Jeanette Winterson described artists as the superconductors of society. The fruits of their labours have value beyond the surface, and reflect our lives as well as those that created them.
The biographer's perspective
Professor Jim Moore talks about the motivation for his work with Darwin - and Darwin's motivations: Darwin and me.
The Bonfire of the Vanities
One wrong turn changes Sherman McCoy’s life forever in Tom Wolfe’s The Bonfire Of the Vanities.
Hearing women's lives
You can discover real lives of classical Greece in literature, but it takes a closer reading to find the real women.
Taking to the air
How do you go about adapting a stage play for the very different medium of radio? Follow Faustus from stage to studio.
When art became science
He was a master of many arts, but his skill as a painter was his greatest gift. Discover the extraordinary paintings of Leonardo da Vinci.
Taking it further
Interested? Keen? Not sure where to go next? Why not explore our choice ways of taking it further.
Order your free prospectus
Find out more about OU courses on offer and ways to study - order your guide to courses.