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The document covers baccalaureate topics in English. It's about Great Britain, USA and general topics
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Englisch ThemenGreat Britain............................................................................................................................................. 1
The British Empire.............................................................................................................................. 1
The British Monarchy ......................................................................................................................... 5
Immigration......................................................................................................................................... 6
Multicultural society ......................................................................................................................... 10
Brexit................................................................................................................................................. 11
USA........................................................................................................................................................ 13
The American Dream........................................................................................................................ 15
Civil Rights Movement..................................................................................................................... 18
Immigration....................................................................................................................................... 20
Multiculturalism................................................................................................................................ 25
Gun culture........................................................................................................................................ 29
America after 9/11 ............................................................................................................................ 33
General topics......................................................................................................................................... 35
Globalization..................................................................................................................................... 35
Social media...................................................................................................................................... 42
English as a lingua franca / Globish ................................................................................................. 42
environment ...................................................................................................................................... 44
Great Britain
comprises England, Scotland & Wales
head of state & Church (England) = the monarch
mixture of tradition & modernity
Queen Elizabeth ǿǿ: head of the United Kingdom (GB + Northern Ireland)
constitutional monarchy governed by a parliamentary system
British parliament: legislative power (makes the laws)
government: executive power (administers the laws)
Supreme Court: judiciary power (makes sure that the laws are applied correctly)
The British Empire
greatest colonial empire in history
empire= group of countries ruled over by a single monarch or ruling power
comprised (=bestand) of Britain, Äthe mother country³ & colonies, countries ruled to some
degree by & from Britain
16th century: British began to establish overseas colonies ĺ1783: large empire with
colonies in America & West Indies
ended after the American Revolution (§1783)
19th century: British built a second worldwide empire
based on British sea-power
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, made up of India & huge conquests in Africa
how big?
largest in world history, covering a quarter of world's land surface
worlds foremost & most powerful global power
encompassed (=umfasste) large areas of North America, Australia, Africa, Asia
how did such a small country come to rule so much territory?
deserved result of Britains technological & moral superiority
powerful & wealthy nation which defeated other European countries & conquered
indiginous people thanks to its army & navy
rapid technological advances in 19th century aided expansion
inventions (telegraph, railroads, steamships) advantages over local people who didn't
have access to such things
motives:
trade: desire to benefit British companies & secure trade routes
economics: desire to increase Britain's wealth
politics: urge to prevent other European countries from becoming too powerful
ambition: Raj was founded not on consent but on conquest
religion: desire to spread Christianity
adventure & curiosity: longing (=Sehnsucht) to explore/ learn about new countries &
people
changes it did bring about:
improve welfare of indigenous people
better medical care, education & transport systems
eliminate practices that they considered barbaric (suttee, cannibalism, slavery)
treated indigenous people as Ächildren³ in need of education, tried to turn them into
Englishmen
loss of their lands, culture & met with prejudice, discrimination
reasons for its break-up:
World War 1 & 2:
decline in Britain's wealth & prestige
lessened the political impact of Empire
British were more interested in rebuilding their own country than in concentrating on
far- away places
no longer feasible to run such a large empire
2
, demand for the right to self-government (Australia, New Zealand, Canada)
Great Rebellion or Indian Mutiny (India's First War of Independence)
passive resistance under Gandhi, starting 1920
demand for independence & growing sense of nationalism in some states
new challenges for the colonies:
- people felt utterly displaced & rootless
- had to tackle the problem of finding their own identity as a nation & recreating their
own values & traditions (assimilated British values)
legacy:
formation of Commonwealth most of former colonies still have links with Britain
many of them:
legal system based on British law, military
military, police, civil service system based on British models
English is still the main or secondary language
Commonwealth:
group of 53 countries (Britain, Canada, Australia, India)
all used to be part of the British Empire
they interact on an informal level
founded in 1926
after WW ǿǿ (break-up of the Empire) it served as a way to maintain ties with former
colonies or dependencies
English: common language
university exchange programmes
principles of the Commonwealth:
1971: peace, equality, fight against racism, economic & social development
1991: democracy, human rights & social justice
violation punishment, economic sanctions, expulsion, suspension
membership is voluntary
criticism:
extensive use of slavery (17th-18th century)
loss of land & culture of the native people (Aborigines in Australia)
deaths caused by famine (India 1943), violence (Kenya 1950s)
Britain regarded itself as Äruler of the waves³ ÄRule Britannia³
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, Advantages Disadvantages
Infrastructure - Britain gave its colonies Culture - British culture forced on to the
better developments to the country (better colonists original culture was banned,
roads & railways) ignored & forgotten
Language - Through the Empire, the English Economies - The colonies' economy was
language spread, allowing people to falling because most of the profit of goods
communicate using one language go back to Britain
Culture - trade system allowed people to Soldiers - colonies had to provide soldiers
come to Britain, bringing their culture with who fought & died for Britain soldiers
them, making Britain's more diverse wouldn't have had to fight and die without
Democracy - Britain brought the idea of the Empire.
democracy to its colonies & helped them to Religion - The missionaries sent with the
build their own Empire forced Christianity to the colonists,
Commonwealth - The Commonwealth stopping the practice of other religions
provided the old colonies with help & Disease - The British brought with them new
support after the Empire era diseases to the faraway colonies, killing lots
Law and Order - Empire brought their law of people as they are unused to it
system with them, improving the colonies' Theft - The Empire just took the land and
systems, even up to now resources from the colonies, leading to the
Education - Empire brought their education near-extinction of many indigenous tribes,
system with them, improving the children's such as the Aborigines
education, they built schools Slavery - African slaves were taken to
Slavery - they banned the slavery America to be sold
Health - they brought better medical care Exploitation - Natives were used as servants
Technologies & cheap workers, they took their resources
& raw materials
Superiority - British felt superior Rule
Britannia
Language - forced their language on the
colonized
Deaths - many deaths caused by famine,
violence
Discrimination - treated indigenous people as
Ächildren³ in need of education, prejudices
The British have to stop feeling bad for their Empire-history, it was not only horrible, it
also brought progress and shaped today¶s world in a positive way
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