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.
- The Courtauld: an introduction
Course start date: Mon 12 May 2025Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Julie BarlowThe Courtauld collection includes paintings, drawings, prints, sculpture and decorative arts, ranging from the medieval period to the present day. This two-part course is an opportunity to explore an outstanding collection which includes one of the richest holdings of early Italian art in Britain alongside Impressionist and Post-Impressionist gems such as Van Gogh’s Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear. - Japanese philosophyCourse start date: Mon 12 May 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: John GoffJapanese philosophy extends well beyond Zen, with several philosophical traditions including that of the modern Kyoto School. Developing distinct cultural, aesthetic and political concepts, Japanese philosophers offer a rich field of thought. - Introduction to Latin American art Course start date: Mon 12 May 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Sarah JaffrayExplore the art of Latin America from indigenous cultures to colonisation and through the revolutions of the 20th and 21st centuries. - Poetry from the EdgeCourse start date: Mon 12 May 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Laurie SmithSome poets began their writing lives, and sometimes lived much of them, outside the 'normal' modern urban lives which most of us experience. They have lived at the margins and despite - or perhaps because of - their geographic, political or emotional isolation, they have become major poets. We will look at how each has achieved national and international success with their poetry. Poets include C P Cavafy, Stevie Smith, Derek Walcott, Seamus Heaney and Bob Dylan.Full fee £229.00 Senior fee £183.00 Concession £149.00 - How to read a film: a beginners' guide to cinema Course start date: Mon 12 May 2025 (and 2 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Paul SuttonThis course will develop your critical appreciation of the cinema by teaching you how to read and understand film texts. We will look at the elements that underpin film form – narrative, mise en scène, cinematography, editing and sound – alongside its historical development. We will consider film style by exploring classical, post-classical and art cinema and we will examine influential critical modes of analysis, such as genre, authorship and spectatorship.Full fee £169.00 Senior fee £135.00 Concession £110.00 - A Very British History of MigrationCourse start date: Mon 12 May 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Siobhan McGuirkTaking a critical historical approach, this course with Dr. McGuirk charts how migration has shaped British politics, law, culture and society – and helped transform popular ideas about what it means to be British today.Full fee £129.00 Senior fee £103.00 Concession £84.00 - A day at the V&A: an introduction to the collections Course start date: Mon 19 May 2025 (and 2 other dates)
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Elizabeth EyresSpend a fascinating day at the Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum exploring a range of galleries. We shall be looking at the decorative arts, paintings, sculpture and design from across the world and across the centuries in this remarkable museum.Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £55.00 Concession £45.00 - Ways into creative writing: intensive Course start date: Wed 28 May 2025 (and 9 other dates)
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Lucy PopescuNot sure whether creative writing is for you? Give it a try on one of these fun and supportive short courses covering the basics of fiction and poetry. Increase your confidence and produce work through guided exercises and discussion.Full fee £149.00 Senior fee £149.00 Concession £75.00 - Thinking through philosophy: a guideCourse start date: Mon 2 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Christopher HornerWhat is morality and what is it based on? Is the mind a ghost in the machine? What can I really know? This is a beginner’s introduction to how philosophy tackles questions like these and many others.
- A sense of place: Constable’s HampsteadCourse start date: Mon 9 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Marilyn GreeneExplore Georgian and Regency Hampstead walking in the footsteps of John Constable and seeing places he painted and quotes about his thoughts and feelings on Hampstead and his art. - Ways into creative writing: a gentle paceCourse start date: Wed 11 Jun 2025 (and 4 other dates)
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Henry MartinAre you brand new to creative writing? Do you want to build your confidence in a supportive environment alongside other beginners? This gentle short-course guides students taking their first steps on the path to becoming a creative writer.Full fee £149.00 Senior fee £149.00 Concession £75.00 - Refugee Week at City Lit: Refugees and displaced people in modern Chinese historyCourse start date: Mon 16 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Qiuyang ChenJoin this session to understand how displaced people and refugees are central to understanding modern Chinese history. This course is part of City Lit’s Refugee Week events.Full fee £10.00 Senior fee £8.00 Concession £7.00 - Constable and the British landscape traditionCourse start date: Mon 16 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Marilyn GreeneDiscover the development of the British Landscape tradition from the 18th and 19th centuries. The Victoria and Albert Museum has the largest collection of John Constable sketches in the world, and we will discuss the works on display in detail and compare with works by J.W.M Turner and other artists on display.Full fee £29.00 Senior fee £23.00 Concession £19.00 - Art history taster Course start date: Tue 1 Jul 2025 (and 7 other dates)
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Sarah JaffrayCurious about art history? Join us for this taster session where we explore different ways into visual art and its histories from the ancient to the contemporary.Full fee £10.00 Senior fee £10.00 Concession £10.00 - Phenomenology: an introductionCourse start date: Mon 15 Sep 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: John GoffPhenomenology, 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.
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