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Category: Arts and social sciences

Five books to help if you are dealing with death and bereavement

Five books to help if you are dealing with death and bereavement

CONTENT WARNING: This article contains references to death, bereavement and loss Dr Bethan Michael-Fox is a Staff Tutor in English Literature at The Open University and co-host of The Death Studies Podcast. She researches cultural representations of death, dying and loss. In advance of National Grief Awareness Week [2-8 December] Bethan gives her book recommendations […]

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Filling the shoes of the Archbishop of Canterbury – how his replacement will be found

Filling the shoes of the Archbishop of Canterbury – how his replacement will be found

Following the Archbishop of Canterbury’s resignation John Wolffe, Professor of Religious History at The Open University, sheds some light on the process of choosing Justin Welby’s replacement – the  106th since Saint Augustine was first appointed by the Pope in 597CE. When was the last surprise resignation of this office? Until the 20th century Archbishops […]

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How the gender pay gap evolves into a gender pension gap

How the gender pay gap evolves into a gender pension gap

Dr Rajiv Prabhakar is a Senior Lecturer in Personal Finance at The Open University and here he talks about not just the gender pay gap but the gender pensions gap too. Following his research on the subject, undertaken in the House of Commons Library, he noticed how the two were directly related. European Equal Pay […]

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Maria smiling and facing the camera with the ocean in the background.

‘OU study is the best decision you’ll ever make,’ says proud graduate Maria

When English Literature and Creative Writing graduate Maria, 32, realised that attending a brick university wasn’t the right fit, she thought her dreams of becoming a writer were behind her. Spurred on by her mum, Maria discovered supported distance learning at The Open University and never looked back. Now celebrating the degree she always yearned […]

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A more varied diet would help the world’s economy as well as its health

A more varied diet would help the world’s economy as well as its health

More than 75% of the food consumed in the world today comes from just 12 plant and five animal species, says Professor of Environment and Development at The Open University Shonil Bhagwat, and Emmanuel Junior Zuza from the Royal Agricultural University. The over-dependence on this small selection, which includes rice, maize and wheat, damages the […]

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Photo of a young woman in a flamboyant costume, preparing to dance on stage.

‘OU courses are so flexible – I studied from the middle of the ocean!’

When Charlotte, 28, from Aberdeen was looking to embark on a degree to unlock future career options, she searched for a solution that would fit around her work as a professional dancer. Now a proud BSc (Hons) Open Degree graduate with The Open University (OU), Charlotte has already taken the next step with her studies […]

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Reeves’ predicted fiscal caution is actually the start of a more radical strategy

Reeves’ predicted fiscal caution is actually the start of a more radical strategy

Alan Shipman is an Open University Senior Lecturer in Economics, with a macroeconomic accounting focus. Here he points out how challenging it will be for the Chancellor to produce a Budget that will please two different camps in her own party… but it’s all part of a bigger plan. Rachel Reeves is seeking to re-embed […]

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The Queen’s death provoked revealing study about crowd behaviour and ‘Britishness’

The Queen’s death provoked revealing study about crowd behaviour and ‘Britishness’

Research on the public mourning after the Queen’s death offers new insights on how groups or crowds of people with a shared identity – in this case ‘Britishness’ – navigate periods of change and uncertainty. Psychologists from multiple universities across the UK including Keele University and The Open University probed how those who queued to […]

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pound on graph

Tax system could be reformed to increase revenue says OU academic expert in advance of the Budget

The Chancellor has made it plain that we can expect to receive tax increases in the Budget but what will they be? Jonquil Lowe, Senior Lecturer in Economics and Personal Finance, speculates on where we can expect the squeeze and says tax reform may be a driver. We have been primed to expect tax increases […]

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Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Japanese atomic bomb survivors’ group for its efforts to free the world of nuclear weapons

Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Japanese atomic bomb survivors’ group for its efforts to free the world of nuclear weapons

Open University academic Dr Luc-Andre Brunet, a Senior Lecturer in Contemporary International History and Eirini Karamouzi, Senior Lecturer in Contemporary History from the University of Sheffield tell us more about Nobel-Prize-winning Nihon Hidankyo. The 2024 Nobel peace prize has been awarded to Nihon Hidankyo, a Japanese grassroots organisation created by survivors of the two US […]

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