Teaching Plan of The Society and Culture of Major English–speaking Countries Course material: The Society and Culture of Major English –speaking CountriesAn IntroductionTeaching Objectives:To introduce the society and culture of major English–speaking countries : the United States ,Canada ,the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and New ZealandThe main task for the course: to help students to know the major English–speaking countries’ the general knowledge about thePhysical geographyHistoryLanguage, customs, religion and activities and social problemsPolitical systemEducationArts and literatureEconomyTeaching Methods:general introduction /brief account (of focal points/ a survey )by the teacher ; students’individual work; pair-work; group-work in 4-6 students, analysis of difficult points by the teacher;show maps ; play video or film concerning with the corresponding cultureslink with websitesTime Allotmentgeneral introduction /brief account (of focal points/ a survey )by the teacher in the first step; students read the text or extra materials to discuss the focal points in the second stepplay video o/ film or link websites to explore the more culture in the third stepThe United States of AmericaChapter 1 American BeginningFocal PointsMeaning of the being an American according to CrevecoeurTwo immigration movements to the AmericasThe religious ReformationThe forces that brought about the modern development of EuropeThe heritage of the settlement of VirginianPuritanism and the influence of Puritanism on American cultureWilliam Penn and his heritage in American cultureThe Causes and major leader of the American revolutionThe Declaration of IndependenceI.Meaning of the being an American according to CrevecoeurIn the book , Letters from an American Former, the French theology Grevecoeur , posed the American was a new man with the strange mixed blood of Europeans or their descendants. This mew man left behind him all the ancient European traditions and received new ones in the new world . In North America, all individuals of all nations ,were melted into a new race of the American . This new man acted upon new principles, entertained new ideas and formed new options.II.Two immigration movements to the AmericasThe American continents were peopled as result of two long continuing immigration movements ,the first from Asia ,and the second from Europe and Africa.III. The forces that brought about the modern development of Europe1.the d evelopment of capitalism( economic system in which a country’s trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit ,rather than by the state), the growth of capitalism produced two new classes – the bourgeois class and the working class;2.the Renaisance (the period of the revival of art and literature in the 14th ,15th and16th centuries based on classical form),which was marked by a changing outlook on life .3.the influential force was the Religious Reformationin 1517 ,Martin Luther, started to reform the Catholic Church in England ,King Henry VIII broke away from the Roman Catholic Church and set up the Church of England, These reforms reflected the rise of nationalism in Europe.IV.The heritage of the settlement of Virginianin 1619 ,the delegates elected from various communities in Virginia as the House of Burgesses met with the governor and his council members to discuss the enactment of law for the colony. This the first meeting of an elected legislature ,a reprehensive assembly. It was thought to be the early embryonic form for the future democracy of the U.S.And a Dutch ship brought over 20 Negroes into Virginia , a start had been made toward the enslavement of Africans within what was to be the American republic. These white people fought for seeking their own freedom ,meanwhile they deprived black African freedomWhat happened here produced the American early culture: self-reliance; democracy; freedom V. Puritanism and the influence of Puritanism on American cultureIn New England, these Puritans were the Protestants who followed the doctrine preached by John Calvin and they wanted to purify the Church of England. They had some different beliefs from the Catholic Church .They believed that human beings were predestined by God before they were born. Some were God's chosen people while others were damned to hell. No church or good works could save people.The sign of being God's elect was the success in his work or the prosperity in his calling. They also argued that everyone must read the Bible in order to find God's will and establish a direct contact with God. These beliefs had great impact on American culture. Puritans’ legacies have a great impact on American society and culture. They have a kind of sense of mission: they hoped to built “ a city upon hill –an ideal community ”.Americans have viewed their country as a great experiment, a worthy model for other nation a strain of often intolerant moralism. This produce American values such as individualism, hard work , respect of education .Catholic MarylandFollowing the early American culture in Virginia and New England , the pattern in the colony of Maryland was founded by Catholics. The founder was the second Lord Baltimore, he carried his father’s will ,who was converted from Church of England to Roman Catholicism, to wish to introduce a feudal system similar to the manor system in Europe to his colony. Even though he encouraged the immigration of Protestants as well as Roman Catholics ,due to the various factors in the New Land ,because the Protestants majority were capitalistic-minded people and refused to carry out the feudal plan, and because the wilderness of North America provided plenty of land while labor was scarce, the feudal experimental plan was dropped ,the colony followed acapitalist development roadVI. William Penn and his heritage in American cultureWilliam Penn was an English Quaker, the founder of Quakerism,who wanted to establish a colony for persecuted fellow religious believers. He assured religious freedom and easy terms for land in Pennsylvania to those Europeans who wished to settle in his colony. In his Holy Experiment, he encouraged the spirit of liberty and equality and carried out the policy of separation of state and church. He set no restrictions on immigration and naturalization was made easy for non-English Europeans. The idea of Melting –pot was first practiced here (p 16 ,Note 60).All this has left rich heritage to American culture: liberty and equalityThose four patterns set by the early colonial leaders were filled with meanings for the future development of the AmericanVII. The Causes of American revolution and major leadersAfter the Seven Year’s War between England and France , Britain won , the Peace of Paris was signed between them , which gave Britain title to Canada and all of North America east of the Mississippi River, This led directly to a conflict with its American colony.Stamp Act was passed ,British government charged new taxes on sugar , coffee , textiles and other imported goods; and With passage of the Stamp Act special tax stamps had to be attached to all news- papers ,pamphlets, legal documents and licensesThe Quartering Act passed, the colonies to house and feed British soldiers.major leadersGeorge Washington, Thomas Jefferson, (John Adams),Benjamin FranklinVIII. T he Declaration of IndependenceThe Declaration of Independence was mainly drafted by Thomas Jefferson and was adopted by the Congress on July 4, 1776, when the people of 13 English colonies in North America were fighting for their freedom and independence from the British colonial rule. The document declared that all men were equal and that they were entitled to have some unalienable rights such as life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It also explained the philosophy of governments: the powers of governments came from the consent of the governed and the purpose of governments was to secure the rights mentioned above. The theory of politics and the guiding principles of the American Revolution mainly came from John Locke.An Essay Concerning Human UnderstandingTwo Treatises of Government, the Letters Concerning Toleration, The Reasonableness of Christianity and Some Thoughts Concerning Education.Unit 4 the United States Political SystemFocal Points(Note: P=page, L-Par.=last paragraph , F- Par.=first paragraph )Discuss "The Patriot"Points of Discussion - American BeginningsThe Political System of the USA:The Results of the War of Independence (p 44 L-par , p52 F-paragraph )The Results of the Constitutional ConventionThe background of the making of the U.S. Constitution(p53 Par2, 54 Par1,2 )Par2, s 1,2) and the two fear in writing the Constitution((p55 par2,3,4)The three branches of the federal government and their functionThe reasons for checks and balanceThe Bill of Rights (p 58 L-Par)Political partiesOverview of the United States Political SystemThe US is the oldest continuous democracy in the world. It was established in 1789, although not all features of the system were as democratic as they are now.Key Facts•The US is a Federal system. This means that power is divided between a central/national government and the States. The national government is referred to as the Federal Government.•There are 50 States. (A complete list is here. The list of original 13 States is here.)•The Federal Government has three branches/arms:o Legislative Brancho Executive Brancho Judicial Branch•The Legislative Branch consists of:o House of Representativeso Senate•The Executive Branch consists of:o The Presidento The Cabineto The Federal Departments and Agencies•The Judicial Branch consists of:o The Supreme Courto Other Federal Courts•The partiesI. The background of the making of the U.S. Constitution and the ConstitutionAfter the war of Independence was over ,the Treaty of Paris recognized the independence of the U.S. and the former 13 British colonies became 13 states of the new nation . But the U.S. was not the one unified nation as it is today .According to the Declaration of Independence the 13 states were the united colonies ,otherwise they were not clear about :the future political system of the U.S.;the relationship between the states ;the government of the new nation.So the Article of Confederation(2)was born. Then the new nation of the United States was organized under the agreement of the Articles of Confederation with a weak national government called the Congress. Each state had its own government, made its own laws and handled itsinternal affairs. The states did not cooperate with the Congress and with each other. The Congress had no power to force any state to contribute money to the national government and the Congress could not tax any citizen either. As a result, the Articles of Confederation failed.But the congress handled the problems and needs that the individual state could not handle alone Question 1What problems would the Congress handle ?(p 21 ,p 2)Many Americans worried about the future of the new nation.Question 2What did Many Americans worried about?(p 22,p2)Thus a constitution (4)was badly neededQuestion 3 (3)What is the federal system?(p22, 2-p1)Question 4In writing the Constitution the delegates should deal with two main fears shared by most Americans , what are they?(p22-23, Ss in group of 4-6)II. The three branches of the federal government and their functionIn order to guard against the first fear of people the delegates set up a government consisting of three branches : the executive, the legislative and the judicial.(5,6,7)III. The reasons for checks and balanceChecks and balance ,this system works in many ways to keep serious mistakes from being made by one branch or another.IV. The Bill of RightsIn order to guarantee the freedom or the basic rights and privileges of citizens and further protect against tyranny , a “Bill of Rights’’(8) was added to the Constitution in 1791The Bill of RightsThe Bill of Rights consists of the first 10 amendment added to the Constitution in 1790,which guarantee freedom and individual rights and forbid interference with lives of individual by the government, such as ,it guarantees Americans’freedom of speech, of religion, of the press; to guarantee the right to assemble in public places, to protest government actions and demand change.; the right to own weapons ; neither police nor soldiers can stop ad search a person without good reason. They can not search a person’s home without legal permission from a court; the right to speedy trial if accused of a crime. There are 16 amendments to the constitution as of 1991.V. Political partiesToday ,the United State has two major political partied : democratic Party (George Walker Bush ,Obama )and Republican Partythe symbol donkey , the elephentQuestion for thoughHow the three branches supposed to check and balance each other ?Unit 5 American EconomyCauses that brought about the American industry developmentsIndustrial revolution in America _the development of American industry(give some examples) Corporation and stock shareThe roots of America’s affluenceThe success and problems of American agricultureI. Causes that brought about the American economic developmentsQuestion 1(p 33, p 1 -3)What brought about the American industry developments?II. Overview of how the American economy worksII. Industrial revolution in America _the development of American industry(give some examples)(2 ,5,6)III. Corporation (7)and stock(9)Ⅳ.The roots of America’s affluence(10,11)Hispanic AmericansThere’re three large groups of people . The largest is the white race and they are almos t all from Europe. The second is the black race and they are almost all from Africa. The third is the Hispanic race and they are almost all from Mexico and Central AmericaⅤ.The success and problems of American agriculture(p 40 p3 ; p41,p 2 p42, p2) Question for thought:Why do you think there are still so many people involving in buying and selling stock which is a risky business.（300-500 words）Unit6Religionin in United StatesDiscussion Points-：Public and Private Behavior“W ASP” cultureReligious LibertyProtestantsCatholicsThree FaithsReligious DiversityAmerican Character of ReligionOverview of American religionAmericans with different religions live together under the same law. American main-stream culture was developed from "WASP" culture and that people who settled in the 13 North American colonies that would become the United States were mostly Protestant believers. I．“WASP” cultureWASP stands for White Anglo-Saxon Protestant", is believed to be the basis of the II．Religious LibertyThe U.S. has always been a fertile ground for the growth of new religious movement. Frontier American provided plenty of room to set up a new religionBy the middle of the 18th century, many different kinds of Protestants lived in America.(1)Lutherans had come to America from Germany.( 2) The Dutch Reformed Church flourished in New York and New Jersey.(3)Presbyterians came from Scotland and (4)Huguenots from France. (5)Congregationalists, as the Puritans, dominated in Massachusetts and the neighboring colonies, known as New England. (6)Protestants lived side by side in relative harmony. The Great Awakening of the 1740s, a "revival" movement which sought to breathe new feeling and strength into religion, cut across the lines of Protestant religious groups, or denominations .**Relationship between the government and religion (p49)The Unites States would have no state-supported religion. The First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States forbade the new federal government to give special favors to any religion or to hinder the free practice, or exercise, of religion.The First Amendment insured that American government would not meddle in religious affairs or require any religious beliefs of its citizens.The government supports all religions. Religious groups do not pay taxes in the United States. The armed forces pay chaplains of all faiths.But government does not pay ministers' salaries or require any belief not even a belief in God -- as a condition of holding public office. Oaths are administered, but those who, like Quakers, object to them, can make a solemn affirmation, or declaration, instead.The truth is that for some purposes government ignores religion and for other purposes it treats all religions alike at least as far as is practical. When disputes about the relationship between government and religion arise, American courts must settle them.II.Protestants（p 6-7）Catholics in the U.S.(3,4)(Protestants covers 4 large groups : the Baptist, Methodists , Presbyterians and Episcopalian)III.Three major faiths in the U.S.(5)**Christianity : protestant ,Catholic and the Orthodox Eastern ChurchIV. Religious diversityThe U.S. has always been a fertile ground for the growth of new religious movement. Frontier American provided plenty of room to set up a new church or found a new communityAmish ; Utopias; Mormons; evangelical Protestants; Orthodox Jew ;Jewish; the Islam religion; Buddhism; HinduV.Characteristics of American religious beliefs(6)Question for thoughtWhat are some of the feature in region that are particularly American? What are some of the major differences between American religion and religion in EuropeUnit7American LiteratureOverview of American LiteratureAmerican literature has recorded the story of a quest taken different forms at different times1.Early fictionmajors writers and their masterpieces. of the post-Revolutionary period:Washington Irving and James Fennimore Cooper2.Transcendentalists(3)Ralph Waldo Emerson,The core idea of Transcendentalist(P102 F- par.)Henry David ThoreauTraditional American values(P102 par-3.)3.Power of Imagination(P103 par-2)Edgar Allen PoeNathaniel Hawthorne,Herman Melville4.New Visions and AmericaWhat was American New voice? (P103 L-par )Walt Whitman5.Reform and liberationHarriet Beecher StoweWhat intensified the political debate on slavery?6. RegionalismWilliam Dean Howells, Samuel ClemensMark Twain and his writing style, (P105 par-2)Emily Dickinson7.A new wavethe naturalists (P106 par-3)Henry JamesStephen Crane8.the ModernistsEzra Poundthe "Modem Movement" in poetry (P108 par-3)T. S. Eliot9.the "Lost Generation"What is Lost Generation(P108 L-par )F. Scott Fitzgerald, ErnestHemmingway and his writing style, (P109 par-2)William Faulkner10.the Harlem RenaissanceJohn Steinbeck11.Depression Realism and EscapismMargaret ,Mitchell, Joseph Heller12.the "Beat Generation"What is Beat Generation？(P111 par-4)Overview of the Mississipp RiverI.writers and their master works of the post-Revolutionary period . Washington Irving and James Fennimore Cooper（2，3）II.Transcendentalists(3)Ralph Waldo Emerson, (The American idea of success)Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)Ralph Waldo Emerson Ralph Waldo Emerson, whose original profession and calling was as a Unitarian( of the Christian religious sect which rejects the doctrine of the Trinity and believe that God is one person 一位论派) minister, left the ministry to pursue a career in writing and public speaking. Emerson became one of America's best known and best loved 19th century figuresHenry David Thoreau(3)III.Power of ImaginationEdgar Allen Poe,EDGAR ALLAN POE1809 - 1849‘Quoth the Raven, “Nevermore”’*This site is dedicated to the work of Edgar Allan Poe, who is considered one of the most gifted writers of American literature. Over 120 of his short-stories and poems as well as collections of his articles and criticism is available here and can be read on line and searched.Nathaniel HawthorneNathaniel Hawthorne was born on July 4, 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, to a family that had been prominent in the area since colonial times. A rich lore of family and local history provided much of the material for Hawthorne's works. When Nathaniel was four, his father died on a voyage in Surinam, Dutch Guinea, but maternal relatives recognized his literary talent and financed his education at Bowdoin College. Among his classmates were many of the important literary and political figures of the day: writer Horatio Bridge, future Senator Jonathan Ciley, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and future President Franklin Pierce. These prominent friends supplied Hawthorne with government employment in the lean times, allowing him time to bloom as an author. Like James Fenimore Cooper, Hawthorne was extremely concerned with conventionality; his first pseudonymously published short stories imitated Sir Walter Scott, as did his 1828 self-published Fanshawe. Hawthorne later formally withdrew most of this early work, discounting it as the work of inexperienced youth. From 1836 to 1844 the Boston-centered Transcendentalist movement, led by Ralph Waldo Emerson, was an important force in New England intellectual circles. The Transcendentalists believed that human existence transcended the sensory realm, and rejected formalism in favor of individual responsibility. Hawthorne's fiancé Sophia Peabody drew him into "the newness," and in 1841 Hawthorne invested $1500 in the Brook Farm Utopian Community, leaving disillusioned within a year. Hawthorne's later works show someTranscendentalist influence, including a belief in individual choice and consequence, and an emphasis on symbolism. As America's first true psychological novel,The Scarlet Letter would convey these ideals; contrasting puritan morality with passion and individualism.Herman MelvilleAmerican author, best-known for his novels of the sea and his masterpiece MOBY-DICK (1851), a whaling adventure dedicated to Nathaniel Hawthorne. "I have written a wicked book and feel as spotless as the lamb," Melville wrote to Hawthorne. The work was only recognized as a masterpiece 30 years after Melville's death. TYPEE (1846), a fictionalized travel narrative, was the author's most popular book during his lifetime."All that most maddens and torments; all that stirs up the less of things; all truth with malice in it; all that cracks the sinews and cakes the brain; all the subtle demonisms of life and thought; all evil, to crazy Ahab, were visibly personified, and made practically assailable in Moby Dick. He piled upon the whale's white hump the sum of all the general rage and hate felt by his whole race from Adam down; and then, as if chest had been a mortar, he burst his hot heart's shell upon it." (from Moby-Dick)4.New Visions and AmericaWalt Whitman5.Reform and liberation(5)( Mississippi : Landscape)(baidu )Harriet Beecher Stowe6.RiginalismWilliam Dean Howells, Samuel ClemensMark Twain and his writing style ,Emily Dickinson7.A new waveThe background that arose the New WaveHenry Jamesthe naturalistsStephen Crane8.Rebellious SpiritsSherwood Anderson (characteristic)9.the ModernistsEzra Poundthe "Modem Movement" in poetryT. S. Eliot10.the "Lost Generation"F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemmingway and his writing style, William Faulkner11.the Harlem RenaissanceJohn Steinbeck12.New DramaEugene O'Neill13.Depression Realism and EscapismMargaret ,Mitchell, Joseph Heller14.the "Beat Generation"15.black writers, and women writers。