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.
- Colour in medieval artCourse start date: Wed 6 Nov 2024
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Andreas PetzoldColour is an all pervasive and fundamental aspect of medieval art, but one that is largely neglected in art historical studies.This course looks at some of the main themes relating to colour such as symbolism, materials, theory and key developments.
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 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 - 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 - 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 - Competitive cities in the global political economyCourse start date: Wed 15 Jan 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Caglar EzikogluExamine the dynamic relationships between cities, exploring their local uniqueness and global interconnectedness in the modern economies.
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 £119.00 - Ways into creative writing: intensiveCourse start date: Tue 29 Oct 2024 (and 10 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: William BradyNot 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 - The Odyssey reading group (in translation)Course start date: Wed 29 Jan 2025 (and 1 other date)
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.
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 - 'Wild Places': Katherine Mansfield's imaginative worldsCourse start date: Wed 12 Feb 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Fiona McCullochThis course will introduce and discuss a selection of short stories by Katherine Mansfield. Mansfield’s approach to art is to embrace hidden depths, to seek untamed and unhindered aspects lurking in the shadows, writing with a wild surmise in an attempt to find new literary vistas. Similarly, describing herself as ‘an alien’, we will consider her self-asserted feeling of strangeness as an outsider, and how this might manifest itself in her fictional work.
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 - Remembering the Dirty Wars: Memories of Latin AmericaCourse start date: Wed 12 Feb 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Anna GrimaldiThis course explores the aftermath of authoritarian and military regimes in Latin America, focusing on Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Guatemala.
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 - Ways into creative writing: a gentle paceCourse start date: Tue 29 Oct 2024 (and 3 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Tasha KavanaghAre 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 - Exploring horror cinemaCourse start date: Wed 26 Feb 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Jon WisbeyExplore the horror film, past and present, through a range of key films, concepts and critical accounts of the genre. We will consider its history and development, and the ways in which different production contexts, for example, American, European and East Asian horror cinemas, have given rise to significant variation within the genre, with each producing films with distinctive styles, themes.
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 - Art exchanges: between Europe and the East, 1400-1900Course start date: Wed 26 Feb 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Anita ChowdryAn exploration of five centuries of trade and cultural exchange between the Islamic East and Europe, looking at their impacts on the arts, sciences, scholarship, taste and technology.
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 - Jeanette Winterson: breaking the narrativeCourse start date: Wed 12 Mar 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Fiona McCullochThis course introduces British writer, Jeanette Winterson’s novels, Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit (1985) and The Stone Gods (2007). Discover how these fictional worlds portray the interplay between gender, sexuality, power, reality, cyberspace, nation, and ecological concerns. Learn how she “breaks the narrative” to reboot the love story.
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 - Art, politics & culture in East and West Germany, and after the ReunificationCourse start date: Wed 23 Apr 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Irina ChkhaidzeExplore German art from the 1960s to present, from movements such as Conceptualism, Fluxus, Capitalist Realism and Neo-Expressionism to the most recent multi-media art.
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
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