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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- Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs: part 3
Course start date: Sun 19 Jan 2025Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Hugo CookContinue to discover hieroglyphs and their fascinating history. Suitable for those who have already completed the introductory class as well as part 2 of this course.
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 - From late Silent to early Sound cinema Course start date: Sat 25 Jan 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Jon WisbeyWith films such as Metropolis (1927) and Sunrise (1927) many critics felt that silent cinema had attained a level of sophistication that could not be surpassed by the 'talkies', but the imaginative use of sound and dialogue, in, for example, Blackmail (1929) and M (1931), could not be denied. Explore this exciting, transitional moment in cinema through these and other key films of the period.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £55.00 Concession £45.00 - Focus on: Dürer Course start date: Sun 2 Feb 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Leslie PrimoExplore the life, works, and legacy of one of the most innovative German artists of his time: Albrecht Dürer. See how he assimilated the art of Venice into his style and exploited the possibilities of print.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £55.00 Concession £45.00 - The Quakers: an introduction Course start date: Sat 8 Feb 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Bruce JohnsonQuaker 'discernment' is used by big business for consensus decision-making, while Quakers are often invited to areas of conflict as mediators and peace-builders. This introduction to Quakers tries to explain why.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £55.00 Concession £45.00 - Comedy, crime and realism: Ealing Studios Course start date: Sat 8 Feb 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Jon WisbeyOften remembered for its comedies, Ealing also produced films in other genres, from social realism and war, to crime thrillers and one great horror film. This course explores the studio's output through some of its most well known films, including Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949) and The Ladykillers (1955), while considering its history and its contribution to the concept of a British cinema.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £55.00 Concession £45.00 - The British Heritage film Course start date: Sat 22 Feb 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Jon WisbeyEmerging in the 1980s, and promoted as a prestige cinema, the British heritage film is typified by high production values, period settings and, often, a canonical literary source. We will view films such as A Room with a View (1985) and The Remains of the Day (1993) and discuss their appeal for both domestic and international audiences, while exploring the critical debates around heritage cinema.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £55.00 Concession £45.00 - European design 1915-1935: designing utopia Course start date: Sat 1 Mar 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Rachel SandersStudy the dominant design aesthetic of the twentieth century, considering its development, successes and failures. Movements will include Russian Constructivism, the Bauhaus and Purism. Design practices will include graphics, furniture and architecture.Full fee £79.00 Senior fee £63.00 Concession £51.00 - A star is born: the birth of Hollywood stardom Course start date: Sat 1 Mar 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Ann-Marie FlemingOnce cinema began to develop, Hollywood began to promote stardom. Starting with Florence Lawrence, the industry began to capitalise on star personalities and encourage fandom. This course will examine how the Hollywood star system began and evolved. The course will begin by examining the ‘picture personality’ in 1912 through to the collapse of the traditional star system in the 1960s.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £55.00 Concession £45.00 - Two British film noirs: The Third Man and Get Carter Course start date: Sat 8 Mar 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Jon WisbeyFrom the shadows of post-war Vienna to the bleak north east of England, a chance to explore two film noirs: The Third Man (1949) from the style's golden age, and Get Carter (1970), a gritty neo-noir. We will be thinking about the contrasting styles of two these two celebrated crime films through a range of key scenes, and assessing their status as film noirs along with their critical reputations.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £55.00 Concession £45.00 - Writing and rewriting fairytales Course start date: Sat 8 Mar 2025 (and 2 other dates)
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Yvonne SinghOnce upon a time there was a City Lit workshop all about writing fairytales. The quest: to inspire writers to pen stories of love, fear, forests, revenge, dragons, witches, kings, queens, frogs and magic.
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 - Focus on: iconography Course start date: Sun 16 Mar 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Leslie PrimoEver wondered whether there’s a hidden meaning behind paintings? Discover why there are signs and symbols in paintings and how to find and interpret their meanings in medieval and Renaissance art.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information. - Two French film noirs: Les Diaboliques and Le BoucherCourse start date: Sat 22 Mar 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Jon WisbeyTwo French film noirs from two masters of the style - and the most acclaimed films of each director's body of work: Henri- Georges Clouzot's mystery thriller, Les Diaboliques (1955), and Claude Chabrol's icy, intense psychological drama, Le Boucher (1970). Explore the contrasting styles of Clouzot's genre movie and Chabrol's art film, their critical reputations and enduring appeal for audiences.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £55.00 Concession £45.00 - The modern American Horror film, 1968 - 1978 Course start date: Sat 3 May 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Jon WisbeyThe late 1960s witnessed the rise of the modern American horror film, its redefining of the limits of horror being both critically problematic and enormously successful with audiences. This course explores its development through films such as Night of the Living Dead (1968), The Exorcist (1973), and Halloween (1978), its status as a major genre, and a range of critical responses to the films.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £55.00 Concession £45.00 - The British Horror film beyond Hammer Course start date: Sat 17 May 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Jon WisbeyNight of the Demon (1957), The Wicker Man (1973) and Frightmare (1974) form part of a less familiar, though equally striking, horror tradition than that of Hammer, and often in very different terms. Explore chillers from the 1930s and 40s, the proliferation of horror in 1950s, 60s and 70s along with more recent examples, while assessing a range of critical accounts of British horror beyond Hammer.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £55.00 Concession £45.00 - How to get an agent Course start date: Tue 3 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Neil ArkseyThis workshop, designed for authors who have finished their manuscript, offers practical advice on finding and approaching a literary agent.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.
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