The aims of this set of two lectures (the second one will be taught in the spring term) are 1. to provide a broad introduction to the cultural history of Britain and Ireland as well as current debates and conflicts in British culture; 2. to give insight into the development of the literatures of the British Isles in conjunction with their cultural history. In two survey lectures we will cover the beginnings of British cultures to roughly the 18th century and then from the 18th century to the present. The lectures will not only provide historical and cultural facts, but will also question them from the perspectives of theories of Cultural Studies. The lectures will not view literature as a mere illustration or effect of cultural history, but see it as a complex way of responding to and often challenging it.