XIV Международный конкурс научно-исследовательских и творческих работ учащихся
Старт в науке
Культура английского языка
Автор работы награжден дипломом победителя II степени
Полная версия работы доступна во вкладке "Файлы работы" в формате PDF
Introduction
From an early age I was passionate about foreign languages, because the knowledge I could learn about was enormous. It helped me in the simplest and most common activities such as playing mobile and computer games, chatting, watching movies, and even read instructions for some things. I am sure that every word, every speech turn, and every grammar subtleties will be helpful and useful in my entire education process and life and on lives of surrounding me people. This is why I really want to apply my skills and experience during research.
The history of the UK is absolutely deep, diversified and unique. Over the centuries it has been enriching and improving. And nowadays, due to globalization process it becomes available to everyone. As for me, the history of the whole world is generally interesting and talking about the one of the most important elements of it is really entertaining. Understanding and accepting cultural aspects of another country is also significant, because acceptance engender tolerance and in some cases - positive influence on both sides and their contact. This is why I`m going to talk about it today.
Objective of this project in acquaintance with new information about foreign country’s culture that can be useful for general education and self-development.
Tasks of this project are:
Investigate necessary literature that will vastly view the topic.
Consider characteristic differences and congenialities between the culture of Great Britain in 19th century and culture of Russia.
Make listeners more knowledgeable regarding the Great Power culture.
Object of this project is British culture.
Subject is cultural aspects of English and Russian relations during Nikolai II reign and their influence on the societies.
I have chosen this topic because the material of it might be quite relevant for people who are interested in raising their own erudition. Also, the information in this project can help students consolidate knowledge about history from the course of the school curriculum. Moreover topic of English-Russian relations mostly doesn’t appear during learning about Victorian age, because most of the time is devoted to the events of the First Great War and the Entente and Triple Alliance. And the material presented in this project in English can be used as a material for tasks on listening to the text and further work on it and tests.
Investigate methods are:
Research and processing of information from various sources.
Comparison, generalization, synthesis.
In the theoretical part, we will address to different sources and authors in order to compare opinions and views on the cultural characteristics of Britain in the Victorian era and highlight a comprehensive conclusion.
In the practical part we are planning to make a lesson plan and conduct it the class, as well as make a generalizing test.
Chapter 1
Industrial revolution in England
The 19th Century lasted from 1801 to 1900 according to the Gregorian calendar. It was characterized by protectionism, industrialization, urbanization and the flowering of colonialism, on the one hand by unprecedented advances in culture and the arts, as well as in technology and science.
The industrial revolution is a set of technical, technological, social, institutional and other changes associated with the replacement of manual labor by machines.
The Industrial Revolution began in Great Britain in the mid-18th century and was sparked by important technical inventions and innovations, primarily in textile production. Among the factors that favored the industrial revolution in Great Britain were: developed commodity-money relations; abolition of feudal orders as a result of the English Revolution of the 17th century, coming to power of the bourgeoisie and gentry, availability of a reserve labor force and reserves of necessary raw materials, exploitation of colonies, a powerful merchant navy. [1]
The Industrial Revolution influenced the entire subsequent development of mankind. It resulted in the transition from handicraft and manufactory production to factory production, which entailed profound socio-economic, political and cultural changes (the beginning of the era of industrial capitalism, weakening of the position of land aristocracy, replacement of estates by civil society, strengthening of the influence of the large and middle bourgeoisie, changes in forms of labor relations, the numerical growth of the proletariat and the development of the labor movement and other changes). [2]
The technological, financial and military advantages that the industrial revolution brought to the European states and to the United States, as well as the urgent need for new markets, sources of raw materials and areas of capital, stimulated the transition to a policy of active colonial and territorial expansion in order to divide the world, which in turn caused bloody military conflicts. At the same time, within these powers themselves, the contradictions between the classes born of the industrial revolution - the bourgeoisie and the proletariat - were steadily growing.
To summarize the points about the Industrial Revolution in England itself, the following can be said that:
Britain in the 19th century was the most developed power. The second industrial revolution (the introduction of electricity in industry and European life, and the decisive role of scientific research and heavy industry) was completed by the end of the 19th century.
1.2 Industrial revolution in Russia
The industrial revolution in Russia, which began in the mid-19th century, was an integral part of the world-historical process in the course of which there were irreversible qualitative shifts in the industrial and socio-economic sphere.
Since the beginning of the imperial period the elite has been caught in a contradictory situation. The ideology of the orthodox empire, on the one hand, and the technological retardation, on the other, require constant modernization of the army, economy, state system, etc. And this process inevitably erodes traditional society, leading to the erosion of its deep cultural foundations.
Modernization of the army requires new technologies, which in turn implies changes in the economy and the education system. Processes are beginning to take place in society that is beyond the control of the government. The government seeks to disconnect technology from culture. They try to localize Europeanization in a thin layer of educated society, shielding the vast mass of patriarchal peasantry from unnecessary influences. However, since culture spreads into all spheres of social life, this policy is doomed to failure in the long run. Patriarchal society cannot fit smoothly into the industrial age and seeks salvation in utopian projects.
K. Marx viewed the first two decades after the fall of serfdom in Russia as a watershed era in which the country's tendency "to become a capitalist nation on the model of the nations of Western Europe" became increasingly complete and irreversible. The wide range of materials used by Marx allowed him to conclude that Russia, using the experience of the capitalist West, had shortened "the long incubation period of the development of machine production" [9]
The process of sociopolitical transformation of Russian society, which had begun, could no longer be stopped. No reaction could turn Russia back to its former position. Since that time in the country began to develop various forms of social and cultural life, systematic, consistent development of new branches of Russian science, including pedagogy and psychology.
1.3 English literature in XIX
Culture is the most important component of social life. As any historical phenomenon, it reflects those changes that occur in society at a certain time - in social relations, ideological views, aesthetic ideas, moral concepts. At the same time, culture preserves national traditions, and most fully reflects the national character and national consciousness of the people.
In English literature of the 19th century, as in other national literatures of this century, two trends are struggling: romanticism and realism. The beginning of Romanticism in England is associated with 1798, when W. Wordsworth and S. Coleridge published their book of poems "Lyrical Ballads". The decline of this trend, however, is widely gets disputed. Some people think that romanticism was brought to an end by Byron's death in 1824, while others link this phenomenon to the work of W. Hazlitt, W. Landor and T. Carlyle, and this is the middle of the century. Romanticism as a method was most clearly evident in poetry, while in prose there were invariably features of Romanticism as well as those of realism. [Appendix 1]
In the second half of the 19th century the first mass revolutionary workers' movement (the so-called Chartist movement) gained momentum in England. The movement was based on the document "Charter", which outlined the main demands of the working class: the abolition of lordism, the struggle for workers' and women's suffrage, the struggle for the abolition of the property census and for higher wages. The movement gave rise to a specific literature that was closely linked with late 18th and early 19th century working-class folklore. This literature also absorbed the romantic rebellion of Byron and Shelley.
The most striking phenomenon in Chartist literature was poetry. Representatives were Ernest Charles Jones, William James Linton and Gerald Massey. The Chartist poets called for rebellion, they were confident in the rightness of their cause and believed that the freedom of the people was in the hands of the people themselves. They believed that the future of England would be built by people with honest hearts. The titles of the works are very eloquent: "Hurrah!", "Freedom March", "Our Warning", "Hymn for the Disenfranchised", "Spirit of Freedom", "Red Banner", etc. [4] [5]
In English literature of the 19th century the greatest representative of science fiction was the writer H. G. Wells, the author of the novels «The Time Machine», «The Invisible Man», «The War of the Worlds» and many others. Over time, science fiction in his works gave way to social issues, as the writer saw how unfairly arranged the British society and what dangers are brought to mankind by the consequences of technological progress, especially in the production of weapons and military equipment.
English realism was more sentimental and moralistic than French realism. Its founder was Charles Dickens. Beginning with the humorous «Notes of the Pickwick Club» , the following year he published «The Adventures of Oliver Twist», written under the impression of the inhumane Poor Law. Dickens' works are a true encyclopedia of life in British society in the 1830s and 1850s.
W. Tekkeray had created a great example of the satirical novel, the most striking of which is the "novel without a hero" «Vanity Fair», which mocked the miserable values of bourgeois society.
To summarize, we can say that the events taking place in the country at that time had a significant impact on the themes and trends in literature and poetry. The collapse of the old economic, political and social system spurred artists to write on topical themes, such as: the hard life of factory and mine workers, the drastic change in the lifestyle of all walks of life, the postwar days, the collapse of traditions by globalization, and so on.
1.4 Russian literature in XIX century
Russia in the 19th century made a truly giant leap in its cultural development. The 19th century is rightly called the "golden age" of Russian culture, which took a prominent place in the global culture.
Russia created a new politics, diplomacy, army, industry, art. The 19th century saw a new rise of Russian national culture. Outstanding discoveries and inventions were made, works of literature, painting, sculpture, architecture, music and theater were created, which became the heritage of all mankind.
A major event in the socio-political life of the country was the Decembrists' uprising, whose ideas, struggles, even failure and death had a great influence on the philosophical and cultural life of Russian society.
The 19th century was the most favorable and productive for artistic culture, which experienced an unprecedented rise and flowering and became classical. The main directions of Russian art were sentimentalism, romanticism and realism.
1.5 Similarities and differences in the literature of nations. Their influence on each other.
Cultural relations between Russia and Great Britain have a rich and long history. The period of intensification and enhancement of ties dates back to the 18th century. Before that period there had been visits to Russia by individual merchants and travelers, who left us with a certain image of the old Russian state, and they also created a particular image of Russia in Europe and, in particular, in England in the early Modern Age.
In Russia there was considerable interest in English literature and art, as well as in the English in general. It is known that in Russian noble salons in the 19th century communication was predominantly in French, but for the upper classes of the aristocracy English was considered more prestigious. In the 20th century English is becoming the most popular foreign language in Russia, as well as in the rest of the world.
The differences were made up of variations of people's lifestyles, their quality of life, their traditional foundations, and the history of the nation. For English Romanticism, as well as for this movement as a whole, the most outstanding feature is the appeal to the human personality, his inner world, his experiences. In this connection at this time appeared the genre of the novel-confession, in which the authors poured out their souls, immersed the reader in their own painful experiences. [12]
The conceptual core of Russian Romanticism was the patriotic upsurge in the country after the victory over Napoleon I, which differed it, for example, from English Romanticism, which was more a reaction to the results of the French Revolution.
Chapter II Practical work
During the practical work we gave students a short introduction and a test according to the topic «English literature of the 19th century».
We prepared didactic material on the topic and an opening speech introducing the theme.
During the development of the test we took into account: the progress of studying the topic at school, the depth of the material available in the student handbooks, and the average knowledge of the participants.
In the test appear themes of literary movements, their representatives, the essence of problems in XIX, like poverty, hard labor, widening gaps between classes, shifting societal interests.
Were included the themes of cultural eras, in particular the Victorian era, specific to England of XIX. Also introduced the problematic of the works of that era, what events were of concern to writers, poets, and ordinary people.
The test was successfully completed, and the results were accordingly satisfactory.
In the course of the work an introduction to the topic was provided, a test was done and a conversation was held. It became clear that English culture in XIX century certainly has interesting features, which influenced the attitudes of many other writings of foreign powers in its time. It was possible because almost the whole world was experiencing fundamental changes in different spheres of society and economy, respectively, the same problems were worrying people.
Conclusion
In all the above, we can say that the students are generally well acquainted with the topic of culture. In the course of our work, we managed to expand the knowledge of test participants, to widen their knowledge of the culture of England, which was the main goal of our project.
The tasks of our project were also successfully completed, in particular the study of proper literature, comparing the literary features of England and Russia in the XIX century, their commonalities and differences, and widening the students' outlook on the subject.
It was discovered that the culture of XIX century England was and still is greatly important for the culture of the whole world, because at that time the concept of "gray morality" was firstly used, where there was no main protagonist. The problems of class inequalities and the problem of environmental pollution, new for that time, which has become terribly relevant today, were also actively discussed and raised.
Literature
Erofeev N.A. The Industrial Revolution in England. М., 1963.
V.S. Koshelev, I.V. Orzechovsky, V.I. Sinitsa / The World History of Modern Times XIX - Early XX century, 1998.
Historian D. Bovykin.
Osmolovskiy Maxim
Osmolovska Irina Yurievna
I.A.Efron
Paul Norbury. UK. ACT, 2011
S.Horev
S.E. Smirnova
Chubaryan Alexander Ohanovich (https://history.jes.su/s207987840001323-4-1/)
English Romanticism (http://koi.tspu.ru/koi_books/skripnik/page6.htm)
The appendix
App.1 Three main currents (generations) can be distinguished in English Romanticism:
«Lake School poets» - W. Wordsworth, S. Coleridge, R. Southey
«Revolutionary Romantics» - J.H.Byron, P.B.Shelley, J.Keats
"The London Romantics» - Ch. Lamb, W. Hazlitt, Lee Hunt
App.2
App.3 Test «England in XIX»
1. What trends in literature existed and were actively brought up in England in XIX?
a) Romanticism
b) Modernism
c) Classicism
d) Realism
2. Name a movement in literature and art that seeks to truthfully portray reality in its typical features.
a) Naturalism
b) Sentimentalism
c) Realism
d) Postmodernism
3. Note the title of a Critical Realism period novel with the subtitle «novel without a hero».
a) «Jane Eyre»
b) «The Adventures of Oliver Twist»
c) «Vanity Fair»
d) «Rob Roy»
4. Mark the earliest period in the history of English literature in this row.
a) Age of Enlightenment
b) Modernist era
c) The Decadence
d) Renaissance
5. What problems of English society were expressed in the novels of English writers? Name at least two problems.