History, culture & writing - BFI Southbank - Keeley Street

Explore History, Culture & Writing

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. How to read a film: a beginners' guide to cinema
    Course start date:  Mon 13 May 2024 (and 2 other dates)

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Paul Sutton
    This course will develop your critical appreciation of the cinema by teaching you how to read and understand film texts. We will look at the elements that underpin film form – narrative, mise en scène, cinematography, editing and sound – alongside its historical development. We will consider film style by exploring classical, post-classical and art cinema and we will examine influential critical modes of analysis, such as genre, authorship and spectatorship.
    Full fee £149.00 Senior fee £119.00 Concession £97.00
    Rating:
    87% of 100
  2. Ways into creative writing: intensive
    Evening
    Course start date:  Wed 15 May 2024 (and 9 other dates)

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Eleanor Penny
    Not 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.



    This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.
    Full fee £139.00 Senior fee £139.00 Concession £70.00
    Rating:
    100% of 100
  3. Creative writing: getting started
    Weekend
    Course start date:  Sat 25 May 2024 (and 9 other dates)

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Deborah Martin
    Give creative writing a try on this fun and supportive online short course. Ideal if you want to express yourself but need help in getting started. Guided exercises will encourage you to experiment and unlock your imagination. Please note: this course has a 2-hr break from 12:30-14:30.



    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 £69.00 Concession £35.00
    Rating:
    95% of 100
  4. Women in Ancient Greece
    Course start date:  Fri 28 Jun 2024 (and 1 other date)

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  William Sterling
    In this course we shall examine women in myth, women in religion and the everyday life of women. It will conclude with a visit to the British Museum.
    Full fee £59.00 Senior fee £47.00 Concession £38.00
  5. Postgraduate academic writing
    Weekend
    Course start date:  Sat 6 Jul 2024 (and 1 other date)

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Anne Wilson
    Explore the building blocks and strategies for good academic writing at postgraduate level. Ideal for those studying or contemplating academic writing beyond undergraduate studies.
    Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £69.00 Concession £35.00
  6. Film studies taster
    Weekend
    Course start date:  Sat 14 Sep 2024 (and 4 other dates)

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Paul Sutton
    Learn how to evaluate and discuss films while enjoying a working example of a City Lit Film Studies class. In this class we will view and explore clips from a number of films, including popular remakes, enabling us to consider and compare themes and techniques from differing filmmaking countries. There will be a chance to review – in brief – film courses at City Lit (September - December 2024).



    This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.
    Full fee £10.00 Senior fee £10.00 Concession £10.00
  7. The Etruscans
    Course start date:  Fri 1 Nov 2024

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  William Sterling
    Discover the mysterious people who lived in Central Italy and ended up being enveloped by the Romans.
    Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £55.00 Concession £45.00
    Rating:
    93% of 100
  8. Being ecological: environmental consciousness in cultures of climate crisis
    Evening
    Course start date:  Mon 4 Nov 2024

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Katie Goss
    This course will introduce students to exciting initiatives in twenty-first century cultural discourse that attempt to reconceptualise what an ecological consciousness might be or feel like. Drawing on theoretical and literary texts, films, performance art, and political activism, we will explore radical ways of rethinking and reinhabiting our relations with more-than-human worlds, and how they open new possibilities for living on a damaged planet.
    Full fee £169.00 Senior fee £169.00 Concession £110.00
  9. Cultureplex ciné-club: Agnès Varda
    Course start date:  Tue 5 Nov 2024

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Paul Sutton
    Come and join us at the Cultureplex Ciné-Club: Agnes Varda, where for one day only, we will watch and discuss a film directed by this iconic and influential filmmaker. A development from our existing Cultureplex Ciné-Club courses and taking its cue from the famous Parisian Ciné-club set up by the celebrated critic and writer, André Bazin, this incarnation of the film club will offer an opportunity not only to have a taste of what the full Cine-Club course (running throughout next year) has to offer, but it will also allow for the viewing of a Varda film, followed by detailed discussion and debate. The film will be introduced, placed in both its cinematic, cultural and historic context as well as being situated within Varda’s body of work. In sharing our viewing in City Lit’s premier screening room, the Cultureplex, we will approximate the experience of watching film in the cinema, one that is intense and fully focussed in a way that other modes of viewing often are not. After the screening we will devote the rest of the class to a collective exploration of the film, led by the tutor, but involving everyone in a participatory discussion that will allow all to express their responses, their views, their thoughts on the film screened.
    Full fee £229.00 Senior fee £183.00 Concession £149.00
  10. A journey in the history and culture of Sicily
    Weekend
    Course start date:  Sat 9 Nov 2024

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Roberta Marin
    This weekend course will offer an insight view of the multifaceted history and multilayered culture of Sicily, the ancient island off the shore of Italy mainland.
    Full fee £59.00 Senior fee £47.00 Concession £38.00
    Rating:
    96% of 100
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