British culture today is the product of a shifting combination of tradition and experimentation, national identity and regional and ethnic diversity. These distinctive tensions are expressed in a range of cultural arenas, such as art, sport, journalism, fashion, education, and race. This Companion addresses these and other major aspects of British culture, and offers a sophisticated understanding of what it means to study and think about the diverse cultural landscapes of contemporary Britain. Each contributor looks at the language through which culture is formed and expressed, the political and institutional trends that shape culture, and at the role of culture in daily life. This interesting and informative account of modern British culture embraces controversy and debate, and never loses sight of the fact that Britain and Britishness must always be understood in relation to the increasingly international context of globalisation.

This Companion, first published in 2000, addresses the work of women playwrights in Britain throughout the twentieth century.

An introduction to medievalism offering a balance of accessibility and sophistication, with comprehensive overviews as well as detailed case studies.

An accessible introduction to the political, economic, literary, and artistic heritage of the Dutch Republic in the seventeenth century.

Leading international contributors present a lively and interdisciplinary panorama of the Italian Renaissance as it has developed in recent decades.

This Cambridge Companion offers readers a comparative cultural history of north-western Europe in the crucial period of the eleventh century: the age of William the Conqueror. Besides England, Normandy, and northern France, the volume also explores Scandinavia, the North Sea world, the insular world beyond the English Channel, and various parts of Continental Europe. This Companion features essays designed specifically for those wishing to advance their knowledge and understanding of this important period of European history using a holistic and contextual perspective, deliberately shifting the focus away from William the man and onto the rich and fascinating culture of the world in which he lived and ruled. This was not the age created by William, but the age that created him. With contributions by leading international experts, this volume provides an inclusive and innovative study companion that is both authoritative and timely.

A fascinating survey of popular culture in Europe, from Celtic punk and British TV shows to Spanish fashion and Italian sports. From One Direction and Adele to Penelope Cruz and Alexander Skarsgard, many Europeans are becoming household names in the United States. This ready-reference guide covers international pop culture spanning music, literature, movies, television and radio, the Internet, sports, video games, and fashion, from the mid-20th century through the present day. The organization of the book—with entries arranged alphabetically within thematic chapters—allows readers to quickly find the topic they are seeking. Additionally, indexing allows for cross-cultural comparisons to be made between pop culture in Europe to that of the United States. An extensive chronology and lengthy introduction provide important contextual information, such as the United States' influence on movies, music, and the Internet; the effect of censorship on Internet and social media use; and the history of pop culture over the years. Topics feature key musicians, songs, books, actors and actresses, movies and television shows, popular websites, top athletes, games, clothing fads and designers, and much more.

Modern British Playwriting: The 1980s equips readers with a fresh assessment of the theatre and principle playwrights and plays from a decade when political and economic forces were changing society dramatically. It offers a broad survey of the context and of the playwrights and companies such as Complicité and DV8 that rose to prominence at this time. Alongside this it provides a detailed examination based on fresh research of four of the most significant playwrights of the era and considers the influence they had on later work. The 1980s volume features a detailed study by four scholars of the work of four of the major playwrights who came to prominence: Howard Barker (by Sarah Goldingay), Jim Cartwright (David Lane), Sarah Daniels (Jane Milling) and Timberlake Wertenbaker (Sara Freeman). Essential for students of Theatre Studies, the series of six decadal volumes provides a critical survey and study of the theatre produced from the 1950s to 2009. Each volume features a critical analysis of the work of four key playwrights besides other theatre work from that decade, together with an extensive commentary on the period. Readers will understand the works in their contexts and be presented with fresh research material and a reassessment from the perspective of the twenty-first century. This is an authoritative and stimulating reassessment of British playwriting in the 1980s.

Seminar paper from the year 2010 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Culture and Applied Geography, grade: 1,7, University of Münster (Englisches Seminar), course: From Page to Stage, language: English, abstract: Caryl Churchill's play Top Girls, particularly its first act, centers on various women from history, fiction, art and mythology who gather in a restaurant to celebrate the promotion of Marlene, the protagonist of the play. Above all, this dinner scene is marked by a lack of understanding between the characters and the unability of each one to change into the others' perspective. The juxtaposition of the figures finally ends up in a collaps of the conversation and a monologisation of their dialogues. This lack of understanding is based on the different cultural backgrounds of each character. Everyone is part of a different society that is based on different norms and values which eliminates the possibility of a change of the character's perspective. The question, my term paper is based on, is how far feminist criticism is valid regarding the tension between culture and feminism. In this respect, it is necessary to examine the cultural backgrounds and the respective existence of a feminist's movement in the cultures of the characters. A valid feministic judgement on the characters can only be given when they are analysed in the light of their culture and afterwards opposed to each other. Therefore, the literature I took into account focuses on historical information of the characters' cultures, especially women's cultural history. Furthermore, I analysed literature on Caryl Churchill as well as women dramatists in Britain and the feministic movement. I examined how far each woman of the dinner scene can be valuated as a feminist or as having a feministic attitude and often, this feministic attitude is not a general characteristic but rather a characteristic which is connected to a certain domain of their culture. Hence, I extracted thre

The dawn of a new millennium offers an opportunity to reappraise the achievements of contemporary English-language theatre and drama in an increasingly cross-cultural age. New multicultural voices are gaining access to the international English stage, which today more than ever is becoming a crucible of cultures. The many challenging essays gathered in this volume reflect this developing mosaic. Written by prominent theatre scholars from Europe, the United States, Canada, Asia, and Australia, these contributions explore recent drama not only in the United Kingdom and the United States, but also in such countries of the former British Empire as Canada, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. Focusing on major Anglophone dramatists of the past few decades, these essays provide a fascinating survey of the myriad ways in which English-language drama in transition transcends traditional aesthetic and cultural boundaries.