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Scotland's Forth Road Bridge may not be the most beautiful bridge over the Firth of Forth, but it is an incredible feat of engineering and is integral to the economy of the entire area. However, rust is threatening to destroy the cables that suspend the road. This unit uses video to explore the issues associated with the potential demise of this great bridge.

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Have you always wanted to try to write poetry but never quite managed to start? This unit is designed to illustrate the techniques behind both the traditional forms of poetry and free verse. You will learn how you can use your own experiences to develop ideas and how to harness your imagination.

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The heritage traditions of Scotland are unique in comparison to the rest of Britain. This unit uses two case studies to demonstrate how heritage sites have helped to forge the Scottish national identity and history.

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From Catholic rebellion to Civil War, what happened during the latter years of the reign of Charles I that caused people to take up arms against their fellow citizens? This unit looks at the background of the wars between England, Scotland and Ireland and how the king’s actions led to the rift between royalists and parliamentarians.

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Childcare, education, working conditions, healthcare, crime … these issues are hotly debated in today's society. They are also issues that Robert Owen, seen by some as a visionary and by others as a knave and a charlatan, sought to address in the early 1800s. This unit uses a series of essays written by Owen to explore the ideas of this important and controversial figure.

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This unit examines Hume's reasons for being complacent in the face of death, as these are laid out in his suppressed essay of 1755, ‘Of the immortality of the soul’. More generally, they examine some of the shifts in attitude concerning death and religious belief that were taking place in Europe at the end of the eighteenth century, through examination of this and other short essays.

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In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the approach to medicine was vastly different from today. Health is now recognised, at least in most European countries, as a universal right, but what was it like in the past? How did social and political boundaries affect access to treatment, and what were the treatments of the day? This unit examines how Scottish healthcare institutions were influenced by these underlying social, economic, political and cultural contexts.

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This unit examines the role that Scots played in contributing to the developments in healthcare during the nineteenth century. The radical transformation of medicine in Europe included the admission of women as doctors and the increased numbers of specialised institutions such as asylums. Such developments were also influenced by wider social, economic, political and cultural backgrounds – these are also examined.

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Sorley Maclean (1911-1996) is regarded as one of the greatest Scottish poets of the twentieth century. This unit will introduce you to his poetry and give you an insight into the cultural, historical and political contexts that inform his work. MacLean wrote in Gaelic and the importance of the language to his work is also examined.

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How is it that a small, poor country in northern Europe became one of the most dynamic centres of Enlightenment thinking? This unit examines the cultural, intellectual and religious characteristics of Scotland in the eighteenth century that led to the emergence of such intellectual pioneers as James Hutton, Joseph Black and William Cullen, and briefly describes their key ideas and findings.

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How is your image of a place influenced and changed? Does it depend on whether you are a resident or an outsider? How do government and tourism campaigns and stories in the media affect your perception? This unit uses images of Glasgow to explore this multifaceted concept.

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This unit looks at the issues of order and disorder. Can the way these issues are represented change your view of a city? Taking Glasgow as an example, you will look at the problem of crime and how misrepresentation can easily occur.

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Why is identity important and how are identities formed? This unit looks at the many different ways in which identity can be categorised. By examining the requirements of the state, how a child views gender, and the importance of race or place of birth, you will start to understand how each individual can have more than one identity.

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What role will the ‘regions’ play in the emerging governance structures of the European Union? This unit examines the rise of the regions and regionalism in Western Europe. You will look at the possible development pathways for Europe: will it become a Federal super-state or a decentralised ‘Europe of the Regions’?

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This unit, which contains material from the current Open University second level Politics course DD203 Power, Equality and Dissent, is pitched at the intermediate level. It should take you about 8 hours to study if you attempt the recommended exercises and make summary notes of its key points. Doing so will allow you to practise the cruci

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What makes a ‘nation’ and what makes peoples strive for nationhood? This unit will provide you with an introduction to studying political ideas by looking at how people who see themselves as nations challenge the existing order to assert their right to a state of their own.