The OpenLearn website gives free access to learning materials from The Open University which you can study independently at your own pace. You can work though the ‘units’ or just dip in to the bits that interest you.
This sample of study material concentrates on Acts 1 and 2 of John Webster’s Renaissance tragedy, The Duchess of Malfi. It focuses on the representation of marriage for love and the social conflicts to which it gives rise. It comprises 12 hours’ study in total. Read this online ...
This unit concentrates on Sam Selvon’s twentieth-century novel, The Lonely Londoners. It considers the depiction of migration in the text as well as Selvon’s treatment of memory as a vital part of the migrant’s experience. It comprises 10 hours’ study in total. Read this online ...
Using iTunes U (or OU podcasts) you can download Open University educational resources free. The albums feature a mix of audio materials studied on the course.
Can a play written in the seventeenth century protest against contemporary issues? Is it possible to use a Shakespearian tragedy draw attention to political injustice? Apartheid was a system of enforced legal racial segregation in South Africa that was imposed on the country's majority non white inhabitants by the minority white population. In 1988 actress and director Janet Suzman took the decision to defy the racist apartheid regime by staging Othello in Johannesburg with a mixed cast of both white and black actors. In these three films we explore the way in which one of Shakespeare’s plays was used to make provocative statements on the political situation in South Africa the late eighties.
Does the Duchess of Malfi have any resonance with modern-day audiences? Are it’s themes of politics and revenge still relevant today? Since it was originally published in the seventeenth century the play has been interpreted in a variety of ways, each different director examining the story and realising a unique translation of the work. In 2010 the Greenwich Theatre performed The Duchess of Malfi and in this collection we follow the cast and crew as they analyse the language used by John Webster, as well as exploring different ways of understanding the text and converting his words into a performance.
How did Romantic writers address questions of identity? How did their experiences influence the way they expressed themselves? The Romantic period saw a rise in creative, artistic and intellectual pursuits in eighteenth century Europe. The era placed greater emphasis on emotion and intuition as opposed to the scientific rationalisation which had gained prominence during ‘The Age of Enlightenment’. In this audio selection, a panel of experts evaluate various elements of this movement and asses themes such as authorship, the idea of self in addition to the extent to which their work was affected by its historical context.
Can a location inspire great poetry? To what extent can a person’s environment influence their art? After leaving the area as a child the Romantic poet William Wordsworth returned to the Lake District and remained there from 1799 to 1802. Surrounded by scenery he cherished Wordsworth composed some of his best poetry in Dove Cottage, but the building was also the residence of friend Thomas De Quincy whom documented his time with the Wordsworth’s as well as his own experiences in the property.
How did the fictional world James Joyce created reflect his own experiences of Dublin? Did Joyce write about a distinct Irish identity that had been ignored by many writers in the past? Sara Haslam discusses the importance of Dublin to Joyce’s writing with Emer Nolan, Senior Lecturer at the National University of Ireland, Maynooth, and Declan Kiberd, Professor of Anglo–Irish Literature and Drama in University College, Dublin.
How does a poet represent two distinctly different cultures in their work? How did James Berry interpret his experience and those of other Jamaican’s that migrated to England in the late 1940’s into his writing? James Berry was born in Jamaica in 1924, but moved to England during the wave of immigration from the West Indies led by the Empire Windrush. From a young age Berry had an interest in language, and showed an aptitude for spoken word and through writing soon realised he could explore the world from different perspectives. He became part of a new generation of post-colonial poets who drew inspiration from their country of birth in addition to British culture. This album focuses on a selection of poems from his collection titled Windrush songs.