Contemporary American and British Literature: DeLillo, McEwan, and the Impact of 9/11 and Thatcherism
Don DeLillo and 9/11 America
Life
Born in 1936 in the New York City borough of the Bronx, Don DeLillo attended Fordham University. He soon developed an interest in experimental art, jazz, and cinema. His first novel, Americana (1971), explores issues of media and culture through the experiences of a television executive who embarks on a film project to rediscover America. End Zone and Great Jones Street deal with themes of death, celebrity, cults, and consumerism.
In the 1980s, DeLillo moved to Greece
Read MoreGlossary of Gothic Architecture and Art Terms
GOTHIC
Spire
A pointed tower, usually bulbous, conical, or pyramidal and ending in a sharp arrow. Also called a needle or arrow, it is typical of Gothic architecture (13th and 15th centuries), like the arrows of the Cathedral of Burgos by Juan de Colonia, mid-fifteenth century.
CISTERCIAN
A term applied to the architecture made for the Cistercian Order, in the transition from Romanesque to Gothic. Cistercian style monuments flourished in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. It is characterized by reacting
Read MoreA Brief History and Overview of England
A Brief History of England
Roman Invasion to Anglo-Saxon Settlement
43 AD – Roman invasion of England. The Romans introduced Latin, Christianity, laws, and built cities and roads. Cities had clean water, sewage systems, and public baths. The Romans never conquered Scotland and built a wall across the north of England called Hadrian’s Wall.
411 AD – Anglo-Saxons settled in England. They came from Germany, the Netherlands, and Denmark.
793 AD – Viking invasion. Origin of names of towns and cities:
Read MoreFueros and Liberalism in 19th Century Basque Country
Fueros and Liberalism: An Introduction
Fueros, or Charters, were privileges and customs in force based on the “Pyrenean right” transmitted orally, reflecting a horizontal organization of society unlike Roman and Germanic rights. This system originated when Theobald I of the House of Champagne came to the throne of Navarre in the 13th century. The General Charter, a compromise between Pyrenean Law and the new order, was written down by order of Theobald I in 1234, but the charter of Lower Navarre
Read MoreThe Rise of Class Society and the Enlightenment in 18th Century Europe
Section 2: Class Society
Privileged:
Nobility, clergy.
Not Privileged:
Third Estate (peasants, bourgeois, popular classes).
The Enlightenment
An intellectual movement of 18th century Europe based on:
- Reason
- Progress of humanity
- Natural rights
- Tolerance
The Enlightenment criticized the Old Regime:
- Considered the estate system an unjust society and advocated a system of social balance and legal equality.
- The privileges of some social groups (nobility and clergy) and some institutions (guilds) impeded economic
World Wars: Causes, Consequences, and Key Figures
1. Causes of World War I and Weapon Advancements
Causes:
- Franco-Prussian War: During German unification, Prussia defeated France in the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871), seizing control of Alsace-Lorraine.
- Colonial Tensions: Germany felt disadvantaged in the colonial partition compared to France and Great Britain, despite its industrial and economic progress.
- Alliance System: Powers formed alliances for protection, but no organization existed to resolve international conflicts.
- Arms Race: Technological