Covid-19

​Lindsey Stewart is a Visiting Fellow in the School of English and Creative Writing at the OU. In this blog, Lindsey reflects on John Edgar Wideman’s short story Fever from 1989 which explores the 'colliding effects of a virulent illness, racism and environmental degradation'

Young people are likely to bear much of the economic fall-out from COVID-19. Senior Lecturer in Personal Finances, Rajiv Prabhakar, argues that Child Trust Funds are the ideal avenue in which to channel emergency payments

In the second of two blogs written for the annual History of Books and Reading seminar series, ​Francesca Benatti, Research Fellow in Digital Humanities in the department of English and Creative Writing at The Open University, shares her love for Italian literature

'Italian classics became a way to remind myself that, whatever my circumstances, a part of me would always remain Italian.' Francesca Benatti is a Research Fellow in Digital Humanities in the department of English and Creative Writing at The Open University

Sarah Bowers, an Associate Lecturer in Creative Writing at The Open University, introduces us to Emily St. John Mandel’s Station Eleven and draws comparisons between the current pandemic and the unexpected, optimistic outcome of the novel despite its dystopian themes

Sally Blackburn-Daniels, a Postdoctoral Research Associate in English, shares details of the comfort she found during lockdown through re-reading much-loved texts. She particularly highlights the strength she harnessed from inspiring author Vernon Lee

Professor Suman Gupta, Chair in Literature and Cultural History, shares insights into the organic journey that led to the creation of a new book. With first-hand accounts of the pandemic as it unfolded, it explores the social and the political through the lens of the outbreak.

Umut Erel, Professor of Sociology at The Open University, chaired a webinar this week which explored the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the 'Politics of Social Reproduction, Migration and the Hostile Environment'. You can now watch it back in full here.

Research by Senior Lecturer in Finance, Rajiv Prabhakar, has been cited in a new report commissioned by the Welsh Government during the pandemic. "An assessment of the feasibility of a local income tax to replace council tax in Wales" was written by Jennie Bunt.

Dr Rajiv Prabhakar is a Senior Lecturer in Personal Finance at the OU. Following his recent reading of the novel Looking Backward 2000-1887, Rajiv explores the novel's link with income and wellbeing, tying it with his own research into universal basic income