Culture, history & humanities

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.

Courses available both in-person and online

We offer a range of long and short courses allowing you to choose between in-person and online learning.

Learn in the centre of London with our in-person courses. Our purpose-built facilities in Covent Garden mean we are ideally located and easy to get to. 

See our guide to online learning for more information about accessing our live online courses.

All our courses are live, interactive, and taught by expert tutors. No matter how you prefer to learn, we've got the class for you.

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  1. Colour in medieval art
    Course start date:  Wed 6 Nov 2024

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Andreas Petzold
    Colour 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
  2. The beauty of the medieval manuscript
    Course start date:  Wed 20 Nov 2024 (and 1 other date)

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Emma Rose Barber
    It 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
  3. Medieval Britain & Europe: Makers of the Medieval North part 1
    Course start date:  Wed 15 Jan 2025

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Michael Bloomfield
    Explore 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
  4. Competitive cities in the global political economy
    Course start date:  Wed 15 Jan 2025

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Caglar Ezikoglu
    Examine 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
  5. The Odyssey reading group (in translation)
    Evening
    Course start date:  Wed 29 Jan 2025 (and 1 other date)

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Justin Murray
    Homer’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
    Rating:
    84% of 100
  6. 'Wild Places': Katherine Mansfield's imaginative worlds
    Evening
    Course start date:  Wed 12 Feb 2025

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Fiona McCulloch
    This 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
  7. Exploring horror cinema
    Course start date:  Wed 26 Feb 2025

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Jon Wisbey
    Explore 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
  8. Full fee £129.00 Senior fee £103.00 Concession £84.00
  9. Jeanette Winterson: breaking the narrative
    Evening
    Course start date:  Wed 12 Mar 2025

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Fiona McCulloch
    This 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
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