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.
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- Looking inside paintings
Course start date: Wed 16 Oct 2024Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Caroline RaeDiscover the secrets of the Old Masters and learn how they created their wonderful effects in this introductory course on painters and painting. We will consider the physical history and scientific examination of artworks in relation to aspects including forgeries, hidden paintings and conservation/ restoration.
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 £169.00 Concession £110.00 - London's smaller art collections Course start date: Wed 30 Oct 2024 (and 2 other dates)
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Julie BarlowDiscover some of London’s fascinating smaller art collections and hidden art treasures on this gallery-based art history course.Full fee £199.00 Senior fee £159.00 Concession £129.00 - Art & memory: culture and politics in modern and contemporary art Course start date: Wed 6 Nov 2024
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Mark Stuart-SmithHow have artists since 1960 engaged with the recent history and memory of political conflict? What role have artists had in remembering a difficult or traumatic past? What are the connections between memory and national identity in their work?Full fee £169.00 Senior fee £169.00 Concession £110.00 - Renaissance art: making, locating and viewing Course start date: Wed 6 Nov 2024
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Emma Rose BarberThis course explores the Making, the Locating and the Viewing of Renaissance paintings in the collection of the National Gallery. This course takes place at the National Gallery.Full fee £199.00 Senior fee £159.00 Concession £129.00 - The essentials of British politics Course start date: Wed 6 Nov 2024
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Ian McGarvieThis essentials course will give you the foundations of the political system in the United Kingdom, whilst also enabling you to use your newly acquired knowledge to discuss and debate current affairs matters in real time.Full fee £169.00 Senior fee £135.00 Concession £110.00 - Art in 15th-century Siena Course start date: Wed 8 Jan 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Emma Rose BarberExplore the art, society and geography of 15th century Siena, the picturesque Tuscan republic. Expand your knowledge of the Italian Renaissance beyond the borders of Florence by studying one of its worthy artistic, political and intellectual rivals. - The art of the Burgundian Netherlands c. 1360-1480 Course start date: Wed 15 Jan 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Julia MusgraveExplore how the extravagant lifestyle of the Burgundian court provided opportunities for an opulent Burgundian style to be developed and disseminated across Europe in the late middle ages and into the renaissance.
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 - A short history of the Indian subcontinent Course start date: Wed 15 Jan 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Ketan VariaThe India subcontinent is unique in its heritage and history. Join us for a tour of of the period from Pre-Aryans (c5000 BCE) to the start of the Mughal empire.
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 £169.00 Concession £169.00 - The foreign invention of British art Course start date: Wed 15 Jan 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Leslie PrimoTrace the importance of foreigners to the British art scene from the Tudor period to the Baroque. How did artists like Holbein, Dobson, van Somer and van Dyck influence the British School?Full fee £199.00 Senior fee £159.00 Concession £129.00 - Homes, houses and art in Britain 1900-1960 Course start date: Wed 5 Mar 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Emma Rose BarberKnock on the door of artists’ houses and studios from 1900-1960 to experience exciting and visually dazzling spaces created over the course of their careers. At a time when artists were beginning to forge their own brave new visual worlds, this course considers what the homes might tell us about the artists and how they wanted their homes to be seen.Full fee £169.00 Senior fee £135.00 Concession £110.00 - Genres in art Course start date: Wed 5 Mar 2025
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Emma Rose BarberWe will look at the work of the 18th century artists in the National Gallery who epitomize the genres of art, the period when these categories were established. But we will also consider all the genres for the 16th, 17th and 19th centuries with the art on display in the gallery. And we might even wonder where religious subjects fit into this categorization, if at all!Full fee £199.00 Senior fee £159.00 Concession £129.00 - Stories of London Course start date: Wed 30 Apr 2025
Location on this date: Blended (learn both online and in-person)
Tutors: Eleanor JacksonExplore London’s rich history in a series of guided walks. Each week we examine a different neighbourhood & era from the capital’s past. We look at its people, both rich and poor, & the events that shaped the city.
Initial lecture via Zoom followed by 6 guided walks.
This course will be delivered online and in person. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information. - Islamic art in 25 objects Course start date: Wed 30 Apr 2025
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Anita ChowdryDiscover important objects of Islamic Art dating across a more than a millennium in London galleries. We will study world-famous objects, discover lesser known gems, study their context and understand how they relate to one another and the wider world.Full fee £159.00 Senior fee £127.00 Concession £103.00 - A history of global capitalismCourse start date: Wed 30 Apr 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Vina TheodorakopoulouWant to understand the history of global capitalism? Join Vina Theodorakopoulou to learn about the historical transitions towards what we know as capitalism today – evolution of capital, the role of the state, labour, competition, race, and innovation-automation.Full fee £169.00 Senior fee £135.00 Concession £110.00 - Henry Kissinger’s foreign policyCourse start date: Wed 30 Apr 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Alexandre DabJoin us to discover the history and diplomacy of one of the most controversial statesmen of the 20th century – Henry Kissinger.Full fee £199.00 Senior fee £159.00 Concession £129.00
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