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.
- 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 - Venetian art of the 15th-16th centuries: beauty, splendour and lightCourse start date: Tue 5 Nov 2024
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Emma Rose BarberJoin us for a sumptuous celebration of sumptuous Venetian painting. Discover the painting of this elegant culture built on a fragile lagoon where sea and sky meet, and where light and mist collide.
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 - Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £19.00 Concession £12.00
- How to read a film: a beginners' guide to cinemaCourse start date: Tue 5 Nov 2024 (and 2 other dates)
Location on this date: Online
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.
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
- 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 - Tuesday talks: Cook must fall! Portraits of Captain James Cook, new and oldCourse start date: Tue 19 Nov 2024
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Ben PollittExplore the portrayal of Captain James Cook from c. 1770 to the present day. Understand images of Cook provide us with a fascinating platform to think about the complicated relationships that have emerged out of British Empire and what used to be thought of as its imperial possessions.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £10.00 Senior fee £8.00 Concession £7.00 - 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 - From mythical heroines to the emperor's subjects: epistolography in the Roman EmpireCourse start date: Tue 3 Dec 2024
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Nikoletta ManiotiFind out more about epistolography (letter writing) as a literary genre in the Roman world.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £10.00 Senior fee £10.00 Concession £10.00 - Children's writing: a tasterCourse start date: Tue 3 Dec 2024 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Andrew WealeFind out more about writing children's stories in this practical and interactive, short taster session.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £10.00 Senior fee £10.00 Concession £10.00 - Poetry: a tasterCourse start date: Tue 3 Dec 2024
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Billie ManningThis short, fun workshop is the perfect starting point for students who are writing for the first time or new to the poetry path. Join us for thought-provoking writing exercises and poetry theory for beginners.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information. - Art history tasterCourse start date: Fri 6 Dec 2024 (and 9 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
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 - How to get an agentCourse start date: Sat 7 Dec 2024 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Sophie McKenzieThis intensive workshop offers students insider, need-to-know information on securing a literary agent.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £79.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £40.00 - Tuesday talks: Angels in artCourse start date: Tue 10 Dec 2024
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Emma Rose BarberAngels have always made their mark – wings and all. And this course will explore painted and carved angels in western art in all their ways and fashions, from the archangels to Christmas angels to those just flying in to say hello.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £10.00 Senior fee £10.00 Concession £7.00
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