Newsletter
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History & The Arts
What makes a great Christmas number one?
What will be Christmas Number One this year? Explore the musical components that make up a great festive chart-topper here...
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History & The Arts
Learning from the past with historic buildings
How can we work with our building traditions to create designs that will last?
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History & The Arts
The Life of Saint Andrew
This extract from Alban Butler's 18th Century work on the lives of the saints tells the story of Scotland's patron saint.
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History & The Arts
Getting started on ancient Greek
This free course, Getting started on ancient Greek, offers a taster of the ancient Greek world through the study of one of its most distinctive and enduring features: its language.The course approaches the language methodically, starting with the alphabet and effective ways to memorise it, before building up to complete Greek words and sentences. Along the way, you will see numerous real examples of Greek as written on objects from the ancient world.
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Nature & Environment
Literature and the Environment
Can reading encourage us to appreciate the environment and make sustainable changes to our lives?
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History & The Arts
Deconstructing the Moors: Black Presence in the United Kingdom Before and During the Tudor Period
Dr Carol J. Brown-Leonardi delves into the largely unknown history of black settlers in the UK before and during the sixteenth century in this talk and accompanying article.
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Level
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History & The Arts
A freelance career in the creative arts
A freelance career in the creative arts is a free badged course which lasts 8 weeks, with approximately 3 hours’ study time each week. You can work through the course at your own pace, so if you have more time one week, there’s nothing to stop you pushing on and completing another week’s study. This course has a specific focus on the creative arts, looking at how you can develop your ideas in the cultural industries and the particular issues related to creative freelance careers. The course is pitched at beginner level, for individuals who already have a creative idea but limited knowledge of freelancing and business. You’ll start by enhancing your understanding of what freelancing and running your own business actually means, learning from the experiences of others in your situation through case studies included throughout the course. You’ll reflect on your current position, analysing the advantages and disadvantages of choosing this career path and considering where you want to get to in the future. You’ll learn how to identify your audience and markets and develop your networks and partnerships, exploring innovative ways to promote yourself and create interest and potentially investment in your business. Finally, you will have the opportunity to identify goals and develop an action plan. Throughout the course, you’ll be encouraged to reflect on your experiences and learning through a series of short activities.
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History & The Arts
National Novel Writing Month
You know how they say everyone's got a novel in them, just waiting to be written? Well now's your chance! Join writers all over the world as they write 50k words in a month as part of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), here are our top tips and tricks to get a head start.
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History & The Arts
When Edward met Bertha: Mental Health, Colonialism, Race and Patriarchy in Jane Eyre
Bertha Mason is described as the ‘insane’ ex-wife of Mr Rochester in Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre. What does the depiction of her tell us about views of mental illness, patriarchal society and ethnicity in the Victorian era? Siobhán Halliday explores in this personal reflection on race and colonialism as prompted by the novel.
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History & The Arts
Arts pathway
Welcome to the arts OpenLearn options for YASS students.
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History & The Arts
Is Anthropology of Religion Racist?
Were early studies in anthropology structured by white supremacy and what does the anthropology of religion look like today? Dr Paul-François Tremlett explores...
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Nature & Environment
Indigenous ceremonies and climate change
How might an Indigenous artwork transform responses to Climate Change? Find out as a Totonac totem travels to COP26.