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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- A brief history of printmaking
Course start date: Fri 10 Jan 2025Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Sarah JaffrayDiscover the complexity of printmaking through this introduction to its history. Explore the cultural contexts, social ideas and artistic methods that make printmaking distinct to other forms of art.Full fee £129.00 Senior fee £103.00 Concession £84.00 - Art in Britain 1950-2000 – 'This is Tomorrow' (part 2) Course start date: Fri 10 Jan 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Chantal CondronDiscover the work of selected British artists whose innovative practice shaped the development of modern art in Britain from the 1950s to 2000. Explore how and why the ideas and themes behind their work continue to be relevant to today’s audiences. - Latin American literary classicsCourse start date: Fri 17 Jan 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Richard NilandFrom Mexico to Patagonia, Latin America has produced some of the most spellbinding literature of the modern age. From dictatorship and death to national identity and the natural world, join us as we investigate the cultural heritage of the continent through some of its best writers.Full fee £199.00 Senior fee £159.00 Concession £129.00 - Modern art: movements 1900-1950 Course start date: Fri 17 Jan 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Elizabeth EyresExplore art and culture in the early 20th century, focussing on the major developments and movements in art including Cubism, Abstraction, Dada and Surrealism and their relationship to wider cultural contexts. - London's quartiers Course start date: Fri 17 Jan 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Sue JacksonThrough 1 lecture and 7 guided walks, explore some of London’s quartiers – Soho, Mayfair, Covent Garden, Spitalfields, Clerkenwell, St James and Bloomsbury and understand how their very distinct characters were formed. The first session will be delivered via Zoom and other sessions will be guided walks.
London guide: Sue Jackson. - Ways into creative writing: intensive Course start date: Tue 28 Jan 2025 (and 7 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: William BradyNot 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 - Looking at contemporary art Course start date: Wed 29 Jan 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Francesca CavalloExplore and discuss contemporary art on show in London. Each week we’ll visit 1-2 commercial galleries or a public gallery and examine specific exhibitions of contemporary art across a range of media including painting, works on paper, photography, new media and sculpture.Full fee £199.00 Senior fee £159.00 Concession £129.00 - Borderlines of madness in 19th century fiction Course start date: Fri 31 Jan 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Sarah WiseWe will explore various themes related to insanity and altered states of consciousness by examining a number of 19th-century works of fiction. Novelists and poets often had the greatest insights into the workings of the mind, and many Victorian psychiatrists cited works of fiction in their case studies. Among the authors we will analyse are Charlotte Bronte, Edgar Allan Poe, Wilkie Collins, Gogol, Herman Melville and Charlotte Perkins Gilman. - Art and revolution: in the long 18th century Course start date: Fri 21 Feb 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Sarah JaffrayFrom the absolute monarch to the beheaded king, discover how artists contributed to the cultural revolutions of the ‘long 18th century’ (1630s-1800). We explore how shifts in artistic style and subject matter reflected dramatic social change. Through reading the philosophy of the age we uncover how this era’s complex notions of beauty and justice still impact art and society today. - Between Greece and Rome: Etruscan artCourse start date: Fri 28 Feb 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Simone ChisenaExplore the figurative world of the elusive Etruscan civilization - from lavish painted tombs to enigmatic terracotta urns and majestic bronze sculptures.
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 £103.00 Concession £84.00 - Contemporary art in London Course start date: Fri 2 May 2025
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Chantal CondronExplore and discuss contemporary art on show in London. Each week we’ll visit 1-2 commercial galleries or a public gallery and examine specific exhibitions of contemporary art across a range of media including painting, works on paper, photography, new media and sculpture. - Art in medieval Italy: the Kingdom of Lombardy and its impactCourse start date: Fri 2 May 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Simone ChisenaDiscover the rich artistic heritage of the first Kings of Italy, the tenacious warriors who first rule the country.
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 £103.00 Concession £84.00 - The mirror of nature: art and culture in the 17th century Course start date: Fri 9 May 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Leslie PrimoThe 17th century produced some of the greatest artists of all time: Rubens, Rembrandt, Velazquez and Bernini to name but a few. Explore the work of these key artists and understand the history, styles and ideas that shaped the century.Full fee £169.00 Senior fee £135.00 Concession £110.00 - Art in Britain since 2000: where are we now?Course start date: Fri 9 May 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Chantal CondronDiscover how exciting, new UK-based artists use both experimental and traditional approaches to art to address issues of identity, history and personal experience.Full fee £129.00 Senior fee £103.00 Concession £84.00 - Art in the 1920s and 1930s: Western art between the wars Course start date: Fri 9 May 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Sarah JaffrayDiscover how art in Europe and America between the wars reacted to the culture of the times. Explore the experimental world of Surrealism, Constructivism, de Stijl and other political art and abstract art of the era.
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