First Lecture: Monday January 18th

  For this lecture, we learned the answers to the questions of "what are we?", 

"where are we?" and "who are we" in regards to The United Kingdom of Great Britain and 

Northern Ireland (the country's official title) and those who reside with in it.  We discussed all 

of the varying regions with in the country including Scotland, Wales and North Ireland. 

Learning about Scotland was very intriguing to me. I was never previously aware that 

Scotland was officially apart of the United Kingdom and I was surprised to find this out.  We 

also learned about the different groups of people who have resided in this country. The Beaker 

people, the Celts, the Romans, the Anglo Saxons, and the Normans are among these differing 

groups, all having left their marks on the country through their burial habits (Beaker people),  

their technologies (the Celts and Romans) and infamous invasions (Saxons and Normans). The 

details of these groups of people along with the history of the different regions in the country 

including Scotland, Ireland and Wales were among the key points of this lecture.

The things I found most interesting about this lecture were learning of the histories of 

Scotland, N. Ireland, and Wales as mentioned above.   I learned a great deal about how they 

came to be apart of Great Britain and yet are known as being independent "countries" with 

their own individual cultures.  I found it interesting that the Scottish are so passionate about 

their culture and heritage, for example, and that the Welsh include their native language along 

with English on every single sign in Wales and also teach children Welsh in schools as to not 

lose this part of their culture. I also found it interesting that England never had a revolution 

and has not been invaded for 1000 years. I always new England to be one of the very powerful 

countries that exists so learning these facts shed some light on that point for me.

This lecture connects to my major field of study, sociology. In sociology we learn about  

various societies and how they work. This lecture did not go into too much  detail of different 

class structures and inequalities with in societies, for example, but we did learn about different 

groups of people and their customs and traditions. 

Feb 25 field trip

Our first field trip was limited by the cold weather to more of a "look see" at some of the familiar sights of the City of London. Our first stop, the Library, reminded me of one of the film versions of 1984, so apparently its iconic powerhouse design impressed the film maker. I also thought of the film version of Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead with Gary Cooper astride the huge tool-like structure, looking down on we mere mortals. In London the guide compared this small square mile area to Wall Street, a power base to the UK. It is fascinating to contrast old and new as we pass St. Paul's Cathedral, with the huge high rise buildings surrounding the old building. The story about the Cathedral's survival is familiar, but still interesting. I remember seeing an old movie travelogue about postwar Britain, and the sight of the entire area around the Cathedral being nothing more than bricks and rubble.
Crossing theThames, we passed through the Tate Modern (Ian MacKellan in Richard III was filmed there) and took a brisk walk down the South Bank. The narrow alley-like street looks like something from Shakespeare in Love: dark, wet, anicient; but with coffee shops and fast food places mixed in with the sights.
And there is always the river. We look and the fact that this was always the most important part of this sea way town; where goods came in and out, where men went to sea, and where immigrants arrived all the time -- this city is all about the immigrants, really; the Vikings, the Normans, the Irish, the European and Russian refugees, the Asians and subcontinent newer arrivals. Coming up the river, this is what they first saw, the river, the docks, the bridges, and now the high rises.

Patricia Alonzo; Lecture 1-18-10

The purpose of today’s lecture was to give a little bit of history and basic information about the United Kingdom. Formally known as The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland it consists of Scotland, Wales, England, and North Ireland. The lecturer, professor Bob Craig, went through the history of the United Kingdom as a whole and each country separately.

Twelve to fourteen thousand years ago Great Britain was actually not and Island but a part of Europe. Today Scotland, with about 10% of the population and 33% of the landmass, is almost completely independent. England, which makes up the highest population of the United Kingdom, is known for warm beer, standing in line, the monarchy, and living it the past. Wales, which has two languages; Welsh and English, is split in two; North Wales and South Wales. North Ireland the only country not on the island of Great Britain has two clashing religious views, Catholic and Protestant.

I think it was very interesting how professor Craig did his whole lecture centered on the question of how united the United Kingdom really is. The culture differences between countries are huge, and something that always made me wonder how the United Kingdom makes it work. The fact that the majority of British people feel more connected to their own individual countries, Scotland, Wales, England, and North Ireland, instead of the United Kingdom should be a very concerning subject for government.

I liked this lecture because as a criminal justice and political science major I am very interested in government and history. I was able to relate the situation of the United Kingdom and its countries to federal government and state government in America. For example the federal government did not take any action when California approved medical marijuana. It would be interesting to see what the United Kingdom would do if one of the countries approved something that the United Kingdom has not.

Blog Invitation

Dear London Semester Students,

I've invited you to join this blog because it's part of the requirements for our London Life and Culture course, CLA 305. I'll pass out more information about the class tomorrow and also take any questions you may have.

I hope everyone had a good weekend!

-Dr. Hultgren

Test

This is a test of the blog for CLA 305 during London Semester 2010.