I. THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING BRITISH / AMERICAN / CANADIAN. The political background. A sense of place.
II. PHYSICAL AND HUMAN GEOGRAPHY. What Britain / the USA / Canada look(s) like. Core and periphery. The north-south divide. City and market town. ‘Sunset’ and ‘sunrise’ areas. Town and country. Population. Counties, conubations and new towns. Land use. Energy and natural resources. Weather and climate.
III. VIEWS OF BRITAIN / AMERICA / CANADA. What Britain / the USA / Canada is / are like. The official view. What the government would like you to think. 'The people's view. The tourist authority view. A view of Europe and the world. Britain / the USA / Canada in/and Europe. Closer to Europe.
IV. BRITISH / AMERICAN / CANADIAN HISTORY. Invaders and visitors. Civil wars. The rise of the working class. The British Empire. The years of depression. World War I. World War II. Post-war reconstruction. The affluent society. The 'Swinging Sixties' and the seventies.
V. THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. Historical background. Economic and social conditions. Old English. Middle English. The New English period. The formation of the spoken standard. Geographical expansion of English. Europe vs the Queen’s English. To be, or not to be, it’s a tricky question. Why do people refuse to speak foreign languages?
VI. BRITISH / AMERICAN / CANADIAN INSTITUTIONS. The Legislature.. Debate and change. Parliament: in need of reform? Elections and political parties. Election fever. The greatest show on earth? A great day for the entertainment industry. The potential voters. Forming a government. The Executive. Powers of government.
VII. CRIME AND PUNISHMENT. The Judiciary. The forces of Law and Order. Statute law. Common law. People in law cases. Criminal law. A magistrates’ court. The Crown Court. A jury. Civil law. The High Court of Justice. The final court of appeal. The police. Dealing with crime. The treatment of offenders. Prisoners Only.
VIII. THE BRITISH / AMERICAN / CANADIAN PEOPLE: A SOCIAL PROFILE. The family. Family patters and structure. British American / Canadian households. The royal family: an ideal British family? Marriage, home and family: diachronical outlook. Married life. Parents. Parents and society. Working mothers. Young voices, old problems. The generation gap. Young people. Youngsters put caring before jobs success. Social class. Gender. A cosmopolitan society. A tradition of immigration. A multi-racial society. The ethnic dimension. The consumer society. The cost of living. Trends. The rich and the poor. Being on the dole. Job centres. A changing society. Charity challenge.
IX. CULTURE AND STYLE: NATIONAL SELF-EXPRESSION. Customs and habits. Cards, hundreds of cards. Writing bank: emails, postcards, formal letters, informal letters. Manners. Celebrations. Greetings. Social rules. Rights. Culture for the community. Community and the individual. The fine distinctions of speech. The culture of violence. The rural ideal. The High Street revolution. A nation of shoppers: crazy about shops. Decimal and metric. The demise of the cornershop. Retail technology. How the scanning system works. A High Street name. Street markets. Out-of-town shopping. Sunday trading. Consumer credit. Fashion in Britain / the USA / Canada. What to wear? Dress codes. Street styles. Nostalgia and modernity. Urban sub-cultures. The culture of sport. Left Behind. Lost Property Office.
X. YOUTH CULTURE: TEENAGERS. The birth of the teenager. Spending habits. Help your kids to spend wisely. Clubs. Exploited schoolchildren. Drugs.
XI. BUSINESS AND THE ECONOMY. How It All Started. Central actors. Financial institutions. The financial sector. The Workshop of the World. The Welfare State. The City of London. The Bank of England. In Uncle’s Shop. At the Pawnbroker’s. Choosing a Career. Economic Literacy. Economics: the Dismal Science. Divisions and Schools of Thought. There Is No Free Lunch. Laissez-Faire: Markets, Work, and Money. Lloyds of London. The Stock Market. The LIFFE. Wall Street. Trade and Britain’s / the USA’s / Canada’s future. Imports and exports. What does the future hold? Made in Britain / the USA / Canada? The success story. The Trojan Horse.
XII. TRANSPORT AND COMMUNICATIONS. The rise of the car. Transport revolution: problems and solutions. On the road. Driving in Britain / the USA / Canada. Public and private transport. Drive time: traffic jams - we hate them but what do we do in them? The need for infrastructure. Travelling around Britain / the USA / Canada. City profile. Travelling in London / New York / Montreal. Getting around town. The Tube. Journeys. Railways. Commuting. The Channel Tunnel. At the Wheel.
XIII. THE ENVIRONMENT. Environmental issues. Conservation and threat. Looking after the environment. Concern about the environment. The National Trust. Environment and pollution. Country and town planning.
XIV. WORKING BRITAIN / THE USA / CANADA. Business and the economy. Industry and the workforce. The industrial revolution. Industrial heritage. Wool and cotton. National production. Primary industry. Manufacturing industry. Service industry. Privatization. Decline and change. Patterns of change. High-tech industries. The high-tech revolution. Regional attitudes. Stereotypes. Privatization. Share ownership. Patterns of employment. A very special job. At work and out of work. Patterns of unemployment. Agriculture, fisheries and forestry. The economic problems. Trade unions. The TUC.
XV. THE MEDIA. The press. Newspapers in Britain / the USA / Canada. Inside a newspaper. Periodicals. Fleet Street. Radio. The future of radio. Radio stations. Television in Britain / the USA / Canada. What’s on the «box»? Television viewing in Britain / the USA / Canada. The channels. Who watches what? British / American / Canadian popular TV. Making news. BBC / CNN news Saturday edition. TV commercials. TV soaps. Battle of the soaps. Coronation Street. Eastenders. Emmerdale farm. Brookside. What the Papers Say. The Bill. Spitting Image. Jimmies. Changing TV times. ITV may dump top shows in face of viewing slump. TV watchdogs in a froth over steamy soaps. Government and the media. Privacy and self-regulation. Let’s watch a video. The video boom. Programming a video recorder.
XVI. LIVING IN BRITAIN / THE USA / CANADA. There is no place like home. Somewhere to live. Mortgage. Building societies. Housing. Patterns of housing. Council housing. Castles. Stately homes. New homes. Furnishing an apartment: to have and have not. Homelessness. Public attitudes. For sale. In the garden.
XVII. RELIGION. The Church: historical background. An Open Door. St.Martin’s Church in the Fields. The other Christian Churches. Other religions. Religion in a multi-ethnic society.
XVIII. A NATION'S HEALTH AND WELLBEING. The National Health Service. Health spending. How healthy are the British / the Americans / the Canadians? Life expectancy. A healthy diet. The great debate: public and private. Social security and services.
XIX. EDUCATING THE NATION. The educational system. The story of British / American / Canadian schools: the school system. State and private education. The private sector. The school day. The subjects studied in a British / American / Canadian school. Education and training choices. Politics and education. Education reforms in the 1980s. Dramatic change: the National Curriculum. Extra-curricular activities. The hidden curriculum - school discipline. Are schools too strict? Bullying. Information technology. Victorian classroom values. Careers advice. School outings. Teachers «will use health and safety law to shut crumbling schools». Sink school bubbles to the top. After sixteen. Planning study objectives. School or college? Filling the gap. Schools and the world of work. The classroom and the «real» world. Work experience. Higher education. Getting into University. Living at University. Training. Queuing to learn.
XX. LITERATURE. History and literature. The classics. Tragedy, comedy, tragicomedy, lyrics. Inventing the novel. Gothic follies. Romantic surfeit. Romantic deaths. Imagination and fiction. Women writers. From romance to realism. Epic, romance and the novel: the great saga. The stages of drama. «Art for art’s sake». Modem literature: now and in England/ the USA / Canada.Multicultural literature.
XXI. THE ARTS. History and the Arts. In the world of painting. The English portrait school. The landscape painters. The Pre-Raphaelites. Museums and art galleries. The National Gallery. The Tate Gallery. Tate Modern. The British Museum. Washington: the Smithsonian Institute/ Art and design: the old and the new. Exhibitions and exhibiting. Auctions. China and pottery. Wedgwood.
XXII. ARCHITECTURE. Church and cathedral architecture. Gothic and classical. Westminster Abbey. The Chapel of King’s College, Cambridge. Inigo Jones and Christopher Wren. The Banqueting House. The Great Fire of London. St. Paul’s Cathedral. Under the Dome. John Donne, poet and divine. Town planning: a historical outlook. Ribbon architecture. Spirit of the city. Changing buildings. An old institution in new guise: Richard Rogers’s Lloyd’s Building. The Gherkin (the Swiss Reinsurance Tower, the Swiss Re Building).
XXIII. THEATRE, FILM AND MUSIC. Elizabethan theatre. Modern theatre. Shakespeare Royal Company. Theatre in London. Drama and musical. Broadway/ The Cats. Show business. Old palaces and special performances. Music. Folk songs. Greensleeves. International influences. Top of the pops. The British / American film industry. Going to the cinema.
XXIV. HOLIDAYS, LEISURE AND SPORT. The British /American / Canadian year. Major UK / USA / Canada National Holidays. Multicultural festivals. The Notting Hill Carnival. Spare time. Killing time. Using leisure time. Popular home-based leisure activities. Reading. Hobbies: collector’s pieces. Phone fun. Playing for fun. An evening out. Night Birds. Animals: a national obsession. The British and sport. Football crazy. Keeping fit. Running for life: the running boom. Skateboard style. Mountaineering and rock climbing. Hockey playing. Other recreations: how people relax. Gambling. Holiday habits. Holiday routines. Holidays abroad. Why go abroad? Favourite holiday destinations. Overseas visitors to Britain / the USA / Canada. Hotels. Homes from home.
XXV. CUISINE: FOOD AND DRINK. Meals in Britain / the USA / Canada. Traditional British / American / Canadian food and drink. Famous brands. «English breakfast». Snacks and lunches. What I do in my lunch break. Dinner and take-aways. Fish and chips. Fast food. Time for a drink: the British pub. East meets West. Changing habits: the nutrition revolution. Healthy eating. Diet and lifestyle. City cuisine. Ready to order? Shopping at a market. Time, gentlemen, please. In the rubbish bean. Tip the staff correctly. Not for Women. Fish. Billingsgate Market. Urban myths.
