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History & The Arts
Behind The Reputation
In this interactive, you’ll uncover the real people behind the icons. Does the reality of the life of Van Gogh, Queen Elizabeth I and Charles Dickens match up with their reputation?
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Health, Sports & Psychology
The healing power of nature writing
Writing about the natural world and environment can work wonders for our wellbeing – this article explains how.
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Health, Sports & Psychology
Introducing the psychology of our relationships with fictional villains
This free course, featuring interviews with famous crime fiction authors, explores psychological theory and research on the relationships we form with fictional characters.
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Health, Sports & Psychology
Navigating Black Irish identity in the music of Phil Lynott
Lauren O’Hagan explores the music of Phil Lynott and how his lyrics helped him make sense of his dual identity as Black and Irish.
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History & The Arts
Quiz: Which Brontë sister wrote it?
Charlotte, Emily and Anne Brontë had very different writing styles but can you tell their writing apart from the other?
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Health, Sports & Psychology
Crime fiction: past, present and future – a discussion between Bill Alder and Simon Brett OBE
Crime fiction is the most popular literary genre in Europe today. Watch a discussion between The Open University’s Bill Alder and distinguished crime fiction author Simon Brett OBE on the past, present and future of crime fiction.
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Languages
Crime fiction
Explore the world of crime fiction with The Open University, a world leader in distance learning. Discover free courses, articles, video and audio resources, and interactive activities, free to study and available to start right away.
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Health, Sports & Psychology
Heroes and villains: the presentation of the outlaw in early twentieth-century American folk music
This article will consider how the figure of the outlaw is presented in early twentieth-century American folk music. What is constant, and what changes? What lies behind these strands of imitation and innovation?
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History & The Arts
World Poetry Day
21st March is World Poetry Day. Take a look at a range of powerful poems in our poetry prescription tool, view our videos and try a range of free courses.
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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!
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Health, Sports & Psychology
An introduction to European crime fiction since 1945
The popularity of crime fiction is on the rise. Bill Alder looks back and charts the history of this genre in post-1945 Europe.
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History & The Arts
How I wrote Frankenstein
In this extract from the preface to the third edition of Frankenstein, published in 1831, Mary Shelley explains how she came to write her most famous novel.