Unit12: The Disenchanted, Dis-United Kingdom: Life after Brexit, the Queen's passing and the Tories
Intro:
Britain is going through challenging times. Indeed, the next few months (and years!) will be crucial for this country: in the aftermath of the Brexit vote, the UK still has to renegotiate its
status in (and out of) the European Union and to overcome major challenges at various levels. A political and economic crisis is looming, the Monarchy is weakening, and attention has shifted to
the possibility of a greater devolution of powers. All this bodes ill for Britain's clout around the world, doesn't it?
Survival kit:
Download this file and add whatever seems important to you!
Step1: Britishness and "Great" Britain: "Britannia rules the waves"
- Main facts about the UK and Great Britain:
a key video (the UK/ Great Britain/ The British isles...)
History Learning Site / British Political history condensed (created in 2010)
"Britishness" (BBC News)
- What makes Britain "Great":
Doc1a: Monarchy as an asset for Britain: opinion piece written by Alex, our language assistant, last year: "Hands off my monarchy")
Doc1b: "The refreshed Great Britain Campaign" / "The Great Britain Campaign"
Doc1c: David Cameron's speech at the G20 summit in St Petersburgh -->
Doc1d: "Rule Britannia" (Historic UK)
Step2: Britain at a crossroads: "Great" Britain or Little England?
- Useful links or articles to go further :
Doc2: "Great Britain or Little
England?" (The Economist)
Video 1, Video 2 (The Economist)
"Britain, the EU and the Commonwealth" (The Independent)
"All you need to know about the UK leaving the EU" (BBC News)
"Devolution in Britain: Time for a civic surge", (The Economist)
- The UK and Scotland:
"Scotland in Numbers" (BBC)/Video (The Guardian)
"L'Ecosse et l'effritement de l'indépendance" (France Inter/ parallèle avec la Catalogne notamment)
"Hard Brexit is making the case for Scottish independence" (The Guardian)
"Scotland rejects independence" (The Guardian)
Step3: "Little England": The Brexit fallout, the Dis-United Kingdom, and the impact of the Queen's passing on the Commonwealth:
- The UK and the EU:
cf Kilyan and Cyprien's oral presentation
Margaret Thatcher's 1988 Bruges speech (BBC)
David Cameron's 2013 EU speech (BBC)
Theresa May's view on Brexit (EuroNews)
Boris Johnson's view on Brexit (EuroNews)
Liz Truss' journey from 'Remainer' to Brexiteer' in her own words (EuroNews)
-
The Brexit fallout:
Brexit: all you need to know (BBC News)
The case for Brexit: Doc3a (Vote Leave)
Doc3b: "6 Brexit problems 6 years after the EU referendum"
Doc3c: Brexit and the disintegration of the UK (Brookings)
+ the Northern Ireland Protocol (BBC News)
Doc3d:
"WatchDogsLegion" and Post-Brexit London (to the left)
-
The Queen's demise (cf EC1/Unit1), its impact on the Monarchy and the UK's alternatives to the EU:
"Queen's death deepens UK's downward spiral in global arena", The Guardian (Doc3e)
The Commonwealth.org (Official website)
The Queen and the Commonwealth (The Official Website of the British Monarchy)
-The UK and the US: the "Special relationship": (Doc3f)
Definition (Wikipedia)
The Relationship of the US with the UK (About.com)
Step4: The Disenchanted Kingdom:
"Justice4Greenfell" Greenfell inquiry
-
Doc4a: Keir Starmer and the July snap election results (Aljazeera)
-
Doc4b: "Labour faces a winter of discontent"
(ITnews)
-
Doc4c: "Britain's riots put spotlight on far-right misinformation" (The Washington
Post)
The Southport stabbing and the riots
(BBC News) cf Elvi
- Doc4d: "Tommy Robinson, Nigel Farage and the evolution of Britain's far right" (Today in Focus, by on the Guardian website)
- "Why is Keir Starmer under pressure over freebies?" (The Financial Times)
Steps5 and 6: grammar time + loop the loop!
Translate!
Practice your vocabulary and grammar on the following articles to be translated into English... or French!
-"La dimension géopolitique de la disparition de la Reine" (Europe 1)
Practice!
Cartoons: (cf Elvi)
Go further:
-
General knowledge and a serious game about Brexit:
Take the British Citizenship test! (The Independent)
British culture quiz 1 / British culture quiz 2 Student quiz
-
Movies:
The Iron Lady (2011)
Years and Years (2019)
This England (2022)
Review the vocabulary list thanks to Quizlet activites created by Inès:
In the bottom right hand corner, you can switch modes and choose the game you want to "play". Have fun ;-)!