The Open University

Shakespeare: research blows away stereotypes and reveals teenagers actually love the Bard

24 April 2019

When you think of inner-city teenagers, what springs to mind? For many, it’s hoodies, video games – and probably hating Shakespeare. But my research proves that this stereotype is far from the truth. Shakespeare holds a contested place in the English national curriculum as the only compulsory writer to be studied between the ages of […]

Imperfect and absurd, the modern literary heroine is a woman of our times

15 March 2019

Sally O’Reilly, Lecturer in Creative Writing at The Open University discusses how the female characters in the books that we read are changing. The way women are portrayed is changing. In film, The Favourite has won numerous awards and features three women, variously wild and untameable, as joint protagonists. Other movies such as The Wife and Can You Ever Forgive Me? show older […]

Books are delightful as they are – don’t fall in the trap of competitive reading

5 March 2019

“My happiest times in childhood were spent reading the books of E. Nesbit, C.S. Lewis and Joan Aiken. Preferring to read in hidden corners where nobody could find me, I immersed myself completely in these stories and believed utterly in their magic, even attempting to enter Narnia via the portal of my grandmother’s wardrobe. As […]

50 words for 50 years

21 January 2019

As we commence a year of celebrating our 50th anniversary, we’re hooking into National Storytelling Week with a literary competition for all the wordsmiths out there. Every day for eight days (starting on Saturday 26 January) we’ll be sharing a different image prompt designed to inspire you to forge a 50-word, fictional footpath. We invited […]

Silent Night: the story of the carol that put a war on pause

20 December 2018

Dr Martin Clarke, Lecturer in Music at The Open University discusses the history of one of the most famous Christmas carols of our time – Silent Night. Few Christmas carols evoke the season of peace and goodwill as readily as Silent Night. Two popular stories contribute to its appeal: one concerning the circumstances of its […]

Bibliotherapy: how reading and writing have been healing trauma since World War I

19 November 2018

Bibliotherapy – the idea that reading can have a beneficial effect on mental health – has undergone a resurgence. There is mounting clinical evidence that reading can, for example, help people overcome loneliness and social exclusion. One scheme in Coventry allows health professionals to prescribe books to their patients from a list drawn up by […]

The hidden history of reading – new research project opens up Europe’s book habits

5 September 2018

From Gulliver’s Travels to Harry Potter, Pride and Prejudice to 1984 – what people have been reading for the past three centuries is under the microscope, with a new €1 million research project involving The Open University. Revealing Europe’s reading history 21st century digital tools – including an online database and smartphone app – are […]

Sounding Coastal Change Norfolk Coast Blakeney

An ear to the coast for World Listening Day

17 July 2018

Conservationist groups from around the UK joined together with broadcasters on Wednesday, 18th July 2018, to present the sound of the coast in a special event to mark World Listening Day. The Sounding Coastal Change research team did a 24-hour broadcast from Blakeney in North Norfolk, which included prerecorded documentary and music, live discussion and microphones […]

Unique music course brings students together in harmony

23 April 2018

Students ranging in age from 22 to 72 came together for a week of music making as part of a unique course offered by Trinity Laban Conservatoire and The Open University. Open University students on the course were set to complete their Arts and Humanities degree by attending the residential finish of the module. The […]

“You can achieve if you put your mind to it” – how Gareth studied while travelling the world

21 March 2018

At the age of 19, Gareth Hand from Derbyshire was working as a teaching assistant in a secondary school. His dream of becoming a Music teacher meant he needed a degree, but with a mortgage to pay and a very busy musical life performing as a percussionist all over the world from Dubai to Singapore, […]

OU News

Category: Arts