Explore Culture, History & Humanities Courses

Discover how exciting, new UK-based artists use both experimental and traditional approaches to art to address issues of identity, history and personal experience.

Join a journey of the examination of the modern day complexities and critical deconstruction of contemporary Black British Life.

Over 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.

Taking 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.

Some 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.

Explore 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.

This course explores the transformative period of Russian history from 1860 to 1924, encompassing the autocratic rule of the Tsars, the revolutionary upheavals of 1905 and 1917, the chaos of the civil war, and the consolidation of the Bolshevik regime. Students will examine key events, figures, and ideologies that shaped modern Russia, delving into the complexities of political, social, and economic changes during this era.



Please note: this course includes much of the material covered in previous Russian Revolution courses at the City Lit. Moreover this course is taught at an introductory level. Tutor: Zoe Quinn.

This course is an introduction to the key concepts in African philosophy. We will analyse the various positions and contestations regarding the nature, and trends in African philosophy, debate on communitarianism and personhood, and ubuntu.

Take a fresh look at Shakespeare, exploring selected plays in the company of an experienced theatre director. With performance in mind, we will examine the language and themes of Henry IV Part I and A Midsummer Night's Dream, and discuss the extraordinary variety to be found in Shakespeare's work.

In 1914 Britain was undoubtedly the world’s super power. It was stronger than America, Russia, Germany or China. Yet, by 1960 this had all changed as recognised by the British Prime Minister, Harold MacMillan who announced the process of decolonialisation in his winds of change speech in South Africa in 1960.