History, culture & writing - Keeley Street

Explore History, Culture & Writing

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.

Courses available both in-person and online

We offer a range of long and short courses allowing you to choose between in-person and online learning.

Learn in the centre of London with our in-person courses. Our purpose-built facilities in Covent Garden mean we are ideally located and easy to get to. 

See our guide to online learning for more information about accessing our live online courses.

All our courses are live, interactive, and taught by expert tutors. No matter how you prefer to learn, we've got the class for you.

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  1. Britain: the 1800s- poverty, industry & protest
    Course start date:  Thu 9 May 2024

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Ellen Carpenter
    How did the working classes adapt to the social changes brought about by the Industrial Revolution? Shifting demographics, the rise of industry, child labour and the role of women in the industrial sphere are all themes that we will explore on this course, together with public protests against wages and living conditions.
    Full fee £149.00 Senior fee £119.00 Concession £97.00
  2. Global encounters: Europe and the Ottoman Empire, 1206-1368
    Course start date:  Mon 13 May 2024

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Vanessa King
    The Turks entered European consciousness in 1071 when they captured the Byzantine emperor at the Battle of Manzikert. So began centuries of uneasy co-existence between Christians and Muslims on the fringes of Europe.
    Full fee £149.00 Senior fee £119.00 Concession £97.00
  3. How to read a film: a beginners' guide to cinema
    Course start date:  Mon 13 May 2024

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Paul Sutton
    This 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 £149.00 Senior fee £119.00 Concession £97.00
    Rating:
    87% of 100
  4. The detective in popular modern crime fiction
    Last Few Places
    Course start date:  Tue 14 May 2024

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Christine Hawkins
    What sells crime novels? Does knowing about the detective's other life make readers appreciate or rate their detective skills more? Why does the figure of the male detective remain so dominant in the genre, especially given that many of the texts are by female authors? We will analyse and the discuss the development of the male detective figure in recent crime fiction, including 'A certain Justice' by P.D. James, 'In the Woods' by Tana French and 'Career of Evil' by Robert Galbraith.
    Full fee £149.00 Senior fee £119.00 Concession £97.00
  5. Writing for magazines
    Course start date:  Wed 24 Apr 2024 (and 5 other dates)

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Laura Silverman
    Get inspired to write on this practical course for freelance journalists and bloggers. Learn to carry out research, interview people, pitch and publish stories, and build your presence on social media.



    This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.
    Full fee £139.00 Senior fee £139.00 Concession £70.00
    Rating:
    98% of 100
  6. Spinoza and Leibniz: making sense of the world
    Course start date:  Wed 15 May 2024

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Spinoza and Leibniz both looked to human reason to make sense of the world, but we will see that they gave strikingly different accounts of the existence of our world, and the purpose of human life.
    Full fee £149.00 Senior fee £119.00 Concession £97.00
  7. Art in Britain since 2000: where are we now?
    Course start date:  Thu 16 May 2024

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Chantal Condron
    Discover 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 £119.00 Senior fee £95.00 Concession £77.00
  8. Reading Shakespeare: a director's perspective - Twelfth Night and Two Gentlemen of Verona
    Course start date:  Wed 22 May 2024

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Laura Baggaley
    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 of The Two Gentlemen of Verona and Twelfth Night,



    and discuss how Shakespeare’s use of verse evolves over the course of his career.
    Full fee £149.00 Senior fee £119.00 Concession £97.00
  9. Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs: an introduction for beginners
    Course start date:  Fri 24 May 2024

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Hugo Cook
    This four-week course delves into the written words and thoughts of the ancient Egyptians. Students will gain a foundation in the iconic writing of hieroglyphs, putting their newfound skills into practice by reading original texts from British Museum artefacts. This is a truly fascinating and intricate language, and it offers its readers the ability to understand the lost voices of one of history’s most remarkable civilisations. The class will be held in Covent Garden, with regular visits to the near-by British Museum.
    Full fee £129.00 Senior fee £103.00 Concession £84.00
  10. Figures in British politics and society you need to know!
    Course start date:  Tue 28 May 2024

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Gabriel Olumide Apata
    The aim of this course is to bring to the forefront those, in British politics and society, who may have been confined to the fringes of history, simply been forgotten about, not fully understood or had their stories altered to fit a certain narrative. Curious? Join us to learn more!
    Full fee £149.00 Senior fee £149.00 Concession £97.00
  11. Cities of Gold: Pre-Columbian Civilizations of North and Central America (2),
    Course start date:  Wed 29 May 2024

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Max Carocci
    Join Dr. Carocci to explore the little known history of pre-Columbian civilizations North of Mexico and their links to Aztec and other Mexican cultures.
    Full fee £149.00 Senior fee £119.00 Concession £97.00
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