English Art
Alex Hildebrandt, Molly Sullivan, Nicole Putnam, Heather Hansen
One of the earliest art monuments created in England was Stonehenge, a ritual landscape created in the Neolithic period. Many works of art from the Anglo-Saxon and Medieval periods can still be seen today in museums throughout England. Popular forms of art in museums and cathedrals include sculptures, mosaics, and stained glass. Elizabethan art was largely dominated by portraiture. The most famous works were miniature paintings. Art movements in the Victorian Era included Classicism, Neoclassicism, Romanticism, Impressionism, and Post-Impressionism. Modern art includes many of the classical forms of art such as paintings and sculptures, but many technological advances have added new elements to modern English art. Some of the new forms include graffiti, pop art, and videos. Banksy is one of the most notorious graffiti artists in London. He influenced English artists so much that there is a designated tunnel called Leake Street Tunnel (also known as Banksy tunnel) where artists can legally create graffiti on the walls. Pop art began in the mid-1950s, but has reentered the popular culture. Pop art features the popular elements of our daily lives. On our trip, we will see St. Paul’s Cathedral, which features classical Victorian Era style art. Also, the Westminster Retable can be seen in the Westminster Abbey today. It is the oldest altarpiece in England.
Clothing:
Hailey Jones,Janet Dapo, Lauren Miller, Diana Reed
Styles from the Anglo-Saxon, Middle-English, Renaissance, Enlightenment, Romantic Period, Victorian Age, and the Modern Period were much more formal and elegant than today’s fashion. This is partly because clothing signified one’s social class. Clothing in England today is very similar to clothing in the U.S. Generally, people in England do not dress as casual as people in America. Most people wear jeans and neutral colors; however you can also find colorful clothing. You would rarely see someone wearing sweat pants in England. Because it’s generally rainier in England, you often see heavy overcoats, rain boots and umbrellas. One fashion trend seen in today’s society is scarves. People usually wear trainers (sneakers), loafers, fashionable boots, or heels. Most children wear comfortable clothes; however to school they must wear a uniform. The women wear dress pants and blouses or nice shirts to work and the men wear business suits. For more formal events, people wear nice, elegant dress clothes and big hats. In general, clothing in England is the same as clothing in America, only a bit dressier. It seems that people keep up with the fashion trends much more in England.
Music:
Jenna, Gabbi, Seth, Megan A.
Music is an influential voice and speaks the identity of every culture. In regards to Britain the identity of culture would begin with sacred and secular music which remained most popular until the 1600’s. A musical transition occurred during the Elizabethan era which was characterized by court music, street music, town music, and theatre music. Popular musicians of this time frame would include William Byrd and John Bull. The Protestant Reformation led to a musical freedom of expression. The church no longer held sway to the musical standards. This allowed for the introduction of musical operas such as Baroque classical music. Folk music experienced a revival during this period which led to the fusion of other types of music such as electric folk, folk punk, and folk metal. In the next few decades British music closely paralleled trends heard in America such as ragtime, jazzy and swing. World War II brought on fast, frantic, and usually dance music such as “Boogie Woogie” and “Jitterbug”. In addition to fast dance music slower songs were also popular as men were leaving for war. In the 1950s Rock and Roll became the dominating genre and became even more explosive in the 1960s with the British invasion, The Beatles. The 1970s brought about Glam Rock, music characterized by Larger than life characters that wore platform boots, sequins, nail varnish, and colorful hair. Big artists of this time were David Bowie and Elton John. The end of the 1970s was defined by the punk movement featuring bands such as the Sex Pistols and The Clash. The biggest American influence in the 1980s featured Hip Hop and Rap music. Then in the 1990s Brit pop made an impact on England and the US. Currently the American voice blends with the British music scene.
Food:
Megan Foley, Adrianne Novak, Sarah McKinney, Ellie Purcell
In the early modern period, English food was historically characterized by its simplicity and reliance on high quality, natural produce. The food tended, and still does today, to veer away from strong flavors such as garlic and also avoids the use of complex sauces in contrast to US traditions. The traditional cuisine is still being used today. The typical meals include breakfast, lunch and dinner and incorporate items such as bread, cheese, roasted and stewed meats, game pies, boiled vegetables, broths and freshwater and saltwater fish. Typical British dishes include fish and chips, bangers and mash, shepard’s pie, ploughman’s lunch, full English fry-up, and a roast dinner. Tea time is a popular custom in England. This tradition began in the 1840’s begun by the seventh Duchess of Bedford, Anna Stanhope. Furthermore, this tradition continues to prevail, and is commonly held at five in the afternoon.
Desserts in London consist of mostly puddings and cakes. Pudding is the dish commonly served for dessert; the popular flavors include bread and butter pudding, spotted dick, and apple and plum crumble. Yorkshire pudding and black pudding are also very popular, but these puddings are not particularly sweet and thus they are served at the beginning of the meal or with the main course. Custard is usually served with the pudding dish. Cakes and crumpets are served at breakfast, lunch and tea times. Some of the popular flavors are lardy cake, the Victoria sponge, parkin and the English crumpet.
Sports:
Alyssa Hale, Alison Barnette, Andrea Keil, Samantha Fry
Sports play a major role in England’s national identity. Some of their most popular sports include badminton, polo, football, cricket, and rugby. Badminton and Polo both originated in Asia but the British are credited with creating standardized rules and spreading them across the world. Football, also known as soccer in the United States, is the most popular sport in England. The premier league consists of 45 teams who are highly competitive with one another. Cricket is similar to American baseball and is cherished in England because they were responsible for the creation of the game. Consisting of two teams with eleven players on each team, the matches can last from one afternoon to several days. Rugby was created in England in the 19th century and is a full contact sport that combines elements of American football and soccer. Similar to America, sports in England have a prominent place in their culture.
British Literature:
Katie Falter, Chas Baron, Mollie Majcher, Maegan Starcher
British literature has been a pop culture icon since the Old English Era in 600 with the epic poem Beowulf. From there, great authors such as Geoffrey Chaucer, William Shakespeare, Alexander Pope, Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, JRR Tolkien, and JK Rowling ascended to fame locally and globally. Today’s British society reads popular novels such as One Day, The Help, and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. You will find that Americans and English people have similar literary taste; they are not uncommon from the likes of our own. British literature relates to our trip in many ways. We will be visiting Shakespeare hometown of Stratford-Upon-Avon and seeing one of his plays, Measure for Measure, in the Swan Theatre of the Royal Shakespeare Company. We will also be visiting Jane Austen’s setting in many of her novels and film adaptations when we go to Bath, England. Lastly we will be visiting The Great Hall from the Harry Potter franchise at Christ Church College in Oxford. We are excited to visit these places and explore how British Literature of the ages is still prominent today.
Theatre:
Hannah Fairbanks, Meagan Navarre, Laura Contos, Christine Kuester
Theatre has been a rich and integral part of the history in England. It was introduced around 1585 in Europe by the Romans. Many auditoriums were constructed throughout Europe which marked the beginning of a vibrant tradition of theatre in England. Theatre thrived under the rule of Queen Elizabeth I in the late 16th and 17th centuries(Van Eck, 2010). During this time, perhaps the most significant playwright to this day, William Shakespeare, began to write over 40 plays that are still performed all over the world (Holderness, 2010). Theatre became an important part of the social culture in Britain and was used as a form of entertainment. Throughout much of history in Britain it was frowned upon to show any type of emotion in public. As theatre became more and more popular it became the only venue in which it was acceptable to laugh, cry or show emotion. For this reason Theatre has remained a strong cultural pillar to this day.
Some of the most well-known theatres in London today are the Victoria Palace Theatre, The Shakespeare Globe Theatre, The National Theatre and The London Palladium. The Victoria Palace Theatre was originally named Moy’s Music Hall in 1832. It was renamed in 1863 and became The Royal Standard Musical Hall. In 1886, it was demolished and then rebuilt and became Victoria Palace Theatre. Shakespeare’s Globe theatre was originally one of the oldest theatres, built in 1576, until it burnt down 1613. The theatre was later rebuilt and eventually torn down by the Puritans in 1644. The most recent Shakespeare Globe theatre is now one of the newest theatres in England and was built in 1996. This theatre is dedicated to the famous playwright William Shakespeare and features many of his plays to this day (Cooper, 2006). The National Theatre houses one of the two most prominent publically funded theatre companies. It usually brings in about 54 million dollars per year from its performances (Haslett, 2011). This theatre houses three separate auditoria, The Olivier, The Lyttelton Theatre and the Cottesloe Theatre. Finally, the London Palladium, which is arguably the most famous theatre in Europe, is most well-known for its Musical Variety shows. The London Palladium celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2010 and has had popular shows such as The King and I, The Sound of Music, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and the Sister Act. Overall Theatre is a huge part of England’s culture and influences much of the social life within the country.
