UE Advanced Studies 1 : Civilisation

The BBC and Public Service Broadcasting 1922-1995

Résumé : In an increasingly diverse and competitive media landscape, the BBC remains one of the most trusted and recognized media brands within and beyond the UK, and a model of public service broadcasting. True to its longstanding commitment to “inform, educate and entertain”, the BBC as an institution has had to respond and adapt to the political, social and cultural changes which have radically transformed the UK over the last one hundred years. It is therefore not only a fascinating object of study in itself but also a lens through which multiple aspects of British history may be approached.Using the framework of the agrégation programme 2021/2022 as a starting point, this course will start with a broad overview of the institution’s history before focusing on a number of distinct themes and case studies. Students will be encouraged to critically assess the notion of public service broadcasting and the extent to which the BBC has shaped contemporary Britain.

Recommended

Crisell, Andrew, An Introductory History of British Broadcasting (London: Routledge, 2002). Available at the BU Fenouillères.

Mills, Tom, The BBC: Myth of a Public Service (London: Verso, 2016). Available as an E-book through the BU Fenouillères.

“The BBC and Public Service Broadcasting in the Twentieth Century”, Revue Française de Civilisation Britannique, XXVI-1 2021. Open access:

https://journals.openedition.org/rfcb/6976

The BBC website: https://www.bbc.com/historyofthebbc/

Additional

Elstein, David, The Political Structure of UK Broadcasting 1949-1999 (Lüneburg: Meson Press, 2015). Available online as an open access book.

Hajkowski, Thomas, The BBC and National Identity in Britain, 1922-53 (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2010). Available as an E-book through the BU Fenouillères.

Further reading will be provided on Ametice.