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.
- Autobiography into fiction: getting started
Course start date: Sat 26 Jul 2025 (and 4 other dates)Location on this date: Online
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 - Writing middle grade fiction: a taster Course start date: Sat 31 May 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Neil ArkseyMiddle grade fiction now has a profile higher than ever before. Find out more about this rich and exciting category of fiction for young people and develop your own ideas for middle grade stories.Full fee £79.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £40.00 - Introduction to Islam: historical emergence, current issuesCourse start date: Sat 31 May 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Farid PanjwaniThe course is about exploring Muslim history: What is Islam? Who is a Muslim? This course explores these questions through a study of the Quran, the Prophet and the socio-political and religious developments in the early history of Muslims. You may discover that there is more than meets the eye. - Ways into Islamic art Course start date: Tue 3 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Anita ChowdryAn introductory course providing an overview of the development of the visual language of Islamic cultures in Asia, Africa and Europe.Full fee £129.00 Senior fee £103.00 Concession £84.00 - Land Acknowledgement and Racial Justice: Approaches from Different Settler SocietiesCourse start date: Tue 3 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Olivia DurandLearn about the origins and purpose of land acknowledgements in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and beyond. Examine their role in racial justice, Indigenous sovereignty, and whether they create real change or remain symbolic gestures.
Full fee £10.00 Senior fee £8.00 Concession £7.00 - Looking for the Golden Fleece: Jason and the ArgonautsCourse start date: Tue 3 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Maria ContosCome and explore the journey of the Argonauts and discover Jason.Full fee £49.00 Senior fee £39.00 Concession £32.00 - How to get an agent Course start date: Tue 3 Jun 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Neil ArkseyThis workshop, designed for authors who have finished their manuscript, offers practical advice on finding and approaching a literary agent.Full fee £79.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £40.00 - Modern France: from de Gaulle and the Resistance to MacronCourse start date: Thu 5 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Sebastien Ardouin(Re)discover France's complex politics during the Fourth and Fifth Republics, and the social challenges and tensions the country faced both at times of growth and modernisation and of crisis and doubts. - Origins of the Italian Renaissance: the PrimitiviCourse start date: Fri 6 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Simone ChisenaDiscover the history, politics and intellectualism that fuelled the Italian Renaissance. Explore the art of Giotto and his peers from a new perspective.Full fee £169.00 Senior fee £135.00 Concession £110.00 - Creative writing: getting started Course start date: Sat 7 Jun 2025 (and 8 other dates)
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Deborah MartinGive creative writing a try on this fun and supportive online short course. Ideal if you want to express yourself but need help in getting started. Guided exercises will encourage you to experiment and unlock your imagination. Please note: this course includes a 1-hr break.Full fee £79.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £40.00 - Create your first poetry collection Course start date: Sat 7 Jun 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Online
You've written and workshopped your poetry, and now you're ready to create your first collection. But where do you begin with that process? This workshop offers instruction and advice on putting together your first poetry collection.Full fee £79.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £40.00 - Clocks, countdowns, chronology: how do we experience time?Course start date: Mon 9 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Anita KasabovaDo we perceive time or the passage of events? Einstein famously considered time – or the distinction between past, present, and future – as an illusion. We examine subjective time or how we experience time, discussing the roles of memory, emotion, and narrative.Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £15.00 Concession £12.00 - The beauty of the medieval manuscript Course start date: Tue 10 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Emma Rose BarberIt is generally accepted that medieval illuminated manuscripts are very beautiful things. Something to do with all that gold-leaf maybe. While we cannot hold them in class, close-up digital reproduction will allow us to see if they really are as beautiful as we are told. Indeed, are none of them ugly? Join this course to find out. - Reimagining the RenaissanceCourse start date: Tue 10 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Emma Rose BarberMythical beasts, fruity swags, strange shell forms, odd expressions, the bizarre dream and fantasy subject matter – there is more to Renaissance art than meets the eye. Come and discover the strange work of Paolo Uccello, Carlo Crivelli, Piero di Cosimo, Ercole de’Roberti, Dosso Dossi, Cosmè Tura and Francesco del Cossa.Full fee £129.00 Senior fee £103.00 Concession £84.00 - Tuesday talks: Mystic modernism - modern art and spiritualityCourse start date: Tue 10 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Chantal CondronArt has long been inspired by themes, ideas and concepts of spirituality and magic. With the dawn of industry and technology in the modern age, what motivated artists to continue their pursuit of spiritual worlds? Why have these ideas remained so compelling to contemporary artists? On this engaging evening of art, magic and myth, explore work by selected artists from the early 1900s to the present day.Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £15.00 Concession £12.00
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