History, Culture & Writing
Explore our extraordinary range of History, Culture and Writing courses and lectures. We offer both introductory and specialist in-depth courses to suit all levels of interest and experience, from ‘How to read a film’ and World literature, to writing creative non-fiction and American history and politics.
Study online from the comfort of home, with interactive classes that allow you to participate in discussions with fellow adult students. We offer daytime, evening and weekend courses, both short and long. For more information, please see our guide to online learning.
Our tutors are experts in their fields and experienced educators; many have published, teach in universities or share their expertise in the media. Tutors share their knowledge and passion through presentations, readings, interactive discussion and exercises, analysis, and other activities.
Many students return to take more courses, telling us they enjoy being part of our City Lit Learning community.
Our popular courses often sell out quickly, so we invite you to browse and book your place online now.
- City Lit gift vouchers - the perfect gift
Looking for that perfect present? Treat someone to the gift of learning with a course at City Lit. Available from £10, our gift vouchers can be used to book a place on any of our courses, from London walks and food tasting to museum visits, poetry and much more. Simply purchase your voucher and the recipient can choose from thousands of courses, at a time which suits them.From £10.00 - Literature tasterCourse start date: Sat 18 Sep 2021 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Online
Do you want to find out how to go about understanding a poem or how to do a close reading of a work of fiction? Come and join us to discover what makes a literature class at City Lit so special.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £10.00 Senior fee £10.00 Concession £6.00 - History tasterCourse start date: Sat 18 Sep 2021
Location on this date: Online
What is history? What does history mean to you? Is history important to society? Why or why not? Who gets to decide what and whose history is important? What are the implications of this? There are many reasons and ways to engage with history. With this course, we scratch the surface of the vast universe that is history to give you a taster.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £10.00 Senior fee £10.00 Concession £10.00 - Ways into screenwriting: a tasterCourse start date: Sat 18 Sep 2021
Location on this date: Online
Want to write scripts but don't know how to start? Discover the basics of screenwriting - character, conflict and more - on a course that's designed to help you shape your ideas and get your story going.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £69.00 Concession £28.00 - Writing fictionCourse start date: Mon 20 Sep 2021 (and 3 other dates)
Location on this date: Online (other locations are available)
Lovers of fiction can develop their creative writing skills on this practical intermediate course. You'll explore the fundamentals of fiction writing craft such as character and structure, and unlock your imagination to produce compelling prose. Suitable for those with some creative writing experience.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £209.00 Senior fee £209.00 Concession £84.00 - Phenomenology: an introductionCourse start date: Mon 20 Sep 2021
Location on this date: Online
Phenomenology, one of the most influential approaches in contemporary philosophy, asks: how do we constitute experienced reality? Following Husserl and Heidegger, phenomenologists try to understand what it means, if anything, to be in the world.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £239.00 Senior fee £191.00 Concession £146.00 - The Stalin Regime: 1928-1941Course start date: Mon 20 Sep 2021
Location on this date: Online
This is an introduction to the history of the Stalin regime in the Soviet Union between 1928 and 1941. Students will learn about key events during the Stalin years and how historians approach them.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £129.00 Senior fee £129.00 Concession £57.00 - US history for beginnersCourse start date: Mon 20 Sep 2021
Location on this date: Online
This course offers a brief examination of, and introduction to, the political, economic, social and cultural aspects of the United States, 1608 - 2001.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £79.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £35.00 - Chinese history for beginnersCourse start date: Mon 20 Sep 2021
Location on this date: Online
A beginners' course in Chinese history - looking at China's social, political and cultural history, alongside major events of Chinese history.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £89.00 Senior fee £71.00 Concession £39.00 - Advanced fiction writing workshopCourse start date: Mon 20 Sep 2021 (and 3 other dates)
Location on this date: Online (other locations are available)
For experienced writers, this supportive but rigorous workshop offers the perfect opportunity to develop your novel or short story. Receive in-depth feedback and benefit from detailed group discussions on the art of fiction.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £219.00 Senior fee £219.00 Concession £88.00 - New Hollywood, New WaveCourse start date: Mon 20 Sep 2021 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Online
The film world was breathless with excitement by 1963 but Hollywood had fallen behind the rest of the world and everyone was going to the latest French or Italian films. Exactly four years later Time magazine’s cover story was “The New Hollywood.” How this happened, how Hollywood suddenly went from losing millions on bloated spectacles like Cleopatra to producing smart, talked-about pictures like The Graduate, Badlands and Bonnie and Clyde — how Old Hollywood became the New Hollywood — is the subject of this course.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £239.00 Senior fee £191.00 Concession £146.00 - Key texts of 19th & 20th century drama: Ibsen, Wilde, Williams and StoppardCourse start date: Mon 20 Sep 2021
Location on this date: Online
This course will explore the concerns,styles and influences of 4 key dramatic texts from the late 19th and 20th centuries and how they reflect the times in which they were written. Texts studied include Hedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen, The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde, A Streetcar named Desire by Tennessee Williams and Travesties by Tom Stoppard.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £219.00 Senior fee £175.00 Concession £134.00 - Reading for writers: queer fiction (a fortnightly course)Course start date: Mon 20 Sep 2021
Location on this date: Online
Explore the scope of human experience through the lens of LGBT+ writers, and learn from them the fundamentals of writing compelling fiction. This fortnightly intermediate course combines reading and analysis of key queer texts with practical writing exercises. Suitable for all those with some creative writing experience and an interest in queer perspectives in fiction.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £129.00 Senior fee £129.00 Concession £52.00 - Reading for children's writersCourse start date: Mon 20 Sep 2021
Location on this date: Online
Explore recently published successful books for children, mainly by UK authors, and produce your own writing inspired by them. The course will cover pictures books, middle grade and young adult.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £179.00 Senior fee £179.00 Concession £72.00 - Exploring Medieval Literature: The Canterbury TalesCourse start date: Mon 20 Sep 2021
Location on this date: Online
Pilgrimage, religion, social mores and foibles, exuberant women, and a drunk miller with a penchant for bashing down doors with his head! Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales are excellent examples of Middle English writing. The range of characters, diverse plotlines, energy and playfulness all offer a fine insight into 14th Century England. It’s medieval England’s most famous work; this is because Chaucer’s multi-layered writing style is varied, subtle, and brilliant.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £89.00 Senior fee £89.00 Concession £54.00
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