The Open University

Lloyds of London archives show how important the City was to the transatlantic slave trade

1 December 2023

Katie Donington is a Senior Lecturer in Black, Caribbean and African History, and here she talks about how the archives owned by Lloyds of London show the City’s connection to slavery. In 1783, the City of London was gripped by a court case which symbolised the brutal economics of slavery. Two years previously, the Liverpool […]

Treasure trove for lovers of documentary film

20 November 2023

From the BBC’s Planet Earth and ITV’s Seven Up! to Netflix’s The Tinder Swindler these documentaries are a well-loved and huge part of our culture and heritage that attracts audiences in their millions. Now The Open University’s short course, A Story of Documentary Film, co-produced with the British Film Institute (BFI), takes a long look […]

Halloween Horrors: Feel the fear and watch it anyway

31 October 2023

As the nights draw in and the spooky season is here, many of us turn to scary stories on screen to indulge in a little bit of supernatural fright so we asked Dr Mark Fryers, lecturer in Film and Media at The Open University for his top spooky film recommendations. Once derided as infantile at […]

£2.72m EU research funding hopes to manage extremist views

25 September 2023

An international team of academics led by The Open University has won £2.72m research funding, (€3.16m) to help people manage the development of extremist views at home and abroad in the run up to major political events. Psychologists at the Open University are working on developing tools for the project that has been funded by […]

Locked up – but given the gift of a new future

19 September 2023

Open University history professor Rosalind Crone features in a new film commissioned by the Ministry of Justice showing how prisoners are being given new skills by training them for roles in the catering industry. “Served” is a 40-minute film available on YouTube that charts the progress of a team of prisoners from HM Prison Lincoln […]

Let the force be with you… environmentally

13 September 2023

New research from The Open University aims to promote better sustainability among makers of the film industry’s props, costume and the replica market Academics have developed a calculator tool so people in the industry can make carbon-emission comparisons about which materials and methods are the most sustainable to use Case study showed a Star Wars […]

New report: raw deal for caregivers in Gateshead needs reform

8 September 2023

A new report published by The Open University has highlighted how the weekly Carers Allowance of £76.75 is worth just 77p per hour to a carer looking after a loved one in Gateshead for up to 100 hours a week. It reveals a list of recommendations for decision makers to ensure unpaid carers are not […]

OU academic says being wrapped again in the fabric of the Horizon Project is great news but it won’t be all warm and cosy… yet

8 September 2023

Professor in Politics and International Studies Simon Usherwood welcomes the deal but says it’s definitely not the same one we had before British researchers might find it hard to play the same leading role they’re used to since their positions in developing new projects have been filled by others Experts here do not enjoy the […]

New analysis suggests Trump’s January 6th speech did “enable violence” at Capitol Hill

24 August 2023

New academic research led by The Open University and the University of St Andrews suggests Donald Trump’s January 6th speech served as a ‘warrant’ for the violence that occurred afterwards when crowds stormed the Capitol building. Psychologists in the research team, including academics from Canterbury Christ Church University and The University of Queensland in Australia, […]

Could ‘Bidenomics’ be the white knight to save UK Plc?

17 August 2023

Our economy is broken in many places and it’s not behaving the way it should but it’s not beyond repair – we need more investment, in traditional industries as well as new tech, and a British ‘Bidenomics’ could be the answer. That’s the verdict of Alan Shipman, Senior Lecturer in economics at The Open University, […]

OU News