Latest news

What's new in Arts? highlights the latest Faculty news concerning planned courses and developments with Humanities qualifications. Last updated 25 June 2008.

MARK ROTHKO SYMPOSIUM, Tate Modern, 27 September 2008

Nigel Warburton of the Philosophy Department will be one of the speakers at a panel discussion on Mark Rothko at Tate Modern on 27th September (alongside, amongst others, Christopher Rothko - Rothko's son, and also Achim Borchardt-Hume who is the curator of the exhibition). This coincides with the major exhibition of Rothko's work. Nigel will speak about the influence of Kierkegaard and Nietzsche on Rothko. See the Tate Modern website for more information about the Rothko Symposium.

GETTING READY FOR AA100 WEBSITE

If you are thinking of studying AA100 The Arts Past and Present this autumn you might like to visit our new Getting ready for AA100 website. This has some useful suggestions for things you can do before the course start and also features a short video introduction to the course.

ETHICS BITES
From Wednesday 13th February on Open2.net

Some of the most contentious moral issues of today’s society are the focus of Ethics Bites – a new series of podcasts from The Open University that features contributions from some of the most eminent commentators in the field drawn from across the world. The latest thinking on issues as diverse as climate change, euthanasia, censorship of the arts and corporate responsibility is drawn together for the series, available at www.Open2.net.

Each podcast features Nigel Warburton of the OU Philosophy Department engaging in a short dialogue with an expert on a chosen topic. In an interview with The Independent (4 March 2008) Nigel explained: "Podcasting is the perfect medium for philosophy — the whole history of philosophy is based on conversation. Ideas don't emerge in a vacuum: it is through dialogue and engagement with another's thoughts that we develop our own".

'PHILOSOPHY BITES' PODCASTS

Nigel Warburton (lecturer at the OU) and David Edmonds (OU Philosophy PhD) are putting together a collection of podcast interviews with famous philosophers. These are currently riding high on the download charts. For more information, go to Philosophy Bites.

AN EXPANDED SELECTION OF ARTS COURSE MATERIALS IS NOW FREELY AVAILABLE ONLINE

The OpenLearn website gives you access to Open University learning materials that are freely available for you to study in your own time, away from any formal teaching environment. Now you can access a variety of Arts course materials on topics such as starting to write poetry and fiction; using family photographs for historical research; the French revolution; Delacroix and Goya; Brighton Pavilion; classical Latin and Greek; the Holocaust; introductions to philosophy and concepts such as freedom and the nature of persons; the history of medicine ... The extracts range from introductory level through intermediate and advanced to masters and contain from 4 to 16 hours' of study material. You can choose to use the site as a 'guest' or create a profile to log in and communicate with other learners. Go to the OpenLearn website and explore the 'Arts and History' section of the LearningSpace.

ARTS FACULTY IN TOP 100 IN THE WORLD

The OU has been ranked as one of the top 100 institutions in the world for Arts and Humanities according to the tables in the Times Higher Education Supplement (Friday, October 27). Professor Richard Allen, Dean of Arts, said: "It's nice to be recognised in the top 100 for the interesting and creative work being done in research and teaching. For our students, who already know they're a part of a special university, this can only reinforce their belief." The OU is one of only 20 UK institutions to make it into the top 100.

SHORT COURSE GIFT VOUCHERS

A range of five Arts short courses are now available to buy as Gift Vouchers. OU short courses are designed to be engaging, interesting and accessible to everyone, regardless of whether they have studied recently or not.  The courses available are Start writing family history; Start writing fiction; Start writing poetry; Shakespeare: an Introduction and Perspectives on Leonardo Da Vinci. Gift Voucher packs can be purchased on our website at www.open.ac.uk/vouchers

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