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.
Study in-person at City Lit or offsite, or online from the comfort of home, with interactive classes that allow you to participate in discussions with fellow adult students. We offer daytime, evening and weekend courses, both short and long. For more information on our online courses, please see our guide to online learning.
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.
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- Ways into creative writing: an introduction
Course start date: Fri 10 Jun 2022 (and 4 other dates)Location on this date: Online (other locations are available)
Tutors: Eleanor PennyNot 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 £129.00 Senior fee £129.00 Concession £52.00 - The Renaissance in UmbriaCourse start date: Fri 10 Jun 2022
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Lydia GoodsonExplore the Italian Renaissance from Umbria, the land of Raphael and Perugino. Expand your knowledge beyond Florence, Rome and Venice to discover the artistic treasures of this little-studied region of Italy.
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 £103.00 Concession £79.00 - Seminal films of the 1980sCourse start date: Fri 10 Jun 2022
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Mick McAloonIn the 1980s, as Hollywood rejected the auteur-driven movies of the 1970s in favour of “high-concept” action films (Top Gun, Days of Thunder) there were still filmmakers – Martin Scorsese, Agnès Varda, Jane Campion and Spike Lee – who continued to expand the art form. Drawing from Europe, Britain, New Zealand and America, this course explores some of the defining films of a much-maligned decade.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £159.00 Senior fee £127.00 Concession £97.00 - Friday lates: 'the future is now', an introduction to video artCourse start date: Fri 10 Jun 2022
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Irina ChkhaidzeExplore the early history of video art, its rise as a medium and its significance as a contemporary art practice. We focus on the influential video works from the 1960s-1980s.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £15.00 Concession £12.00 - 'We're still here': new contemporary painting in the UKCourse start date: Fri 10 Jun 2022
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Chantal CondronLiving in a digital age, is contemporary painting ‘redundant'? This four week course explores how alive and kicking contemporary painting is in Britain. Discover how exciting, new UK-based artists use both experimental and traditional painting approaches to address issues of identity, history and personal experience.
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 £79.00 Concession £60.00 - Life writing: a tasterCourse start date: Fri 10 Jun 2022
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Claire CollisonThis inspiring workshop encourages students to explore a range of techniques and approaches for writing about your own life.
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 - Micro-memoir: a tasterCourse start date: Fri 24 Jun 2022
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Julie GartonA life is measured in moments as well as momentous occasions. This fun day workshop coaches students in the art of micro-memoir. Can you write about an instant that changed you in 200 words or less?
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £19.00 Concession £8.00 - Judaism and Modernist Literature: from Kafka to Clarice LispectorCourse start date: Fri 24 Jun 2022
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: James LevequeThis course will examine the contributions of Jewish writers in the developments of literary Modernism, from the beginning of the 20th century. We will develop an understanding of how Jewish writers deployed the techniques and themes developed in Modernist writing to approach a series of topics, such as the Jewish family and his or relation to the national body, the Jew as racialised figure and anti-semitism, and the Jewish scriptural traditions.
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 £103.00 Concession £79.00 - Friday lates: Jean-Michel Basquiat and Kara Walker - representing historyCourse start date: Fri 24 Jun 2022
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Sarah JaffrayExplore how Basquiat and Walker, two of contemporary art’s most important voices, use art history, from Ancient Egypt to Abstract Expressionism, to get viewer's thinking about contemporary issues of racism, gender and representation.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £19.00 Concession £12.00 - Go to the Warres:’ Women, Power and the English Civil WarsCourse start date: Fri 1 Jul 2022
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Ellen CarpenterSpies, military strategists, couriers, petitioners, soldiers, nurses – women played an extraordinary variety of roles during the English Civil Wars of the 1640s. In this session, we will explore the significance of women’s participation for both the Royalist and Parliamentarian causes. What motivated women and what can their experiences teach us about the nature of the relationship between gender, power and warfare in the era?
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £10.00 Senior fee £10.00 Concession £10.00 - Demeter, Persephone, and the myth of rebirthCourse start date: Fri 8 Jul 2022
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Anita KasabovaGoddesses Demeter and Persephone are associated with the crop cycle and the Eleusinian mysteries. In this course we discuss the Homeric hymn to Demeter and explore the soul’s descent into the underworld and its rebirth, guided by the ‘Orphic’ gold tablets found in ancient graves.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £10.00 Senior fee £10.00 Concession £10.00 - Micropoetry: small poems, big ideasCourse start date: Fri 22 Jul 2022
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Jennifer WongExplore the emerging art form of micropoetry in this fun but informative day workshop. Compose your own poetry and learn how to make every word on the page count.
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 - How to spark your creative writingCourse start date: Fri 5 Aug 2022
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Sophie McKenzieDiscover the joy of creative writing! Leave stress and worry at the door and find new ways to express your creativity on this fun, dynamic and supportive short course. Please note: this course will have a 2-hr break from 12:30-14:30.
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 - The 60 minute writerCourse start date: Fri 29 Apr 2022 (and 3 other dates)
Location on this date: Online (other locations are available)
Tutors: Rosie FioreFit 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 £40.00 - Creative non-fictionCourse start date: Mon 25 Apr 2022 (and 2 other dates)
Location on this date: Online (other locations are available)
Tutors: Vicky GrutExplore practical and imaginative approaches to creative non fiction, including travel writing, life writing and the essay. Analyse published work, produce your own pieces, and benefit from detailed feedback.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £209.00 Senior fee £209.00 Concession £84.00
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