Unit15: Life after Brexit, BoJo and Queen Elizabeth II, or Britain’s current status in the World: “Little England or Great Britain?”
Intro:
Britain is said to be at a crossroads right now. Indeed, the next few months (and years!) will be crucial for this country: in the aftermath of the Brexit vote, the UK has to renegotiate its
status in (and out of) the European Union and to overcome major challenges like a huge energy crisis and the Queen's passing. A political, constitutional crisis is looming 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
- 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: (cf EC1 + news)
Doc1b: Monarchy as an asset for Britain: opinion piece written by Alex, our language assistant, last year: "Hands off my monarchy")
doc1c: "The refreshed Great Britain Campaign" / "The Great Britain Campaign"
doc1d: David Cameron's speech at the G20 summit in St Petersburgh -->
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 and Britain after #Clownfall and Queen Elizabeth II:
- The UK and the EU:
The Economist 1, The Economist 2
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
- #Clownfall (cf DM) and the Brexit "mess":
doc3e "Boris Johnson's fraught legacy"
<------------- doc3f: "The Sword in the Stone" (an allegory?)
- The Queen's demise (cf EC1/Unit1 + Elvi dossier)
"Queen's death deepens UK's downward spiral in global arena", The Guardian (doc3g)
"How the death of the Queen could impact the Commonwealth", Insider.com
"Queen Elizabeth oversaw the end of the empire. Charles could see the end of monarchy", MSNBC (doc3h)
"Sunset or a new dawn? What the British monarchy will look like after Queen Elizabeth" Economic Times
Step4: Life after Brexit and "BoJo": Alternatives to the EU for the UK:
- The political backdrop to the Brexit talks:
What kind of Prime Minister will Britain get? (The Economist)
- The UK and the Commonwealth:
TheCommonwealth.org (Official website)
The Queen and the Commonwealth (The Official Website of the British Monarchy)
Britain and the Commonwealth (gov.uk)
- The UK and the US: the "Special relationship":
Definition (Wikipedia)
The Relationship of the US with the UK (About.com)
Translate!
Practice your vocabulary and grammar on the following articles to be translated into English... or French!
-"Nicola Sturgeon calls for May to pause Brexit negotiations", The Guardian
-"Le choc du Brexit", Francer Inter (Géopolitique)
-"Shakespeare en colère ? La crise du parti conservateur" (Géopolitique)
-"Fin de partie pour Boris Johnson ?", Francer Inter (Géopolitique)
-"Liz Truss désignée Première Ministre du Royaume-Uni" (Brief.me)
-"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)
Pick your own Brexit (Bloomberg)
-
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 ;-)!
Colle Ecricome (semaine du 3 octobre) :
Programme de révisions :
-voc+cours+site+recap Units 1/6/15
-thème grammatical du Test de révisions
Colle Ecricome (semaine du 17 octobre) :
Programme de révisions :
-voc+cours+site+ recap Units 1/15 (+ recap créé par les EC1 cette année)
-actualité
Vidéo Ecricome à télécharger et préparer
Préparez le doc en 20 min au début pour vous confronter à la contrainte du temps et voir ce que vous pouvez faire en ce début d'année.
Puis, à l'aide du cours / recap / liste de voc / petit carnet / actus, et fiche magique (méthodo), développez au maximum en étant vigilant à ne pas reproduire les erreurs de la fiche des erreurs.
Ne rédigez pas vos notes in extenso.