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11 tips to help you read outside your comfort zone

23 April 2016

Is your bedside table stacked with crime thrillers, romantic novels or dystopian literature? Never tend to mix your genres, safe in the knowledge that you like what you read? Perhaps you’re missing out, says the OU’s Dr Alex Hobbs, a tutor in the Faculty of Arts. Here she shares her top 10 tips for expanding […]

Occupying Turin: refugees breathe life into abandoned buildings of Olympic village

4 April 2016

Arriving at the Olympic Village in Turin, the stage for the 2006 Winter Olympics, it is easy to guess which buildings have been maintained as student houses and youth hostels, and which have been occupied by refugees. The peeling blue and grey paint is visible evidence of Olympic enthusiasm turned to detachment. Since 2013, four […]

Why New York-style rent controls would not work in London

1 April 2016

Unaffordable rents have put New York City’s fabled diversity and creativity at risk. They have forced artists, small businesses and lower-income households out of the central areas, leaving them a monocultural wasteland of bankers and businessmen. Those who stay are crammed into ever more cramped and unsanitary accommodation, while those who now commute from distant […]

Who cares about Batman v Superman? Wonder Woman finally steals the show

30 March 2016

Batman v Superman: The Dawn of Justice has received a frosty critical reception, to say the least. Despite this, I found myself coming away from the cinema filled with hope. Certainly not for either of the titular characters – who have never been less inspiring. Instead, the future finally seems bright for superwomen. Although Wonder […]

Artist and Empire: a belated revisiting of our colonial history

29 March 2016

Artist and Empire, the major exhibition showing at Tate Britain, has been well received by art critics and audiences alike. Aiming to unite art and a reckoning with Britain’s imperial past, it is a noteworthy venture – but why has it taken so long for such a show to be hosted by a major British […]

Woman opening her arms up in happiness on top of a mountain. Image credit: Thinkstock

How happiness is challenging GDP as the measure of a country’s health

21 March 2016

Denmark reclaimed its place as the happiest country in the world, according to the latest annual World Happiness Report. Switzerland, Iceland, Norway and Finland followed in quick succession at the top, while Benin, Afghanistan, Togo, Syria and Burundi languished at the bottom. The nations that top the usual measure of a country’s health – its […]

Close up of female accountant or banker making calculations. Image credit: Thinkstock

OU academics review 2016 budget statement

16 March 2016

George Osborne today delivered his eighth budget as Chancellor. We spoke to two Open University academics with different areas of expertise to get their take on the headlines… Lecturer in finance Jonquil Lowe on how the budget might impact personal finances… Lecturer in economics Alan Shipman gives an overall summary of today’s budget statement… https://youtu.be/HTRuvF9YWxw

Bombing in Ankara: who is fighting who in Turkey?

15 March 2016

Hours after Ankara was rocked by the second bomb attack in less than three weeks, killing at least 37 people and injuring 70 others, Turkish jets bombed PKK bases in the Qandil mountains deep inside the Kurdish region of Iraq. Turkish security officials told reporters that two suspects in the bombing had ties to the […]

With Michigan triumph, Sanders proves the US need not settle for the ‘inevitable’

9 March 2016

Bernie Sanders’s victory in the Michigan presidential primary has stunned America’s political establishment. He not only defied the polls, which had put him behind by as much as 20 points, but he has also “changed the race” by once again challenging Hillary Clinton’s seemingly clear path to the Democratic nomination. Only a week before, she […]

Unique course taps into the love of performing

9 March 2016

We all have a friend or relative who lives for occasions when they can wheel out their guitar or the karaoke machine. Millions more have followed the progression of our favourite acts on Saturday night talent shows. Tapping into the huge growth in participatory music-making and the success of BBC shows such as The Choir […]

OU News

Category: Arts and social sciences