mother's life. Her attorneys, Sarah Weddington and Linda Coffee, filed a
lawsuit on her behalf in U.S. federal court against her local district attorney, Henry
Wade, alleging that Texas's abortion laws were unconstitutional. A special three-
judge court of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas heard the
case and ruled in her favor. The parties appealed this ruling to the Supreme Court.
From FindLaw
Dobbs case summary
Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, No. 19-1392, 597 U.S. ___ (2022),
is a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the court held that the
Constitution of the United States does not confer a right to abortion. The court's
decision overruled both Roe v. Wade (1973) and Planned Parenthood v. Casey
(1992). The decision gave the individual states full power to regulate abortion.
The case was about the constitutionality of a 2018 Mississippi state law that
banned most abortion operations after the first 15 weeks of pregnancy. Jackson
Women's Health Organization, Mississippi's only abortion clinic, had sued Thomas
E. Dobbs, state health officer with the Mississippi State Department of Health, in
March 2018. Lower courts had prevented enforcement of the law with preliminary
injunctions. The injunctions were based on the ruling in Planned Parenthood v.
Casey, which had prevented states from banning abortion before fetal viability,
generally within the first 24 weeks, on the basis that a woman's choice for abortion
during that time is protected by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth
Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
From Wikipedia
Outcomes (abortion access & inequality):
Abortion ruling prompts variety of reactions from states (AP news)
Roe overturned: What you need to know about the Supreme Court abortion decision
How overturning Roe will adversely affect historically marginalized women
Other resources

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 https://www.pbs.org/newshour/classroom/2022/06/supreme-court-overturns-roe-v-
wade/
Essay question for the final exam
Democracy is a Western concept, generally understood as the power or the rule of the
people. When the US Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to abortion,
reversing Roe v. Wade, an article in the Guardian called the ruling “a mockery of
democracy”.
Write an essay of about 400 words to discuss the issue. Your answer should make clear
what the decision means, whether you think it is undemocratic and why/why not, and how
Americans can exercise democracy in this matter within the social and political reality of the
US?

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Week 8: British and American Economic Systems // Quiz 3
Prescribed texts
Introduction to British and American Studies (2023). Chapter 5. Division of International
Studies.
Other resources
2017 Index of Economic Freedom
Thatcherism and the End of the Post-War Consensus
Market Economy: Crash Course Government and Politics
The role of financial services in the UK economy
Entrepreneurs are GREAT Part 1, Part 2
The City of London - Money and Power Part 1, Part 2

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Week 9: British and American Educational Systems // Quiz 4
● Modern education systems: What is education for?
● What key moments have shaped the British and American educational systems
respectively?
● What are contemporary debates on education in Britain and the States? What
solutions have been proposed?
Prescribed texts
Introduction to British and American Studies (2023). Chapter 6. Division of
International Studies.
Other resources
The purpose of education
Pink Floyd Another brick in the wall (Video)
Education reform has failed to improve social mobility
British schools explained Anglophenia Ep. 25 (Video)
British Education System Being British: Joel & Lia (Video)
Q&A: The American school system
CNN Films: Ivory Tower Trailer

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Week 10: Self Study: Preparing for Seminars 2 & 3

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Week 11: Seminar 2 – Brexit & (Non)Economic Reasoning
● Presentation 1: Brexit – Background information and non-economic arguments
○ Present a brief history of British Euroscepticism.
○ What is Brexit? Describe the main events of Brexit.
○ Describe the patterns of voting in the EU referendum
○ What are non-economic arguments for and against Brexit? Who have
presented them? What evidences have they given? How have the arguments
been criticized?
● Presentation 2: Economic arguments for and against Brexit
○ What are economic arguments for and against Brexit? Who have presented
them? What evidences have they given? How have the arguments been
criticized?
○ What are the economic issues that the UK has to negotiate with EU as the
country is leaving EU?
● Discussion: How do the economic arguments display identity politics (claims made
about groups of people)?
Essay question for the final exam
1. What were the main economic arguments for Brexit? Are these arguments supported
by evidence? Write an essay of about 400 words to answer these questions.
Reference the relevant economic outcomes of Brexit when possible.
2. A recent study* suggested that Brexit voters were more motivated by identity than
economics. Specifically, individuals with stronger British identity are more
supportive of Leave. When British identity is juxtaposed with national identities
(e.g., English and Scottish), those who claim to be British only are less pro-Leave
than those who see themselves as English only or British and English.

Write an essay of about 400 words to discuss this issue. Your answer should
summarize the voting pattern of the different regions of the UK and its aftermath,
and explain why identity may help explain this voting pattern.

* See the study (full text available) at

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1468-4446.12790?af=R

Prescribed texts
British Euroscepticism: a brief history
Brexit: All you need to know about the UK leaving the EU
The Brexit Debate Explained in 2 Minutes
Brexit: The Movie
Brexit and the Economy: The Facts Explained
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Local Voting Figures Shed New Light on EU Referendum

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Week 12: Seminar 3 – American Public Schools in Education Reforms
● Presentation 1: Overview of the movie and the stratification of schools in the US
○ Key information about and synopsis of the movie (Waiting for ‘Superman’)
○ Summary of the main argument(s) of the movie about charter schools
○ Purposes of education, the crisis state of education, and No Child Left
Behind
○ Comparisons between the different types of primary or secondary
educational institutions (state school, private school, and charter school)
○ Comparisons between schools in affluent neighborhoods versus schools in
poorer ones
○ Assessment of and comments on the main argument(s)
● Presentation 2: Review of teachers’ issues
○ Summary of the main argument(s) of the movie about teachers
○ Teaching standards
○ Teacher appraisal and tenure
○ Teacher’s unions
○ Assessment of and comments on the main argument(s)./
● Discussion: What can be some of the problems when charter schools become
popular? To what extent are teachers responsible for the quality of education?
Prescribed texts
“Waiting for Superman,” a 2010 American documentary film directed by Davis
Guggenheim
Waiting for “Superman” (Wikipedia)
Waiting for “Superman” (IMDb)

Essay question for the final exam:

The documentary ‘Waiting for Superman’ suggests that public schools in the US are failing
and that charter schools are a better alternative than traditional public schools.
Write an essay of about 400 words to discuss this issue. Your answer should articulate how
you agree or disagree with the argument. It should distinguish charter schools and traditional
public schools, summarize the achievements and problems of charter schools, and discuss
the impact of expanding charter schools on the existing public school system. Use specific
examples and evidence to support your answer.

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Week 13: British and American Cultures of Everyday Life
● Enjoy details of everyday life cultures.
● Reflect on decisions in disseminating stereotypes and overgeneralizations.
● Reflect on practices of freedom.
Prescribed texts
Introduction to British and American Studies (2023). Chapter 7. Division of
International Studies.

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Week 14: Seminar 4 – Watching British and American Lives
● Presentation 1: Motherhood in Boyhood (2014)
○ Key information about and synopsis of the movie
○ Select and present the visuals that demonstrate the aging of the mother’s
body over 12 years
○ Select and present the visuals that demonstrate what the mother does to take
care of her children.
○ How do the mother’s circumstances define her children’s circumstances?
○ Describe the mother’s social life. Does she have a career for herself?
○ What do you see as the mother’s ‘flaws’?
● Presentation 2: Working-class women in All or Nothing (2002)
○ Key information about and synopsis of the movie
○ Describe the social and domestic working conditions of the female characters
in the movie. Select and present the visuals that demonstrate these
conditions.
○ How do their circumstances affect the way they relate to their family
members?
○ Describe some of the male-female relationships in the movie.
○ How do the female characters struggle to deal with distress, survive and
maintain dignity?
Essay question for the final exam:
1. Boyhood (2014) has been described as a portrait of a ‘normal’ or ‘ordinary’
American family. In which way the family portrayed here is ‘normal’ and in which
way is it not? Write an essay of about 400 words to discuss the issue. Your answer
should rely on an understanding of being ‘normal’ in an American context and
specific examples to demonstrate how the phenomenon of attention is normal or not.
2. What does the movie All or Nothing (2002) allow you to see about the struggles of
‘the working class’ in the UK in the early 2000s? What does the movie suggest as
the redeemable solution to their suffering? Write an essay of about 400 words to
address the question. Your answer should attend to their economic and domestic
conditions and one aspect of material culture. It should additionally address the
overall theme of the movie. Use specific examples and evidence to support your
answer.

Prescribed texts
Boyhood, a 2014 American coming-of-age film written and directed by Richard
Linklater

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Boyhood (2014) (IMDb)
Boyhood (2014) (Wikipedia)
All or Nothing, a 2002 British drama film written and directed by Mike Leigh
All or Nothing (2002) (IMDb)
All or Nothing (2002) (Wikipedia)
Muddling Through, Souls Shredded but Intact
Eva Wiseman (2017, Mar 26). Why shouldn’t the modern family be a team effort?
The Guardian. Retrieved from
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/mar/26/why-shouldnt-the-modern-
family-be-a-team-effort?

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Week 15: Review

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