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Education & Development
The awarding gap at The Open University
Racial inequality is becoming widely recognised as an issue in Higher Education. But what does the awarding gap look like at The Open University and what is being done to improve outcomes for Black and Minority Ethnic students?
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History & The Arts
The American Civil Rights Movement
In this free course, The American Civil Rights Movement, you will learn about the mass movement for racial equality in the United States that reached its zenith during the 1950s and 1960s. During this turbulent period in United States history, black Americans sought to overturn deeply entrenched systems of racial segregation and discrimination. This course discusses the key events in this campaign for social justice, drawing on a wide range of primary sources. In doing so, it assesses the achievements, shortcomings and revolutionary qualities of the civil rights movement. Use of racial language and terms This course deals with topics involving racial issues. Since the societies being studied were characterised by deeply-held and widespread racist views, this course contains language that is also racist. Although these may provoke a strong personal response, we believe it is necessary to engage with such attitudes to reach a clear understanding of the past. This OpenLearn course is an adapted extract from the Open University course A113 Revolutions.
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History & The Arts
The historical and ongoing persecution of Europe’s gypsies
It’s estimated that 25% of the Roma pre-war European population perished as a result of Nazi persecution. This article explores the anti-Roma prejudice that still goes on today, and what can be done to tackle it.
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Education & Development
How do children learn the concept of race?
‘Children don’t see colour’ is a phrase we often hear when discussing race – but is this true? Mel Green explores how children conceptualise the idea of race and respond to it.
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History & The Arts
Hero and Villain: Robert Clive of the East India Company
Robert Clive, a general of the East India Company, was despised by his contemporaries – so why was a statue of him erected outside the foreign office by the Edwardians years later?
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History & The Arts
Discovering music: the blues
This free course, Discovering music: the blues, will introduce you to a musical tradition with roots in the nineteenth century but which is still relevant to making music today. You will learn about how the lyrics of blues songs reflect the social environment in which they were created, and about the musical techniques that underpin the structures of blues songs. You do not need to play an instrument, to sing or have any prior musical knowledge to be able to complete this course.
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Society, Politics & Law
W.E.B. Du Bois – A Man for All Times
Dr Anita Naoko Pilgrim explores the life of W.E.B. Du Bois and explains why his ground-breaking work on African American lives deserves attention today.
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Languages
Hearing Race: Can language use lead to racism?
A new branch of the study of language seeks to explore the links between the language we use and the racial differences we experience. Can language have a race? In this article, Mel Green explores the links between race and language.
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Science, Maths & Technology
Katherine Johnson: NASA mathematician and much-needed role model
Katherine Johnson, who in February 2020 died at the age of 101, was an amazing woman. But up until a few years ago, hardly anyone had heard of her or her achievements. Professor Monica Grady explores her amazing legacy.
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Health, Sports & Psychology
Neurodiversity: What is it and what does it look like across races?
How does a person’s ethnicity and the perspectives of different cultures affect the identification of neurological difference? Mel Green explores in this article on neurodiversity.
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Health, Sports & Psychology
Why is it so difficult for Muslim women to play sport?
The year 2020 was supposed to be the year when I got back into shape and did something for myself. I have worked for over 25 years, apart from maternity leave, and I decided I needed to make myself the priority and joined a gym. I spoke to my manager who understood, being a working mother herself, she agreed I could change my hours to get some ‘me’ time in. I had worked out a routine whereby I could attend a gym when it was quiet and still carry on my other duties, but as the saying goes 'the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry' Covid-19 hit and I was left wondering, is there any way I will ever get to ‘me’?
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History & The Arts
Art, Loot and Empire: The Benin Bronzes
How did the West African artworks known as the Benin Bronzes end up in European museums? And why does it matter?