This session will be hosted by the WEA and presented by visiting Open University tutor: Dr Beth Michael-Fox. Participants will also learn about the transferable and work-related skills that students of the Arts and Humanities develop, which are highly valued by employers. Death affects us all, and we each have different experiences that shape our attitudes, views and opinions when it comes to this sensitive topic. This session introduces key debates in the emerging field of Death Studies, an area of study that includes perspectives from the arts, humanities, social sciences and more. The session will explore: Why, when death has consistently been prominent in the cultural imagination, is it so often described as ‘taboo’ and ‘denied’ in broader social terms? We will explore texts ranging from news media to autobiography and literature, as well as film and television to examine ideas from different scholars about the enduring presence of death and the dead in our everyday lives.
Course aim
This session, rooted in Philosophy and Ethics, is presented by the WEA in collaboration with the Open University. Like other sessions in the series, it offers a perspective on Arts and Humanities at degree level and its relationship to employment.
Do I need any particular skills or experience?
- You will need your own personal email address so that you’re able to login to the WEA’s digital learning platform: WEA Canvas. You will need to be able to understand how to follow URL links to pages on the internet. If you want to understand more about Canvas please visit: http://bit.ly/WEAonline
- You will need to be able to follow links to join our WEA live video learning platform: WEA Zoom. If you’d like to understand more about our video learning platform, Zoom please visit: http://bit.ly/WEAonline and http://bit.ly/ZoomSpec
- This course is for a group of around 15 students studying in a live video-learning platform conference and an online digital learning environment platform from the comfort of your own home.
- This is a live lecture delivered by a subject specialist in an online webinar video learning platform. You will need to be able to access the internet on a device with speakers or earphones. There will be opportunities to take part in discussions and chats. If you’d like to know how to use Zoom please visit: http://bit.ly/ZoomSpec
- No skills or experience needed
By the end of the course I should be able to:
- Understand some of the key ideas involved in the study of History at degree level
- Understand something of the process of applying for a place on a higher education course and where to find further information about this
- Understand the range of skills that would be developed in the course of the study of Arts and Humanities at degree level
How will I be taught?
- The WEA’s digital learning platform, Canvas will be used to provide resources or to support lessons, enable assessment, provide learner feedback and for other activities for individuals away from the course. If you want to understand more about our digital learning platform please visit: http://bit.ly/WEAonline
- The WEA tutor will use a range of different teaching and learning methods and encourage you and the group to be actively involved in your learning
What kind of feedback can I expect?
- Following this session, you will have access to a range of online resources and telephone contacts that will be of use in making further enquiries about the study of the Arts and Humanities at degree level.
What else do I need to know?
- What you need: You will need an internet connection, speakers, a microphone and a webcam so that you can use our video learning platform, Zoom. If you’d like to understand more Zoom please visit: http://bit.ly/ZoomSpec
- You will need a personal email address to join the WEA’s digital learning platform, Canvas so that you can receive resources, record your progress and achievement and to work with others and share ideas. If you want to understand more about our digital learning platform please visit: http://bit.ly/WEAonline
- Nothing else is needed
Pre-course work, reading and information sources
- No pre reading or pre course work is required
What can I do next?
- Progress to another WEA course
- Progress to a course with another provider
- Become involved with the WEA in a range of voluntary work and other activities including campaigning as a WEA member
- Become involved as a volunteer for a WEA partner or another organisation
- You could progress to Higher Education courses. Follow link to the PEARL website for information http://pearl.open.ac.uk/
Download full course information sheet
