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Category: Arts and social sciences
Looking back on three years of Brexit
It’s three years since Brexit so we asked professor of foreign policy and international relations Jamie Gaskarth to look back to see what has been achieved. Before Brexit, Britain was in a uniquely favourable position in global terms. Its closest ally, the United States, was the most powerful military actor in the world. Britain was […]
Ukraine: why supply of US and German tanks echoes cold war
Dr David Grummitt is an Open University staff tutor in history and a military historian. Here he talks about Germany’s latest decision to allow its Leopard 2 tanks to be exported to Ukraine and what it could mean. The decision that Germany and the US will allow the export of M1 Abrams and Leopard 2 […]
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Remarkable ancient find of an extinct language goes on public display
A 2,500-year-old stone slab found in Italy and inscribed in the ancient, extinct Etruscan language is now on show to the public for the first time. But you’ll have to venture to the Fondazione Luigi Rovati museum in Milan to see The Vicchio Stele, as it is called, which was discovered in 2015 by a […]
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“Can’t talk. It’s not safe, I’m driving”
New research led by the OU aims to improve road safety by challenging the perception that hands-free phone use by drivers is ‘safe’. Latest government figures show that by the close of 2021, 20 people were killed and 616 injured in collisions in Great Britain where mobile phone use was recorded as a contributory factor. […]
Sexual misconduct in the UK Parliament – research shows pathway to change
A first-of-its-kind research book shines a light on the experiences of women who have been affected by sexual misconduct while working in the UK Parliament. The research looks at what could be done to create the conditions for change and gives voice to many whistle-blowers and survivors of sexual harassment who bravely shared their stories. […]
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Ways that can help you stop feeling blue about finances in 2023
Jonquil Lowe is a senior lecturer in economics at the OU and specialises in personal finance. Here she provides some New Year tips for those likely to struggle in 2023 and for others who could ease their load. Stats show over a third of UK households, that’s 10.8 million, are struggling or in serious difficulties […]
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The clitoris – a brief history
Helen King is an Open University Emerita Professor of classical studies – here she explores the history of the clitoris and shows just how much wasn’t known about it and how far science has come to understand it. “What’s the difference between a bar and clitoris? Most men have no trouble finding a bar.” […]
China’s increasing economic ties with the Gulf states are reducing the west’s sway in the Middle East
Dr Emilie Rutledge is an economist at The Open University who has held research and consulting positions in the Middle East for 12 years. Here she talks about the increasingly close relationship between China and the Gulf states. At the end of November 2022, UK prime minister Rishi Sunak announced that the “golden era” between […]
Today’s winter wonderlands have roots in Jacobean and Georgian frost fairs
Dr Clare Taylor is a senior lecturer in art history at the OU – here she gives an insight into the origins of winter wonderlands and tells us how they became so popular. Skating rinks, funfairs and booths serving hot food and drink spring up across many cities in December. But these festivities aren’t a […]
Read more about Today’s winter wonderlands have roots in Jacobean and Georgian frost fairs
Sunak’s first major foreign policy speech “worryingly divorced from reality”, says OU academic
An OU academic has criticised the Prime Minister’s foreign policy speech at London’s Guildhall delivered recently. Professor Jamie Gaskarth, Professor of foreign policy and international relations, says there was no mention of the economic crisis the UK is facing; no recognition that the aid budget has been gutted and that proposed increases in defence will […]
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