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.
- Craft focus: character in fiction
Course start date: Sat 10 May 2025 (and 1 other date)Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Tasha KavanaghIn fiction, character and plot are inseparable elements of craft. Without characters there can be no action or plot. In this short course you will learn how to create characters that can drive a narrative forward and deepen its themes.Full fee £79.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £40.00 - Bad Queens of England? Eleanor of Aquitaine and Isabella of AngoulemeCourse start date: Sat 10 May 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Vanessa KingEleanor failed to produce a son for Louis VII and urged her sons by Henry II to rebellion. Isabella abandoned her children by King John to start anew in France with her daughter’s fiancé. We consider their roles as queens.Full fee £49.00 Senior fee £39.00 Concession £32.00 - Modern art in America, 1900-1930: the Ashcan School to Precisionism Course start date: Sat 10 May 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Rachel SandersStudy American art, including paintings, illustrations and cartoons from late-nineteenth century Impressionism and Realism to Precisionism, analysing movements and styles, social and political context, materials, and art theory. - Writing myths Course start date: Sat 10 May 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Maria ContosWhether you want to write about mythical beasts in a modern-day setting or pen a traditional epic, this fun, interactive taster will equip you with the craft basics to write a myth that will move and inspire.Full fee £79.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £40.00 - Dickens' London Course start date: Sat 10 May 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Molly Rumbelow'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.' Enjoy this introduction to Dickens' work and the London of his time. Morning lecture at City Lit followed by a walk in the area of the city connected to his work.Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £55.00 Concession £45.00 - Ways into screenwriting: getting started Course start date: Sat 10 May 2025 (and 2 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Alan NixonWant to write scripts but don't know how to start? Discover the basics of screenwriting - character, conflict and more - on this short course that will help you shape your ideas and get your story going.Full fee £79.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £40.00 - Philosophy and near-death experience: what can we know?Course start date: Sat 17 May 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Edgar Ter-DanielyanThis course will present the phenomenon of Near Death Experiences (NDEs) from the philosophical perspective and will discuss what, if anything, we can learn from them.Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £55.00 Concession £45.00 - The struggles for genuine ownership: perspectives on Decoloniality in West AfricaCourse start date: Sat 17 May 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Sunday Abraham OgunodeJoin us to explore the challenges of pursuing decoloniaity in West Africa.Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £55.00 Concession £45.00 - Medicine in the Middle AgesCourse start date: Sat 17 May 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Vanessa KingTo treat an excess of phlegm make a steam inhaler from boiled ants. For burns and scalds apply snail slime. If you would like more useful medical and cosmetic tips with no guarantees of success, this course is for you.Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £55.00 Concession £69.00 - Modern art in America, 1930s: the age of Hopper, Rivera and the New Deal Course start date: Sat 17 May 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Rachel SandersFrom Edward Hopper to Philip Evergood to Diego Rivera, study American art from the turbulent 1930s, analysing movements and styles, social and political context, materials, and art theory.Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £55.00 Concession £45.00 - Climate Justice: Creating a more equal worldCourse start date: Sat 24 May 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Tariq HassanThe unfettered exploitation of natural resources by the Global North has led to an environmental catastrophe faced most severely and immediately by the Global South. Climate justice aims to deal with the inherent unfairness in the approaches to mitigate climate change and to help Global South adapt to its impacts,.Full fee £79.00 Senior fee £63.00 Concession £51.00 - Satan and the Devil: a cultural eye view through text, image and traditionCourse start date: Sat 24 May 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Ann JeffersThe figure of Satan/devil has pervaded many centuries of the cultural imagination of the Western world. The course will examine the literary and iconographic sources for this enduring phenomena and will ask why ideas about the devil have continued to both frighten and fascinate and why its long-lasting association with sexuality and deceit continues to make it an attractive theme in contemporary culture.Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £55.00 Concession £45.00 - 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 - Autobiography into fiction: getting started Course start date: Sat 31 May 2025 (and 4 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Nick BarlayLearn how to turn real-life experiences into gripping fiction in this fun short course for fiction writing beginners and experienced writers. Develop your writing skills and explore techniques for transforming personal stories into strong narratives.Full fee £79.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £40.00 - An introduction to Jainism Course start date: Sat 31 May 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Ketan VariaThis course is an introduction to Jain philosophy, with a particular emphasis on its relevance to environmentalism.Full fee £79.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £51.00
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