Amy Charlesworth, Lecturer in Art History at The Open University, talks to Marissa Begonia, founder and director of the charity, Voice of Domestic Workers. Every year the organisation rescues up to 90 workers who are escaping abusive employers. 

The Open University and North Tees and Hartlepool Foundation Trust have joined forces on a pilot to establish whether Creative Writing practice could reduce stress and improve mental wellbeing in Health Care Workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

​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'

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.

Dr Kim Charnley is a Staff Tutor and Lecturer in Art History. In this blog, he introduces a new digital platform due to launch this week. ‘Beyond the Now’ will share perspectives and foster debate about the place of the arts in social justice in a post-pandemic world

In this blog, Delia da Sousa Correa, Head of Department in English and Creative Writing at The Open University, explains how the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic unexpectedly enhanced her understanding of her favourite novel, Middlemarch