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.
- Economic paradigms: are there alternatives to capitalism?Course start date: Tue 12 Nov 2024
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Caglar EzikogluExplore diverse economic theories beyond capitalism in economic paradigms with regards to the alternatives of capitalism and broaden your understanding of global economic systems.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £119.00 Senior fee £119.00 Concession £77.00 - The beginnings of Impressionism: the Barbizon SchoolCourse start date: Tue 19 Nov 2024
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Emma Rose BarberWho said the Impressionists were the first to paint ‘en plein air’? Get lost in wood and green and light and shade in the large forest of Fontainebleau near Paris and learn about a group of 19th-century painters who influenced the Impressionists in the art of painting landscape outside.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £119.00 Senior fee £95.00 Concession £77.00 - Full fee £129.00 Senior fee £103.00 Concession £84.00
- The beauty of the medieval manuscriptCourse start date: Wed 20 Nov 2024 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Emma Rose BarberIt is generally accepted that medieval illuminated manuscripts are very beautiful things. Something to do with all that gold-leaf maybe. While we cannot hold them in class, close-up digital reproduction will allow us to see if they really are as beautiful as we are told. Indeed, are none of them ugly? Join this course to find out.Full fee £119.00 Senior fee £95.00 Concession £77.00 - The Amaravati stupa: an ancient, colonial and contemporary historyCourse start date: Sat 23 Nov 2024
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Arjmand AzizExamine the history, architecture, aesthetics and religious significance of the Amaravati stupa. Admire parts of it during the visit at the British Museum.Full fee £149.00 Senior fee £119.00 Concession £97.00 - British and French film noirCourse start date: Tue 7 Jan 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Jon WisbeyFilm noir, a staple of classical Hollywood, is an established tradition in British and French cinema, drawing on elements within each of these production contexts to produce distinctive variants of an enduringly popular style. View and discuss films such as They Made Me a Fugitive (1947), Quai des orfèvres (1947) and many others, as we explore a redefined noir and its key films and filmmakers.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £119.00 Senior fee £119.00 Concession £77.00 - Reading images: exploring film studiesCourse start date: Wed 8 Jan 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Cristina MassaccesiThis comprehensive introductory course provides an overview of the main historical, technical and theoretical aspects of filmmaking and film analysis.Full fee £119.00 Senior fee £119.00 Concession £77.00 - World cinema 2: DiasporaCourse start date: Thu 9 Jan 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Gillian McIverThis online film course follows on from Introduction to World Cinema. Like the first course, it will introduce you to filmmaking nations that are often less visible than Hollywood and the larger European film industries. The course will introduce the idea of ‘Diaspora Cinema’ (also known as Diasporic Cinema), that is, films made by filmmakers that are part of a cultural diaspora.
Diasporic cinema refers to the production of films by any community of exiles or immigrants who have left their native country and live and work in another. It encompasses a wide range of genres, sub-genres, and themes within film studies.
A 'diasporic' film is not the property of a single culture, but mediates in at least two ways. It explains the interaction between different loci of knowledge, exposing cinema's synthesis of expression and creating new types of information.
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 £84.00 - Full fee £129.00 Senior fee £103.00 Concession £84.00
- Introduction to the Wallace CollectionCourse start date: Tue 14 Jan 2025
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Julie BarlowEach week, we'll explore a different aspect of the Wallace Collection looking at its fine and decorative art objects, including paintings, furniture, porcelain and even arms and armour. #wallacecollection #arthistory. - The economics of infrastructure in a globalized worldCourse start date: Tue 14 Jan 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Caglar EzikogluExplore the economic dynamics of global infrastructure development, addressing challenges and strategies for sustainable growth in our interconnected world.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £119.00 Senior fee £119.00 Concession £77.00 - Getting away with murder: how to write crime fictionCourse start date: Tue 14 Jan 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Sophie McKenzieWant to write a murder mystery that will knock readers dead? On this course you'll learn how to plot a murder most horrid and develop your writing to create maximum suspense.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £149.00 Senior fee £149.00 Concession £75.00 - Five revolutionary exhibitions in art historyCourse start date: Tue 14 Jan 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Henry MartinFrom the opening of the Louvre in 1793 to the present-day Venice Biennale, this course uses five exhibitions (in Anglo-European history) as a jumping off point to explore and examine art-historical and contemporary themes and talking-points, including nationalism, modernism, colonialism, identity politics and representation.
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 £84.00 - Medieval Britain & Europe: Makers of the Medieval North part 1Course start date: Wed 15 Jan 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Michael BloomfieldExplore the lives and achievements of some of the most influential men and women of faith and action in northern Europe during the earlier medieval period.Full fee £129.00 Senior fee £129.00 Concession £84.00
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