Why is The Open University Thinking Allowed?

Creative Commons Image psd under CC-BY licence I am very excited that The Open University is again involved with BBC Radio 4’s Thinking Allowed. The series covers a wide mix of current social science investigations and thinking, and fits in remarkably well with the kinds of cutting-edge interests we have in the Social Sciences Faculty.

Though I am normally a Sunday night listener (after the Midnight news), the series broadcasts initially at 4.00 on Wednesday afternoons, and is available as a podcast.

The coming series, starting on April 6th, 2011 includes:

• Leif Jerram on the social history of The Street – which is of great interest to social scientists from a range of backgrounds, and is the opening topic in our introductory social science modules.
• Daniel Miller on the use of Facebook in Trinidad. Daniel Miller has long been interested in alternate social uses of TV programmes, and, more recently, social media.
• The Open University’s Sophie Watson, exploring the city – and how our knowledge and understanding of the city has developed.
• An exploration of Radical Gardening with researcher and activist George McKay. The importance of our relation with the land comes up in lots of ways in social science – whether through studies of the environment, geography, sociology, economics or politics.

If you are already an OU Social Sciences student, I hope that Thinking Allowed becomes something of a habit for you – a chance to have a Social Sciences lecture, and to further your student experience, in your own front room.

If you are interested in social sciences more generally, then "Welcome!" – I hope that the OU’s Thinking Allowed website provides some additional food for thought about the exciting topics Laurie Taylor and his guests explore.