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.
- Friday lates: The body as image and material in 20th century artCourse start date: Fri 9 May 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Irina ChkhaidzeExplore the representation of body and body-related practices by prominent modern and contemporary artists of the twentieth century.Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £19.00 Concession £12.00 - Economic paradigms: are there alternatives to capitalism?Course start date: Fri 16 May 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Caglar EzikogluExplore diverse economic theories beyond capitalism in economic paradigms with regards to the alternatives of capitalism and broaden your understanding of global economic systems.Full fee £119.00 Senior fee £119.00 Concession £119.00 - Friday lates: psychogeography: the art of getting lost
Course start date: Fri 16 May 2025 (and 1 other date)Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Christopher CollierFrom pub crawls to punk rock, via comic books, action painting and Hegelian philosophy; hear the unlikely tale of the Situationists: international artist-revolutionaries who tried to change the world itself into a work of art.Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £19.00 Concession £12.00 - Ways into creative writing: intensive Course start date: Wed 28 May 2025 (and 9 other dates)
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Lucy PopescuNot 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.Full fee £149.00 Senior fee £149.00 Concession £75.00 - Origins of the Italian Renaissance: the PrimitiviCourse start date: Fri 6 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Simone ChisenaDiscover the history, politics and intellectualism that fuelled the Italian Renaissance. Explore the art of Giotto and his peers from a new perspective.Full fee £169.00 Senior fee £135.00 Concession £110.00 - Friday lates: Fluxus - a revolutionary tide in art Course start date: Fri 6 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Irina ChkhaidzeDiscover international, interdisciplinary ‘anti-art’ movement Fluxus and explore the use of ‘shock’ tactic in their revolutionary video art and performances.Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £19.00 Concession £12.00 - Life writing: getting started Course start date: Mon 16 Jun 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Alice RobbThis inspiring workshop encourages students to explore a range of techniques and approaches for writing about your own life.Full fee £79.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £40.00 - Friday lates: Text as image from the Renaissance to nowCourse start date: Fri 20 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Sarah JaffrayWhat happens when word becomes image? From Chinese calligraphy to the prints of Francisco Goya, the graffitied phrases of Jean-Michel Basquiat and truisms of Jenny Holzer, this short course explores how to read text as image. We'll explore how we might read differently in the context of an artwork and how to approach artworks that rely on text as part of their visual composition.Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £19.00 Concession £12.00 - Refugee Week at City Lit: political refugees and exiles in Latin America during the Cold WarCourse start date: Fri 20 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Maria Vasquez-AguilarJoin this session to understand how political refugees and exiles are central to understanding Latin America during the Cold War, and their arrival to the UK. This course is part of City Lit’s Refugee Week events.
Full fee £10.00 Senior fee £10.00 Concession £7.00 - Art history taster Course start date: Tue 1 Jul 2025 (and 7 other dates)
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Sarah JaffrayCurious about art history? Join us for this taster session where we explore different ways into visual art and its histories from the ancient to the contemporary.Full fee £10.00 Senior fee £10.00 Concession £10.00 - Edvard Munch: beyond the ScreamCourse start date: Fri 4 Jul 2025
Location on this date: Online
This session on Edvard Munch aims to give a fuller picture of the Norwegian artist’s creative legacy. To do so we will shed light on lesser-known works and aspects of his career. Munch’s art will appear immensely personal, and biographical, but also deeply connected to the cultural context in fin-de-siecle Europe.
Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £15.00 Concession £12.00 - The writings of Cicero: an introductionCourse start date: Fri 18 Jul 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Sean GabbAn introduction to one of the most influential and prolific Roman writers, Cicero, his life and works. - The emergence of Europe 300-1000Course start date: Fri 19 Sep 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Vanessa KingExplore reasons for the fall of Rome and the emergence of the ‘barbarian’ kingdoms of western Europe. Was it really ‘the Dark Ages’? Were the Vikings simply long-haired tourists who occasionally beat up the natives?Full fee £279.00 Senior fee £223.00 Concession £181.00 - Global History Friday Late: From Feudal Isolation to a Modern Nation-State: an introduction to Japan’s Meiji Restoration period (1868 – 1889)Course start date: Fri 26 Sep 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Dale Mineshima-LoweJoin Dr. Dale Mineshima-Lowe for a brief introductory history of Japan’s Meiji Restoration period (1868-1889) - an important turning point that helped to shape modern Japan.
Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £19.00 Concession £12.00 - Modern art: movements 1850-1900Course start date: Fri 26 Sep 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Sarah JaffrayExplore art and culture in the late 19th century Europe, focussing on the major developments in modern art including the Pre-Raphaelites, Impressionism, Post-Impressionism and Symbolism, and their relationship to wider cultural contexts.Full fee £259.00 Senior fee £207.00 Concession £168.00
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