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.
- Masters of Cinema: Céline SciammaCourse start date: Sat 14 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Karine ChevalierThis one day course will consider Celine Sciamma’s importance as a filmmaker by exploring in some detail a number of her key films from her debut Water Lillies (2007), to films such as Tomboy (2011), her breakthrough Girlhood (2014), and her more recent popular successes Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019) and Petite Maman (2021).
Dr Karine Chevalier is a lecturer in Film studies. She is also a filmmaker. Her main research interests lie in the field of Transnational Cinema, French and Francophone Cinema, Visual Arts and Aesthetics, Postcolonial Studies, Intermediality, as well as Screenwriting and Filmmaking, with a specific focus on Violence and Resilience, Creative Voices, Digital Storytelling and Multiscreens, Alterities and Minorities, Moving (auto)Portraits and Masks.Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £55.00 Concession £45.00 - Economics made easy: understanding cryptocurrency and blockchainCourse start date: Sat 14 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Vina TheodorakopoulouDemystify cryptocurrency and blockchain technology in this beginner-friendly course, exploring their economic implications through engaging discussions and practical examples.Full fee £59.00 Senior fee £59.00 Concession £59.00 - Up close and personal with Greek archaeological treasuresCourse start date: Sat 14 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Sarah Merali-SmithDiscover stunning objects from ancient Greece and the evidence they provide for the lives of ancient people. Spend the afternoon having a close look at the British Museum's collection.Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £55.00 Concession £45.00 - London's East End in fact and fictionCourse start date: Sat 14 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Sarah WiseCovering the early 19th century to the early 20th century, we will examine the history of the East End, and we will analyse how it was portrayed in works of fiction. - Full fee £49.00 Senior fee £39.00 Concession £32.00
- Edith Wharton, Henry James and the Decoration of HousesCourse start date: Sat 14 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Phyllis RichardsonEdith Wharton and Henry James had a keen eye for a well-designed and tastefully decorated house and both brought us depictions of splendid interiors in their novels set in ‘the Gilded Age’. We’ll discuss the changing tastes at the turn of the century, and how both authors used interior decoration to reflect the moral turn of their characters and the age.Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £55.00 Concession £45.00 - Asylum for Sale? Capitalism and the Migration IndustryCourse start date: Sat 21 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Siobhan McGuirkThis course examines how profit-making activities are growing around people on the move. It asks: How does capitalism shape refugees’ lives? Who profits while others are deported or detained? And how might we challenge these harmful industries?
Full fee £29.00 Senior fee £23.00 Concession £19.00 - Royal Mistresses of England and FranceCourse start date: Sat 21 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Vanessa KingTake a romp through history exploring the highs and lows of being a royal mistress. You may have heard of the Fair Rosamund or Diane de Poitiers, but what about The Maypole and The Elephant?Full fee £49.00 Senior fee £39.00 Concession £32.00 - Demystifying PoetryCourse start date: Sat 21 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Whether you are new to poetry or an experienced reader of verse, this course will enable and enhance your enjoyment by exploring the techniques that poetry uses to affect our response and create meaning. Exploring rhythm and rhyme, voice, mood, imagery, language and allusions, we will focus on a diverse range of poetic examples to examine how this powerful form of literature works to create emotion and connection with the reader.Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £55.00 Concession £45.00 - International Monetary Fund (IMF): Friend or Foe?Course start date: Sat 21 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Tariq HassanAfter more than 75 years since the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the world’s lender of last resort, made its first loan, the effects of its policies in general and lending practices in particular remain contested.Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £69.00 Concession £45.00 - Study day: The Dada revolution from Duchamp to Hannah HöchCourse start date: Sat 21 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Rachel SandersThis course will explore the Dada movement, focusing on Duchamp and Höch as key examples, considering such issues as social and political context, theoretical interests, material experimentation, and artistic influences.Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £55.00 Concession £45.00 - A condensed history of sculpture: ten sculptors who’ve shaped art historyCourse start date: Sat 28 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Rachel SandersStudy sculptors from the Renaissance to the Post-Modern, including Donatello, Bernini, Canova, Rodin, Picasso and Whiteread, considering styles, materials, and techniques of key works within social and cultural contexts.Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £55.00 Concession £45.00 - Neurodiversity as a fact of society: a brief introductionCourse start date: Sat 28 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Vina TheodorakopoulouBritish society is diverse, and not only in terms of faiths, ethnic backgrounds and other mostly visible differences. Neurodiversity is also a central aspect. Join us on this non-accredited course for a brief introduction to neurodiversity in society and discover how to engage with and support neurodivergent strengths.Full fee £59.00 Senior fee £59.00 Concession £59.00 - Disease, death and mummies in Ancient EgyptCourse start date: Sat 28 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Rosalind JanssenLiving and dying with disease; being buried and mummified in Ancient Egypt. What are the latest discoveries and theories? Who is carrying out this work, and what are the ethical considerations? Human remains will be explored in a museum setting.Full fee £59.00 Senior fee £47.00 Concession £38.00 - Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £55.00 Concession £45.00
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