The Open University

From Ayurveda to biomedicine: understanding the human body

20 November 2017

What is a human body? This may seem a facetious question, but the answer will be very different according to which medical tradition you consult. Take Ayurveda, a traditional system of medical knowledge from India which has enjoyed a renaissance of popularity in the West since the 1980s – and is the subject of a […]

Online cheating: new resource to support those affected

6 November 2017

In the light and shade of today’s internet, there are some who blame the world wide web for creating more relationship problems and increasing online cheating. Whilst there is currently no clear research evidence to suggest that internet infidelity is on the rise, the rapid growth of the internet and social networking means there are […]

Catalonia declares independence – and Spain enters uncharted territory

30 October 2017

Shortly after Catalonia’s parliament in Barcelona voted to declare independence from Spain on October 27, the senate in Madrid voted to trigger Article 155 of the Spanish constitution, removing Catalonia’s autonomy. In his speech to the senate requesting that deputies approve the proposal, the Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy justified his request in the face […]

Brexit, academic freedom and where the law stands on universities being quizzed about what they teach

26 October 2017

It started with a letter. A seemingly simple request for information, sent by the Conservative MP Chris Heaton-Harris to university vice-chancellors. But you don’t even have to read between the lines before alarm bells start to ring, because in the letter, Heaton-Harris requests access to university course documents as well as the names of professors […]

Explainer: what you need to know about Catalonia

9 October 2017

Expert in Spanish Politics, Dr Georgina Blakeley, who is Director of Teaching (Politics) at The Open University, explains the background to Catalonia’s calls for independence, which in recent weeks have rarely been out of the headlines, as a referendum and rallies showed the turmoil of a divided nation. About Catalonia Catalonia is a region in the […]

Top 9 tips for saving for your pension

15 September 2017

Pensions are always the hot topic among learners on the OU’s hugely popular free OpenLearn and FutureLearn courses, Managing My Money and Managing My Investments. They are also core in our seminal undergraduate course, DB123 You and Your Money, that aims to raise students’ own financial capability. Research by senior lecturer in economics and personal […]

Brutality of British immigration detention system laid bare

5 September 2017

An exposé of an immigration removal centre has uncovered shocking levels of violence and abuse directed at detainees awaiting potential deportation from the UK. While some staff at the Brook House centre for men near Gatwick Airport, run by the company G4S, tried to control the “chaos”, others were clearly seen mocking and assaulting detainees. […]

Milton Keynes is bidding to be 2023 Capital of Culture – it should be taken seriously

1 September 2017

The British city of Milton Keynes is probably not the most obvious contender for the title of 2023 European Capital of Culture. It hasn’t exactly got a reputation for being a cultural hot spot: jokes about the blandness of Milton Keynes are entrenched in the popular imagination. In his travel notes, popular writer Bill Bryson’s […]

How vanishing debt costs helped the UK forget about a never-ending deficit

1 September 2017

When the UK government found £1 billion for Northern Ireland to secure Democratic Unionist parliamentary support, critics accused it of turning to the same “magic money tree” it had previously mocked others for believing in. But it may just be that the tree is flourishing in plain sight. UK national debt is currently issued at […]

An ‘epiphany’ for philosophy academic at the OU

23 August 2017

An academic from the OU has been awarded funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council to explore the impact of “epiphanies” on individuals and societies. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Professor of Philosophy, Sophie Grace Chappell, has been awarded a Leverhulme Trust Major Research Fellowship (MRF) of £142,000 to research epiphanies and author […]

OU News

Category: Society and politics