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.
- Solitude in fiction and memoirCourse start date: Tue 30 Sep 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Kate WilkinsonThis online literature course explores representations of solitude in recent fiction and memoir. Reading twentieth- and twenty-first-century texts, we’ll consider experiences of solitude across rural and urban settings, from remote islands to crowded cities. How is solitude shaped by places, culture, gender, age and technology?Full fee £179.00 Senior fee £179.00 Concession £116.00 - America in the 50s: culture and societyCourse start date: Tue 30 Sep 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Pauline Greene, Mark Malcomson, Dale Mineshima-Lowe, Paul Sutton, Patricia Sweeney, Ian TucknottFrom America's domestic expansion and boom in the 1950s, this online intertextual course explores the political, social and cultural context of 1950s America through a study of literature, history, music, film and art of the period. With different tutors for each specialism, the course provides a 'taster' in each subject as a gateway to further study in understanding this fascinating period in American culture and society.Full fee £149.00 Senior fee £149.00 Concession £97.00 - A history of art in 100 objectsCourse start date: Tue 7 Oct 2025
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Sarah JaffrayWhat is art history? How can better a better understanding of the subject help us to better connect with art made by fellow humans? Explore these big questions of historical significance, socio-cultural impact and artistic process by studying a history of art in some of London’s greatest museums. - Languages of the ancient Near East part 1: Sumerian, Akkadian, EgyptianCourse start date: Tue 7 Oct 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Vaughan PilikianThis unique and wide-ranging course provides a broad introduction to the three major languages of the Ancient Near East, which together traverse a vast history of four millennia. In them were written some of the great landmarks of world literature, such as the Babylonian epic of Gilgamesh, the Egyptian Book of the Dead and the Sumerian Descent of Inanna.Full fee £159.00 Senior fee £127.00 Concession £103.00 - Argonautica: reading group (in translation) module 1Course start date: Tue 7 Oct 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Nikoletta Manioti.Full fee £159.00 Senior fee £159.00 Concession £103.00 - Art in ancient and medieval SaharaCourse start date: Tue 14 Oct 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Anita ChowdryIn this course we shall explore the Ancient and Medieval history of the Sahara and the Sahel, its cultural synergies, and the interactions of its kingdoms with the Mediterranean world, from the first millennium BC. to the 14th century CE.Full fee £149.00 Senior fee £119.00 Concession £97.00 - Teatime Talks: Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, imagined portraitsCourse start date: Tue 14 Oct 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Chantal CondronOne of the most absorbing contemporary artists working in the UK today, Lynette Yiadom-Boakye paints startling ‘portraits’ of characters entirely derived from her imagination. Discover aspects of her artistic process and the ideas and themes behind her paintings on this course.Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £15.00 Concession £12.00 - Debt in the global political economyCourse start date: Tue 21 Oct 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Caglar EzikogluExplore the intricacies of debt within the global political economy, examining its impacts, mechanisms, and socio-economic consequences.Full fee £129.00 Senior fee £129.00 Concession £84.00 - The Spanish Empire: Power, Conquest, and LegacyCourse start date: Tue 28 Oct 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Maisa EdwardsJoin Dr. Maisa Edwards to explore the rise, global reach and fall of the Spanish Empire from the 1400s to the 1800s.
Full fee £119.00 Senior fee £119.00 Concession £77.00 - Prostitution in Ancient RomeCourse start date: Tue 4 Nov 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Sean GabbThe oldest profession as practised among the Romans - not for the squeamish.Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £19.00 Concession £12.00 - Ancient Greek dramaCourse start date: Tue 18 Nov 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Maria ContosHave a taste of exploring the ancient Athenian stage, and how they still speak to us about the challenges we face today.Full fee £139.00 Senior fee £111.00 Concession £90.00 - From mythical heroines to the emperor's subjects: epistolography in the Roman EmpireCourse start date: Tue 2 Dec 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Nikoletta ManiotiFind out more about epistolography (letter writing) as a literary genre in the Roman world.Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £19.00 Concession £12.00 - Textiles at the V&ACourse start date: Tue 2 Dec 2025
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Elizabeth EyresThis session takes place in the V&A’s remarkable collection. It can be taken as a stand-alone visit (no previous knowledge required, all welcome) or a final lesson for the seven-week online course VB699 Textiles: An International History. You will see a wide range of woven, printed and embroidered cloth from around the globe and explore the roles these have played in the world’s material culture.Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £55.00 Concession £45.00 - Children's writing: a taster
Course start date: Tue 2 Dec 2025Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Andrew WealeFind out more about writing children's stories in this practical and interactive, short taster session. - In Scrooge's Footsteps: A Christmas Carol & Dickens WalkCourse start date: Tue 9 Dec 2025
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Eleanor JacksonJoin us for a festive walk in the footsteps of Scrooge, looking at the locations and impact of Dickens’s most famous work. We will also examine how Dickens’s story has influenced our ideas of Christmas.
Full fee £29.00 Senior fee £23.00 Concession £19.00
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