Look more closely at the countries/regions you may be studying and say whether the author's claims are, in fact, true. Supply facts to support your view.
LISTENING 1
Richard Gott on the legacy of the British Empire http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KvR0pTZvGQ&index=4&list=PL6D312E28AF131F80
VOCABULARY
Slaughter — to kill (people or animals) in a cruel or violent way, typically in large numbers Indigenous — native
Conscript (army) (adj) — enrolled compulsorily, drafted
To put down — to use force to stop a protest or an attempt by people to take power away from a government or leader
Subject (peoples) (adj) — being under the power or sovereignty of a ruler, government Proselytize — to induce someone to convert to one's faith
Straitjacket — something that limits someone's freedom to do something
PRE-VIEWING
Before watching the video suggest the Russian equivalents for the words above. What do you expect the speaker's position on the legacy of the British Empire to be?
VIEWING
While watching the video put down the names of the former British colonies the speaker mentions. In what context does he mention them?
Unit I. UK: from Empire to Democracy
POST VIEWING QUESTIONS
1. What, in Richard Gott's opinion, should the British Empire be blamed for?
Unit I. UK: from Empire to Democracy
2. In what ways was the British Empire violent?
3. What facts and statistics does Richard Gott support his arguments with?
Speak Up
DISCUSSION
Compare Richard Gott's and Niall Ferguson's (the Lead-in texts) views on the legacy of the British Empire. Is either of them unbiased? Which of them, in your opinion, makes a more compelling case?
READING 1
PRE-READING QUESTIONS
1. How would you define a democracy?
2. What are the types of democratic government in the modern world?
3. What are the main features of Britain's democracy?
4. Based on the title, do you expect the article to focus on the strengths or deficiencies of Britain's democracy?
Skim the text to decide whether you guessed correctly.
HOW GOOD A DEMOCRACY IS BRITAIN?
Professor Stein Ringen University of Oxford February 2007
The answer to this question is: not very good! Of course Britain is a democracy and a solid one, but there are many solid democracies and in this family British democracy is of only mediocre quality.
In my book What Democracy Is For I rank twenty-five of the most respected democracies in the world according to their quality on a scale from 8 (high quality) to 0 (low quality). In that ranking, Britain is on level 3. The best quality of democracy is found in some of the smaller countries with political cultures of egalitarianism, such as in Scandinavia (Norway and Sweden are on level 8 and Iceland on level 7). In Europe, Italy ranks the lowest, on level 0, and France and Germany are on level 3 and 4 respectively. The two great model democracies, those of the British Westminster model and of the United States with its pioneering democratic constitution are both in the bottom range of the ranking.
