Advanced Literary Study
Ways into Advanced Literary Study is creative, rigorous and challenging, exploring the rich rewards of close reading analysis in fiction, poetry and drama. From Ibsen to Kate Chopin and T.S. Eliot, our courses allow you to discuss and debate great works from different genres and periods of time.
Learn at time that suits you
We offer daytime, evening and weekend courses, both short and long. Our tutors are experts in their fields and experienced educators. Tutors share their knowledge and passion through presentations, screenings, interactive discussion, analysis, and other activities.
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Many students return to take more courses, telling us they enjoy being part of our City Lit literary community. Our popular courses often sell out quickly, so we invite you to browse and book your place now.
- Ways of reading: aspects of narrative theoryCourse start date: Fri 16 May 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Jenny StevensWhat do we mean by ‘literary fiction’? What expectations do we bring to the novels we read? Do we really ‘escape’ when we enter fictional worlds? These are just some of the questions addressed in a course which focuses on the analysis of prose fiction. Reading texts as short as one-sentence ‘flash fiction’ to complete short stories, it engages with writing from a wide range of periods and authors, paying close attention to narrative techniques and their effects. - Ways into Advanced Literature: the dawning of modernityCourse start date: Wed 1 Oct 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Patricia SweeneyFor those who want to explore the rewards of in-depth literary study, focusing on fiction and drama. Read, analyse and debate works that reflect the cultural and historical changes in a shifting world, exploring three seminal works of the modern age: Three Sisters (1900) by Anton Chekhov, The Good Soldier (1915) by Ford Madox Ford and The Age of Innocence (1920) by Edith Wharton.Full fee £199.00 Senior fee £199.00 Concession £129.00 - Ways into Advanced Literature: disruptors, transgressors and storytellersCourse start date: Wed 7 May 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Patricia SweeneyExplore the challenges of close reading and critical thinking through reading, analysing and debating works from three authors that challenged the status quo and entered into the debates of their time. Includes 'Family Lexicon' (1963) by Natalia Ginzburg, 'Housekeeping' (1980) by Marilynne Robinson and 'Happiness' (2018) by Aminatta Forna.Full fee £129.00 Senior fee £129.00 Concession £84.00
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