Explore History, Politics & Economics
Whether you’re fascinated by the past, wishing to keep up to date with current affairs, or to develop a deeper understanding of democracy and capitalism, we have the course for you.
City Lit offers a wide range of history, politics and economics courses on weekdays, evenings and weekends. Our courses vary from skills-based courses on oral and family history projects, to the history of empire, the history of London and the study of global powers and international politics.
Gain critical thinking and analytical skills
Courses in the Humanities help you understand our world today, and the history that has informed the political, social and economic dynamics of modern times. Our courses, including short day courses, lectures and longer-term study over several weeks or whole terms, aim to inform you of the issues that interest and matter to you. Our courses also encourage the development of wider skills such as critical thinking and analysis, listening and discussion skills, and evidence-based interpretation.
Learn from expert tutors
Our tutors are experts in their fields and come from a range of backgrounds, and include academics, experienced educators, serving politicians, acclaimed authors and renowned guides.
Browse our range of courses below to choose your perfect option: both complete beginners and returning students are equally welcome.
- Black Latin AmericaCourse start date: Wed 21 May 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Anna GrimaldiThis course introduces and critically examines the concept of a Black or African Latin America through the region’s history, philosophy, activism, politics, diaspora, memory and culture.Full fee £79.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £51.00 - Global Connections: Oral Histories of Ugandan Asians in Britain after 1972Course start date: Thu 22 May 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Syeda AliThis one day course brings together evidence from interviews with the ever decreasing number of original arrivals to the UK from Uganda, following Idi Amin’s expulsion in 1972.
Using oral history we ask questions of what we can learn from the personal testimony of individuals and what unique insights this gives us.Full fee £10.00 Senior fee £10.00 Concession £7.00 - 17th century England, revolution and restoration: Oliver Cromwell and the Protectorate era
Course start date: Thu 22 May 2025Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Ellen CarpenterA 'Brave, Bad Man?' Join us to explore the life of Oliver Cromwell, from his rise to power during the Civil Wars to his brief rule as Lord Protector of the Commonwealth in the period 1653-1658. We will also assess the brief rule of Cromwell's son, Richard, and his deposal in 1659.Where did it all go wrong for Richard?Full fee £199.00 Senior fee £159.00 Concession £129.00 - From Goths to Mongols: A Horde-able HistoryCourse start date: Sat 24 May 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Vanessa KingDiscover who were the barbarians in the Ancient and Medieval World. How did the Chinese and the West interact with ‘the other’? Were the Vikings simply ‘long-haired tourists who occasionally roughed up the natives’ (Wallace-Hadrill 1975)?Full fee £49.00 Senior fee £39.00 Concession £32.00 - Exploring Early Modern ChinaCourse start date: Tue 27 May 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Qiuyang ChenTo understand China of our present means understanding China of the past. Explore the histories and legacies of the Ming and Qing Dynasties.Full fee £99.00 Senior fee £99.00 Concession £64.00 - The Disease of the Soul: Leprosy in the Middle AgesCourse start date: Tue 27 May 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Vanessa KingWe explore medieval attitudes towards the disease and the medical care available to sufferers. We also look at how the leper was depicted in art and literature before 1500 CE.Full fee £119.00 Senior fee £95.00 Concession £77.00 - Fantastic Beasts in Medieval Heraldry Course start date: Sat 31 May 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Vanessa KingExplore the design of English royal badges of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries; discover the attributes attributed to arrange of animals both real and mythical.Full fee £49.00 Senior fee £39.00 Concession £32.00 - Mews, monuments and museumsCourse start date: Sun 1 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Marilyn GreeneThis circular walk explores the alleys lanes, squares and delightful mews houses and passes a disused tube station in the mainly in the Knightsbridge conservation area and contrasts with the grand museums, institutions and monuments built in South Kensington (Albertopolis) developed with profits of the Great Exhibition held in Hyde Park in 1851. Meets outside the main entrance to the V&A ends outside the Natural History Museum. Meets outside the main entrance to the V&A ends outside the Natural History Museum.Full fee £29.00 Senior fee £23.00 Concession £19.00 - Fractured America 1945-2021Course start date: Wed 4 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Dafydd TownleyThis interactive lecture outline course explores the doemstic political, social, and cultural divisions that have occurred in the United States since the end of the Second World War.Full fee £169.00 Senior fee £169.00 Concession £110.00 - Modern France: from de Gaulle and the Resistance to MacronCourse start date: Thu 5 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Sebastien Ardouin(Re)discover France's complex politics during the Fourth and Fifth Republics, and the social challenges and tensions the country faced both at times of growth and modernisation and of crisis and doubts. - Ancient India: The Harappan Civilisation in the Indus Valley Course start date: Sat 7 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Ketan VariaWant to know more about the ancient Harappan Civilization thriving in the Indus Valley from 2600 BCE to 1900 BCE? Join us to learn more!Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £55.00 Concession £45.00 - The Wyldes of Hampstead: Exploring Hampstead’s Northern SlopesCourse start date: Sun 8 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Marilyn GreeneFinchley Central contains three conservation areas. Starting at the oldest part of the former village of Finchley Church End , this walk stops to admire traces of the old village, Edwardian and Victorian architecture before moving on to the delightful Finchley Garden village and College Farm, the last remaining farm in Finchley.
Meeting points: Start by the bike rack Station Road Exit of Finchley Central tube station, end Henley's Corner on the junction of Regent's Park Road by La Deliverance statue.Full fee £29.00 Senior fee £23.00 Concession £19.00 - Crime and punishment in Old LondonCourse start date: Mon 9 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Diane BursteinTake a guided walk through the old City and its borders taking in beheadings and brutality at the Tower, tales of cutpurses and con men, the rise of prisons and the ghastly punishments that were meted out to wrongdoers. We go on a journey to Newgate Gaol, the Bridewell Prison and the places of execution including the notorious Tyburn Tree to hear tales of brutality, escapes and the bloodthirsty crowds who watched executions. Our tour includes London’s atmospheric legal quarter taking in the Old Bailey, The Royal Courts of Justice and the Inns of Court to discover how London’s legal system developed .
Meet outside St Paul’s Cathedral by the Statue of Queen Anne.Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £15.00 Concession £12.00 - Queer USA: 250 years of struggle and prideCourse start date: Tue 10 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Siobhan McGuirkFrom early colonial repression of Two-Spirit people to Trump 2.0’s attacks on trans communities, we explore struggles for LGBTIQ+ rights, dignity and freedom in the United States – a history longer than the nation itself.
Full fee £10.00 Senior fee £10.00 Concession £7.00 - Haka- the breath of FireCourse start date: Tue 10 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Haka is a core expression of Māori culture and recently came to the world’s attention when Hana Maipi, a Māori politician, began a haka in Parliament and ripped a proposed bill being introduced into the House. Made famous by the All Blacks rugby team, come and learn about the history of Haka and its role in NZ politics in this interactive course.
Full fee £10.00 Senior fee £10.00 Concession £10.00
Can't see a course you want?
Add this category to your waiting list to set up alerts and we will update you when new courses are released online.
Add me to waiting list