Explore Culture, History & Humanities Courses
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 Creative non-fiction writing courses and American history and Politics courses.
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 now.
- Global arts of AfricaCourse start date: Tue 15 Oct 2024
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Thomas BalfeThis course introduces major forms of African art in their regional and global contexts. It studies classical traditions of carving, metal casting, architecture and textile arts as well as twentieth-century and contemporary developments, including the work of photographers and conceptual artists.Full fee £199.00 Senior fee £199.00 Concession £129.00 - Sexuality, Colonialism and Law: is there a dark side to gay rights?Course start date: Tue 22 Oct 2024
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Joshua HeppleNearly seventy countries still criminalise gay sex. Why is this? This course will attend to this question by examining the links between sexuality, colonialism and postcolonial gay rights.Full fee £199.00 Senior fee £199.00 Concession £129.00 - Human Rights Law: Are human rights universal?Course start date: Thu 24 Oct 2024
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Joshua HeppleThis course will serve as an introduction to human rights. Join to get a basic but solid understanding of human rights and how they work in practice.Full fee £199.00 Senior fee £159.00 Concession £129.00 - Full fee £169.00 Senior fee £135.00 Concession £110.00
- Beyond the headlines: From exceptionalism to the rise of the Far-Right: Contemporary Issues in French politicsCourse start date: Thu 31 Oct 2024
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Salome IetterThis course provides an introduction to key debates and developments in contemporary French politics, connecting Republicanism, the entrenchment of neoliberalism in the 1980s and the rise of the far-Right.Full fee £169.00 Senior fee £169.00 Concession £110.00 - Still life in the history of art: opulence and fragilityCourse start date: Tue 5 Nov 2024
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Elizabeth EyresStill-life paintings usually represent ordinary things, often small and arranged on an indoor surface, without human presence. Long regarded in western art as the lowliest subject or “genre”, one that only required technical skill rather than imagination, still lifes are now considered some of the most charming and best loved paintings and can contain intriguing meanings that repay close study.Full fee £169.00 Senior fee £135.00 Concession £110.00 - Art & memory: culture and politics in modern and contemporary artCourse start date: Wed 6 Nov 2024
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Mark Stuart-SmithHow have artists since 1960 engaged with the recent history and memory of political conflict? What role have artists had in remembering a difficult or traumatic past? What are the connections between memory and national identity in their work?Full fee £169.00 Senior fee £169.00 Concession £110.00 - The essentials of British politicsCourse start date: Wed 6 Nov 2024
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Ian McGarvieThis essentials course will give you the foundations of the political system in the United Kingdom, whilst also enabling you to use your newly acquired knowledge to discuss and debate current affairs matters in real time.Full fee £169.00 Senior fee £135.00 Concession £110.00 - Irish history & identity 2 : From the coming of the English invasion in 1169 to the Coronation of Henry VIII as King of Ireland in 1541.Course start date: Thu 7 Nov 2024
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Colm HickeyAlthough inextricably linked to Britain, Ireland’s history, identity, and nationhood has equally been shaped by its relationship with Europe. This course traces Ireland’s development from the coming of the English invasion in 1169 to the Coronation of Henry V111 as King of Ireland in 1541.Full fee £169.00 Senior fee £135.00 Concession £110.00 - Art in 15th-century SienaCourse start date: Wed 8 Jan 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Emma Rose BarberExplore the art, society and geography of 15th century Siena, the picturesque Tuscan republic. Expand your knowledge of the Italian Renaissance beyond the borders of Florence by studying one of its worthy artistic, political and intellectual rivals. - A history of colour in European artCourse start date: Thu 9 Jan 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Andreas PetzoldColour is one of the most pervasive elements in art but one that is rarely the subject of art historical discussion. We explore the part colour played in artistic developments, technical skill and material, as well as colour theory.Full fee £169.00 Senior fee £135.00 Concession £110.00 - Art in Britain 1950-2000 – 'This is Tomorrow' (part 2)Course start date: Fri 10 Jan 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Chantal CondronDiscover the work of selected British artists whose innovative practice shaped the development of modern art in Britain from the 1950s to 2000. Explore how and why the ideas and themes behind their work continue to be relevant to today’s audiences. - Byzantine journey: medieval pilgrimage and artCourse start date: Mon 13 Jan 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Helen DejeanFor medieval pilgrims, visiting St Catherine’s Monastery, Sinai was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and a powerful spiritual experience. Today, although an established tourist destination, the modern encounter with the sacred arts of the famous Monastery and ‘God-Trodden Mountain’ is often curtailed by time and limited access. This course aims to explain its many treasures and biblical loca sancta in relation to medieval and modern pilgrimage.Full fee £169.00 Senior fee £135.00 Concession £110.00 - Women in art 1800-1900Course start date: Tue 14 Jan 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Elizabeth EyresDuring the 19th century female painters and sculptors gained greater prominence, although a career in art was still challenging for women artists. In this course we examine their work and how such progress was achieved. - Full fee £199.00 Senior fee £159.00 Concession £129.00
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