News

Through presentations by academics, critics, and writers, the spring 2019 seminar series organised by the Contemporary Cultures of Writing Research Group at The Open University will seek to engage with issues of representation and modes of narration, auto/biographical production and reception, and the impact of new technologies on presentation of self and other.

Last week, The Open University and Bloomsbury Publishing delivered a sold-out Creative Writing event at FutureLearn in central London. Students and members of the public came together to enjoy a day of writing and publishing advice from authors and industry professionals.

On Thursday 15^th November a fascinating new three-part documentary series, Inside the Foreign Office begins on BBC2 at 9pm. There’s never been a more significant time to look behind the scenes. Film-maker Michael Waldman captures the extraordinary world of the men and women working in some of the most complex and sensitive jobs in government, over the last 12 months. The OU's academic consultants on the series are Dr William Brown and Dr Edward Wastnidge from FASS.

The hard-hitting OU/BBC co-production, Why slavery?, continues on Sunday night at 11pm on BBC4. This series is supported by FASS academic members and is with particular relevance to FASS qualifications BA (Hons) Criminology (R21), BA (Hons) Social Sciences (R23) and MA in Crime and Justice (F75).

A film created by Dr David Scott, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, about the Grenfell Tower tragedy, has been shortlisted for the Arts and Humanities Research Council’s prestigious 2018 Research in Film Awards. The film, called ‘Grenfell Tower and Social Murder’ is shortlisted for Best Research Film of the Year.

The new OU/BBC series: The Five Billion Pound Super Sewer, started on Tuesday 17^th July, at 9pm, on BBC2. There are 3 in the series. The second is being shown on 24^th July at 9.00pm on BBC2 and then on iPlayer. The final episode will be on 31^st July at 9.00pm.

The Acting Vice-Chancellor, Professor Mary Kellett & FASS Executive Dean, Ian Fribbance continued to press the case for a more favourable funding and policy environment for part-time HE in England. 

Dr Clare Taylor's new book The Design, Production and Reception of eighteenth-century wallpaper in Britain is published this week. It is the first academic study of eighteenth-century wallpaper.

On Saturday 9^th June, OU students and other members of the public attended a buzzing event at Drumsheugh Gardens, Edinburgh where they had the opportunity to meet world renowned authors; Jenny Colgan, Fiona Mozley and William Sutcliffe, as well as literary agent Lucy Juckes and Alysoun Owen, the editor of the Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook and the Children’s Writers’& Artists’ Yearbook.

Dr Sara Haslam’s commentary piece, ‘No More Parades End: Ford Madox Ford’s last library and what it tells us about the “Tietjens saga”’, was published in the Times Literary Supplement (TLS) on 8 June.