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.
- Plague, famine and war: Fourteenth century Europe
Course start date: Mon 12 May 2025Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Vanessa KingNo sooner had the Great Famine of 1315-22 taken its toll then along came the Black Death to wipe out half the remaining population but there was also a flourishing of art and literature.Full fee £249.00 Senior fee £199.00 Concession £162.00 - Philosophy and the meaning of lifeCourse start date: Mon 12 May 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Karl WhiteSome philosophers have insisted that philosophy should explain the meaning of our existence. What does it mean for us to be? And how then should we live? This course examines some seriously philosophical answers.
- Black British Studies: Beyond WindrushCourse start date: Mon 12 May 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Michele ScottJoin a journey of the examination of the modern day complexities and critical deconstruction of contemporary Black British Life.Full fee £119.00 Senior fee £95.00 Concession £77.00 - German Idealism from Kant to Hegel: the beginnings of continental philosophy Course start date: Mon 12 May 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Christopher HornerGerman philosophers created the most ambitious and imaginative systems of thought of modern times against the backdrop of revolution and war. This creative and speculative beginning to modern continental philosophy is an exciting intellectual adventure. - Craft focus: grammar, syntax, and style for creative writers Course start date: Mon 12 May 2025 (and 3 other dates)
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: William BradyGreat poetry and prose begin when the writer puts the right words in the right places. Learn how and why the rules and conventions of language matter in this new course, which combines creative writing with a review of essential points of grammar.Full fee £179.00 Senior fee £179.00 Concession £90.00 - Japanese philosophyCourse start date: Mon 12 May 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: John GoffJapanese philosophy extends well beyond Zen, with several philosophical traditions including that of the modern Kyoto School. Developing distinct cultural, aesthetic and political concepts, Japanese philosophers offer a rich field of thought. - Introduction to Latin American art Course start date: Mon 12 May 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Sarah JaffrayExplore the art of Latin America from indigenous cultures to colonisation and through the revolutions of the 20th and 21st centuries. - The death of GodCourse start date: Mon 12 May 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: John HolroydOver the past five hundred years in the West belief in God has declined. This course will examine why this has happened and consider the meaning and significance of what has taken place.Full fee £199.00 Senior fee £159.00 Concession £129.00 - How to read a film: a beginners' guide to cinema Course start date: Mon 12 May 2025 (and 2 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Paul SuttonThis course will develop your critical appreciation of the cinema by teaching you how to read and understand film texts. We will look at the elements that underpin film form – narrative, mise en scène, cinematography, editing and sound – alongside its historical development. We will consider film style by exploring classical, post-classical and art cinema and we will examine influential critical modes of analysis, such as genre, authorship and spectatorship.Full fee £169.00 Senior fee £135.00 Concession £110.00 - A Very British History of MigrationCourse start date: Mon 12 May 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Siobhan McGuirkTaking a critical historical approach, this course with Dr. McGuirk charts how migration has shaped British politics, law, culture and society – and helped transform popular ideas about what it means to be British today.Full fee £129.00 Senior fee £103.00 Concession £84.00 - Poetry from the EdgeCourse start date: Mon 12 May 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Laurie SmithSome poets began their writing lives, and sometimes lived much of them, outside the 'normal' modern urban lives which most of us experience. They have lived at the margins and despite - or perhaps because of - their geographic, political or emotional isolation, they have become major poets. We will look at how each has achieved national and international success with their poetry. Poets include C P Cavafy, Stevie Smith, Derek Walcott, Seamus Heaney and Bob Dylan.Full fee £229.00 Senior fee £183.00 Concession £149.00 - Terrific Tudors: Act Three: Social lifeCourse start date: Mon 12 May 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Vanessa KingExplore the everyday life of men and women during the closing years of the Tudors as revealed in the works of local historians and other contemporary material.Full fee £169.00 Senior fee £135.00 Concession £110.00 - 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 - Thinking through philosophy: a guideCourse start date: Mon 2 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Christopher HornerWhat is morality and what is it based on? Is the mind a ghost in the machine? What can I really know? This is a beginner’s introduction to how philosophy tackles questions like these and many others.
- Ways into creative writing: a gentle paceCourse start date: Wed 11 Jun 2025 (and 4 other dates)
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Henry MartinAre you brand new to creative writing? Do you want to build your confidence in a supportive environment alongside other beginners? This gentle short-course guides students taking their first steps on the path to becoming a creative writer.Full fee £149.00 Senior fee £149.00 Concession £75.00
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