British History?
I am looking for some recommendations on good books on the history of the British Isles. Been cursing our rather simplified course book "An Illustrated History of Britain" by David McDowall for weeks now. It felt like I learned so much more just by reading those Dorothy Dunnett Lymond-books a few weeks ago. And worst of all, I had that book as a text book in grade 10-12 in school! I can't believe that they use it at the university level. There MUST be other tolerably basic books that would work well for un-educated foreign students of English? It really shows up the terrible decline of History education in Swedish schools. Some of us older students got a bit more, but the young ones that left grammar school/high school/A-level (equivalent term for having studied for 12 years?) really lack some basic knowledge about other countries history, heck, they lack a LOT of knowledge about our own country's history. Swedes get a very broad education at school, but oh boy is there much that we do not learn. Too many subjects and too shallow studies... I don't know. They keep changing the structure of the last three school years too. We are up for another change in just 2 years, and they re-did the structure last time just the year after I began. I think they should go back to the old style, more fact and less feeling.
It shows up when you are at the university level. Especially now that I have been away from it for awhile and am back again. Many of my fellow students are five years younger, and the change really shows there. So they have to be much more basic in their first year syllable here at the univ. But that slows it up, and how on earth do they suppose us to be up to date and have learnt as much as we should in just 2 years? Hm. Swedish Education Policy. Love it. NOT.
So, one needs to do a lot on one's own if one wants to go on with post-grad studies, and especially if one wants to leave the country and continue to study elsewhere.
Where should I start? The more I read the more I realize that I really love history. Give me some suggestions on theory and hard facts. But from the Brit-perspective. Please.
It shows up when you are at the university level. Especially now that I have been away from it for awhile and am back again. Many of my fellow students are five years younger, and the change really shows there. So they have to be much more basic in their first year syllable here at the univ. But that slows it up, and how on earth do they suppose us to be up to date and have learnt as much as we should in just 2 years? Hm. Swedish Education Policy. Love it. NOT.
So, one needs to do a lot on one's own if one wants to go on with post-grad studies, and especially if one wants to leave the country and continue to study elsewhere.
Where should I start? The more I read the more I realize that I really love history. Give me some suggestions on theory and hard facts. But from the Brit-perspective. Please.