English for Lycée: David Cannadine, Class in Britain
Œuvre au programme de lecture de l'épreuve orale d'anglais, langue de complément LV1, en série littéraire, pour l'examen du baccalauréat général, sessions 2005 et 2006
"A boy from lower-middle class Birmingham..." (Daniel Snowman)
"if you want to get rid of the past you probaby ought to know a little bit more about it" (David Cannadine)
"...their great tourist attraction, the class system." (David Morgan)
Selected online resources
Review (alternative url) of Class in Britain at History Today. An informative review which describes the two main themes of Cannadine's book :
- Class
- as hierarchy: constantly-changing groups in social fabric resulting from technological change.
- as a tri-partite division of upper, middle and lower classes.
- as conflicting strata in times of economic and social strife: "the bosses and the workers" (or capital and labour).
- Social history and political context
- how politicians have endeavoured "to change people's sense of identity" in order to get their votes.
Notes on the life and career of David Cannadine from an interview published in History Today by Daniel Snowman.
David Morgan's view of CIB (David is the Australian author of the Elitist weblog).
"Cannadine barely touches on: what need in society did hierarchy serve, what purpose? Being part of a hierarchy must have made people feel somehow safe and secure, not just physically but emotionally - it seems to have given them a sense of belonging. Did it?"
Review of another related David Cannadine book The Rise and Fall of Class in Britain where we learn, unsurprisingly perhaps, that the British are "obsessed with class in the way that other nations are obsessed with food or race or sex or drugs or alcohol." This article provides useful background for teachers approaching the text in class.
Introduction to English Speaking Culture and Media is a series of powerpoint slides and Word documents which accompany Tony Luxon's lectures at the University of Lancaster in England.
Of note are the lecture notes on Social classes and Regional Identity (Great Britain: United Kingdom?)
The Individual and Society is an online A/As level Sociology unit by the Long Road Sixth Form College. The Meaning of Class and Identity provides online interactive activities geared to the understanding of social concepts such as class, gender, ethnicity, nationality and globalization. Social Class and Identity is the downloadable 15 page 'basic concepts' interactive workbook for Sixth Form and adult students which contains some interesting material and definitions.
Wikipedia entry for 'Social Class'. Theoretical notions including Marx and Weber's views plus a link to the caste entry. Indeed this is an interesting parallel: students may consider other, non-British notions of class, from the American income-based 'Old Money / New Money' dichotomy to the seemingly immutable social classification of the Indian caste system.
Social Class
as defined by the Woodlands Junior School
(Note: all English teachers abroad should visit this site!).
Classlessness is an interesting example of a derived noun and a concept in vogue in certain circles in Britain today. This article also reminds us of Margaret Thatcher's statement:
"There is no such thing as society only individuals and their families."
A, B, C1...
| Social Class | Occupation of Head of Household | |
|---|---|---|
| A | Upper middle class | Higher managerial, administrative or professional |
| B | Middle Class | Intermediate managerial, administrative or professional |
| C1 | Lower Middle Class | Supervisor or clerical and junior |
| C2 | Skilled Working Class | Skilled manual workers |
| D | Working Class | Semi-and unskilled manual workers |
| E | Those at the lowest levels of subsistence | State pensioners etc. with no other earnings |
Marx on Social Class may be useful background reading although the content is university level.
Quotes on Britishness at the (deep breath!) Polish British Council's British Studies web pages.
The British Obsession with Class - Article which first appeared in The Week June 17, 2000.
Life Below Stairs - An 'Upstairs, Downstairs' article about what life was like for servants in the Thirties. Written following the release of Robert Altman's film Gosford Park.
The British Sense of Humour Tour at BFI's screenonline is worth a visit as it succintly explains topics such as class and of course, sex, politics, race, work and more.