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.
Courses available both in-person and online
We offer a range of courses allowing you to choose between online and in-person learning. All our courses are live, interactive, and taught by expert tutors. No matter how you prefer to learn, you’ll receive the same great City Lit experience. See our guide to online learning for more information about accessing our live online 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.
- Nostalgia Cinema: the return of the 50s and 80sCourse start date: Tue 28 Jun 2022
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Ann-Marie FlemingIn the 1970s, nostalgia became commercialised. Most notably, cinema looked to the fifties for material. This cinematic version of the era has a recognisable aesthetic. This course looks at how and why the past is recalled in cinema. Additionally, the course discusses the theory of nostalgia and how it changed throughout the 20th century.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £99.00 Senior fee £99.00 Concession £60.00 - Ways into creative writing: an introduction
Course start date: Wed 25 May 2022 (and 14 other dates)Location on this date: Online (other locations are available)
Tutors: Tasha KavanaghNot 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.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £89.00 Senior fee £89.00 Concession £36.00 - Writing and rewriting fairytalesCourse start date: Sat 23 Jul 2022 (and 4 other dates)
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Helen CoxOnce upon a time there was a City Lit workshop led by an author who loved fairytales. Her quest: to inspire writers to pen stories of love, fear, forests, revenge, dragons, witches, kings, queens, frogs and magic.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £69.00 Concession £28.00 - Animals in art - from medieval art to todayCourse start date: Tue 13 Sep 2022
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Irina ChkhaidzeThis course focuses on historical shifts in the depiction of animals from the late medieval period to the present, and on the contemporary representations of human-animal relations.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £99.00 Senior fee £99.00 Concession £64.00 - US history for beginnersCourse start date: Tue 20 Sep 2022
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Dafydd TownleyThis online course offers a brief examination of, and introduction to, the political, economic, social and cultural aspects of the United States, 1608 - 2001.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £89.00 Senior fee £89.00 Concession £45.00 - Writing an academic essayCourse start date: Tue 20 Sep 2022 (and 2 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street (other locations are available)
Tutors: Sinead KeeganA crash course in essay writing – beginnings, middles and ends. Suitable for students on A-level and access courses or undergraduates.Full fee £99.00 Senior fee £99.00 Concession £50.00 - The 60 minute writerCourse start date: Wed 27 Apr 2022 (and 15 other dates)
Location on this date: Online (other locations are available)
Tutors: Tasha KavanaghFit creative writing into your busy day: a relaxed, informal rolling programme for writers of all levels of experience who enjoy being thrown new ideas and experimenting with poetry and prose.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £99.00 Senior fee £99.00 Concession £50.00 - Mexico: From the war of independence to the presentCourse start date: Tue 4 Oct 2022
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Anna GrimaldiWant to know more about Mexico? Join us in this course where we look at the history of Mexico beginning with the first independence uprisings in the early 19th century until the presidency of Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £99.00 Senior fee £99.00 Concession £50.00 - Create your first poetry collectionCourse start date: Tue 22 Nov 2022 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Ella FrearsYou'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.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £69.00 Concession £35.00 - First poets of the Modern City: Baudelaire, Whitman, Laforgue and EliotCourse start date: Tue 24 Jan 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Laurie SmithWe explore how Baudelaire, Whitman, Laforgue and Eliot were the first poets to express in detail both the exciting
opportunities and the emotional and spiritual damage of life in the modern city. We will look in particular how Baudelaire’s
poems and Laforgue’s translations of Whitman into French influenced Eliot’s early poetry, culminating in The Waste Land (1922).
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £99.00 Senior fee £99.00 Concession £64.00 - How to get publishedCourse start date: Tue 14 Feb 2023 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Neil ArkseySo you've finished your novel. What's next? This short course provides guidance in submitting to agents and publishers, and helps you to tailor your work to maximise its potential in the marketplace.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £129.00 Senior fee £129.00 Concession £65.00
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