This page contains links to some extracts from some of the materials used in The Arts Past and Present. They give a flavour of some of the subjects covered in the course and give you a sense of the type of language and analysis used in university study.
Use the extracts to see if you feel that the course is suited to you, and if you are ready for university study. You don’t need to work through every detail – just get a feel for the ideas and language.
If you’ve registered for the course – these extracts will give you a head start!
Cleopatra According to the Romans, from Book 1 Chapter 1, ‘Cleopatra’, by Trevor Fear
The Language of Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus, from Book 1 Chapter 2, ‘Christopher Marlowe, Doctor Faustus’ by Anita Pacheco.
There’s material which is closely adapted from the AA100 Doctor Faustus chapter on the OU’s OpenLearn website. Working through this material in conjunction with the set text would be ideal preparation for Book 1. There’s also useful material on the Radio 3 production of Doctor Faustus, a copy of which you’ll receive as CDs as part of the course material, on the OU-BBC website.
Figures and the picture plane in painting, from Book 1 Chapter 3, ‘Cézanne’, by Charles Harrison.
Find out if there are any Cézanne paintings at a location you could visit. View as PDF; view as an RTF file.
See below for video clips from The Diva DVD.
To get an idea of how the various elements of the course fit together, see the course outline.
Course structure and materials, Section 1.3 of the Course Companion. This explains how the various parts of the course fit together.
Assessment and Tuition, Section 1.5 of the Course Companion. This explains the role of assessment in the course - what you have to do, why and when.
Pacing Yourself, Section 2.2 of the Course Companion. This includes some activities to help you plan your work at the start of the course.
The OpenLearn website has material from a wide range of OU courses. You can find material from AA100 on Christopher Marlowe’s play Doctor Faustus, which is also part of Book 1.
There’s associated material on the Radio 3 production of the play at open2.net. You’ll receive an audio DVD of the whole play as part of the AA100 course materials.
To view extracts of course videos, visit the university’s iTunesU and OU podcast sites, where you can find materials on Divas, Irish Traditions and Roman Mosaics.
To access The Open University on iTunes U you will need to have the iTunes software installed. If iTunes is not installed on your computer, download iTunes, which is available for both Macintosh and Windows. Simply follow the appropriate install instructions and then return to this page. Or you can access the videos from the OU Podcasts site using your web browser. Go to the OU Podcasts site and search for AA100.
