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.
Filters
- Looking at contemporary art
Course start date: Wed 29 Jan 2025 (and 1 other date)Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Francesca CavalloExplore and discuss contemporary art on show in London. Each week we’ll visit 1-2 commercial galleries or a public gallery and examine specific exhibitions of contemporary art across a range of media including painting, works on paper, photography, new media and sculpture.Full fee £199.00 Senior fee £159.00 Concession £129.00 - Borderlines of madness in 19th century fiction Course start date: Fri 31 Jan 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Sarah WiseWe will explore various themes related to insanity and altered states of consciousness by examining a number of 19th-century works of fiction. Novelists and poets often had the greatest insights into the workings of the mind, and many Victorian psychiatrists cited works of fiction in their case studies. Among the authors we will analyse are Charlotte Bronte, Edgar Allan Poe, Wilkie Collins, Gogol, Herman Melville and Charlotte Perkins Gilman. - Between Greece and Rome: Etruscan artCourse start date: Fri 28 Feb 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Simone ChisenaExplore the figurative world of the elusive Etruscan civilization - from lavish painted tombs to enigmatic terracotta urns and majestic bronze sculptures.
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 £103.00 Concession £84.00 - Contemporary art in London Course start date: Fri 2 May 2025
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Chantal CondronExplore and discuss contemporary art on show in London. Each week we’ll visit 1-2 commercial galleries or a public gallery and examine specific exhibitions of contemporary art across a range of media including painting, works on paper, photography, new media and sculpture. - Art in medieval Italy: the Kingdom of Lombardy and its impactCourse start date: Fri 2 May 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Simone ChisenaDiscover the rich artistic heritage of the first Kings of Italy, the tenacious warriors who first rule the country.
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 £103.00 Concession £84.00 - The mirror of nature: art and culture in the 17th century Course start date: Fri 9 May 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Leslie PrimoThe 17th century produced some of the greatest artists of all time: Rubens, Rembrandt, Velazquez and Bernini to name but a few. Explore the work of these key artists and understand the history, styles and ideas that shaped the century.Full fee £169.00 Senior fee £135.00 Concession £110.00 - Art in Britain since 2000: where are we now?Course start date: Fri 9 May 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Chantal CondronDiscover how exciting, new UK-based artists use both experimental and traditional approaches to art to address issues of identity, history and personal experience.Full fee £129.00 Senior fee £103.00 Concession £84.00 - Ways of reading: aspects of narrative theoryCourse start date: Fri 16 May 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Jenny StevensWhat do we mean by ‘literary fiction’? What expectations do we bring to the novels we read? Do we really ‘escape’ when we enter fictional worlds? These are just some of the questions addressed in a course which focuses on the analysis of prose fiction. Reading texts as short as one-sentence ‘flash fiction’ to complete short stories, it engages with writing from a wide range of periods and authors, paying close attention to narrative techniques and their effects.Full fee £199.00 Senior fee £159.00 Concession £129.00 - Origins of the Italian Renaissance: the PrimitiviCourse start date: Fri 6 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Simone ChisenaDiscover the history, politics and intellectualism that fuelled the Italian Renaissance. Explore the art of Giotto and his peers from a new perspective.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £169.00 Senior fee £135.00 Concession £110.00 - National Gallery Course start date: Thu 9 Jan 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Leslie PrimoDiscuss a differently themed group of paintings each week in front of the pictures. An opportunity to understand our national collection in greater depth.Full fee £279.00 Senior fee £223.00 Concession £181.00 - 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. - A brief history of printmaking Course start date: Fri 10 Jan 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Sarah JaffrayDiscover the complexity of printmaking through this introduction to its history. Explore the cultural contexts, social ideas and artistic methods that make printmaking distinct to other forms of art.Full fee £129.00 Senior fee £103.00 Concession £84.00 - Latin American literary classicsCourse start date: Fri 17 Jan 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Richard NilandFrom Mexico to Patagonia, Latin America has produced some of the most spellbinding literature of the modern age. From dictatorship and death to national identity and the natural world, join us as we investigate the cultural heritage of the continent through some of its best writers.Full fee £199.00 Senior fee £159.00 Concession £129.00 - London's quartiers Course start date: Fri 17 Jan 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Sue JacksonThrough 1 lecture and 7 guided walks, explore some of London’s quartiers – Soho, Mayfair, Covent Garden, Spitalfields, Clerkenwell, St James and Bloomsbury and understand how their very distinct characters were formed. The first session will be delivered via Zoom and other sessions will be guided walks.
London guide: Sue Jackson. - Women in art collections: a history of artists and sitters Course start date: Fri 17 Jan 2025
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Julie BarlowThis gallery-based course will focus upon the artistic output of women over the past 500 years, covering a range of British and European painters, sculptors, textile designers, photographers and ceramicists. The course will also explore woman as subject matter, the role of the model and our current awareness of the “male gaze”.Full fee £279.00 Senior fee £223.00 Concession £181.00
Can't see a course you want?
Add this category to your waiting list to set up alerts and we will update you when new courses are released online.
Add me to waiting list