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.
- The London of Bram Stoker and DraculaCourse start date: Tue 28 Oct 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Diane BursteinAlthough born in Ireland, Bram Stoker came to London to work with the great Actor Manager Henry Irving at the Lyceum Theatre and spent the rest of his life here. While working at the Lyceum he published his most famous and enduring novel “Dracula” in 1897. This virtual tour takes us to the London locations of that novel so we cover a wide range of ground from Hendon to Hampstead and Piccadilly to Pimlico tracing the footsteps of the fictional vampire and his creator. Learn about the places Stoker visited, the people he knew, the library where he researched and the history of the book on stage and screen.Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £19.00 Concession £12.00 - 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 - Global Encounters: The Later Crusades, 1209-1500Course start date: Tue 4 Nov 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Vanessa KingThe loss of Jerusalem saw a shift in Crusading strategy. Going on crusade became a seasonal event, first against the Cathars in France and then with the Knights Hospitaller against pagans in the Baltic.Full fee £179.00 Senior fee £143.00 Concession £116.00 - Get ready for the revolution! Key Latin American political thinkersCourse start date: Tue 18 Nov 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Pilar Villanueva MartinezExplore revolutionary Latin American political thought through the study of some of the most influential scholars who have critically examined colonialism and led the decolonial/decolonizing thinking and practice.Full fee £39.00 Senior fee £31.00 Concession £25.00 - 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 - 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. - 'Everybody Hurts': The History of Emotions, Mindsets and MentalitiesCourse start date: Tue 29 Apr 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Linsey HunterThis course explores the tantalising history of how people in the past thought and felt about the triumphs and losses they experienced, seeking to view the world through their eyes.Full fee £99.00 Senior fee £99.00 Concession £64.00 - Hell, Heaven and Purgatory in the Middle AgesCourse start date: Tue 29 Apr 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Emma Rose BarberWhy were images to do with the afterlife so prevalent in the Middle Ages? Come, face your eternal destinies and look at images such as the Last Judgement, skeletons, filthy flesh, worms, ghosts and Hell mouths.Full fee £129.00 Senior fee £103.00 Concession £84.00 - History of Ideas in Maths and Engineering Course start date: Tue 29 Apr 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Ketan VariaJoin this course to explore the intertwined evolution of mathematics and engineering, from the invention of the wheel to the foundational mathematical theories developed up to the 20th century.Full fee £169.00 Senior fee £169.00 Concession £110.00 - Argonautica: reading group (in translation) module 3Course start date: Tue 6 May 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Nikoletta ManiotiA reading group focusing on the Argonautica by the Greek poet Apollonius of Rhodes (in English translation).Full fee £149.00 Senior fee £149.00 Concession £97.00 - America in the 40s: culture and society Course start date: Tue 6 May 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Zoe Crombie, Pauline Greene, Mark Malcomson, Dale Mineshima-Lowe, Patricia Sweeney, Ian TucknottThe bombing of Pearl Harbor brought Americans into WW2, while the European need for goods pulled the USA out of the Depression of the 30s, providing new opportunities for women, African Americans and other people of colour.
Post-War America saw a new energy, of hope but also despair. This online intertextual course explores the political, social and cultural context of 1940s America through a study of the 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 £119.00 Senior fee £119.00 Concession £77.00 - Unreal city: the history of London through literature from1800 to today Course start date: Tue 6 May 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Sarah WiseFiction writers are often the first to identify and analyse a social phenomenon. We will examine two centuries of London history through the eyes of novelists and poets, from William Blake to Zadie Smith.Full fee £169.00 Senior fee £169.00 Concession £110.00 - Philosophy Reading Group: Aristotle's poeticsCourse start date: Tue 6 May 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Anita KasabovaIn the Poetics, Aristotle outlines his theory of poetry and drama. His views on Greek tragedy have marked literary studies to date. We discuss the main themes of the Poetics and consider its relevance today.Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £69.00 Concession £45.00
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