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.
- Dickens' London
Course start date: Sat 10 May 2025 (and 1 other date)Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Molly Rumbelow'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.' Enjoy this introduction to Dickens' work and the London of his time. Morning lecture at City Lit followed by a walk in the area of the city connected to his work.Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £55.00 Concession £45.00 - Writing and rewriting fairytales Course start date: Sun 11 May 2025 (and 2 other dates)
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: KR MoorheadOnce upon a time there was a City Lit workshop all about writing fairytales. The quest: to inspire writers to pen stories of love, fear, forests, revenge, dragons, witches, kings, queens, frogs and magic.Full fee £79.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £40.00 - Ways into poetry: intensive Course start date: Mon 14 Jul 2025 (and 5 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Alice FrecknallAre you just starting to write poetry? This shorter version of our introductory Ways into poetry course offers an opportunity to experiment with language and a variety of poetic devices. Discover the key elements of a poem in a friendly and interactive class.Full fee £149.00 Senior fee £149.00 Concession £75.00 - Ways into creative writing: intensive Course start date: Wed 16 Jul 2025 (and 9 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
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 - Tuesday talks: Emily Kam KngwarrayCourse start date: Tue 1 Jul 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Arjmand AzizIn July 2025 a major solo exhibition of Emily Kam Kngwarray, considered to be one of Australia’s greatest artists, will be held at Tate Modern. This course aims to introduce British audiences to the oeuvre of this remarkable artist.Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £15.00 Concession £12.00 - 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 - Art in England transformed: the court of Charles ICourse start date: Wed 2 Jul 2025
Location on this date: Online
The art collection of King Charles I (1600-1649) was magnificent and hugely influential. Explore the artists, craftsmen, agents and connoisseurs who shaped one of the most important European art collections and learn about how objects and artists from across Europe made their way to London.
Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £15.00 Concession £12.00 - Master drawings from Leonardo to Degas: experiment and expressionCourse start date: Thu 3 Jul 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Explore the significant role of drawing in shaping art and how artists have used different drawing techniques for creative expression.
Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £15.00 Concession £12.00 - Edvard Munch: beyond the ScreamCourse start date: Fri 4 Jul 2025
Location on this date: Online
This session on Edvard Munch aims to give a fuller picture of the Norwegian artist’s creative legacy. To do so we will shed light on lesser-known works and aspects of his career. Munch’s art will appear immensely personal, and biographical, but also deeply connected to the cultural context in fin-de-siecle Europe.
Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £15.00 Concession £12.00 - Streets of Horror, Streets of Hope: The East End, 1888Course start date: Tue 8 Jul 2025
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Sarah WiseBecause of the ‘Jack the Ripper’ killings, the late-Victorian East End can be read as a cityscape of poverty and fear. But there is another Whitechapel – a magnet for a variety of individuals from a wide range of backgrounds who sought to grapple with the problems of the modern city and to create a better life.
Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £15.00 Concession £12.00 - Greek myths: ancient truths, modern mysteryCourse start date: Tue 8 Jul 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Maria ContosMyth permeated all aspects of ancient society and much the same can be said today. Investigate the relevance and perseverance of the Greek myth and why these tales continue to fascinate. - Gender, Desire and the Body in PoetryCourse start date: Tue 8 Jul 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Ranging from sixteenth century love sonnets via bawdy Restoration verse to a Victorian eroticised poetic narrative, this course examines how the language of love and desire, and the poetic representations of gendered bodies, provide an idiom that can be used to express both conservative and more subversive cultural ideas.Full fee £79.00 Senior fee £63.00 Concession £51.00 - Lunchtime lecture: Louise Bourgeois, the abject and the eroticCourse start date: Wed 9 Jul 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Sarah JaffrayAn introduction to the art of Louise Bourgeois, its feminism, both erotic and abject. We explore Bourgeois as a sculptor, printmaker and performance artist, looking at how she was influenced by psychology and biography.Full fee £10.00 Senior fee £10.00 Concession £7.00 - The Odyssey reading group (in translation) Course start date: Thu 10 Jul 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Justin MurrayHomer’s epic tale of Odysseus’ journey home after the Trojan War may now be over 2,500 years old but it still has much to tell us about the Ancient Greek world that is still relevant today. Explore this great work in translation. - From the Habsburgs to the EU: The History of Italy’s North-EastCourse start date: Tue 15 Jul 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Francesco BucciolThe cities of Trieste and Gorizia, on today's Italian North-Eastern border, had a very complicated history in the 19th and 20th century. In this session you will discover the key historical events that marked these lands. From the divisions caused by the two world wars to the choice of Gorizia/Nova Gorica as EU's Capital of Culture 2025.Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £19.00 Concession £12.00
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