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.
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- Writing the family
Course start date: Sat 19 Nov 2022 (and 3 other dates)Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Nick BarlayA thought-provoking workshop designed to tackle the challenges of writing about family life and offer guidance on shaping personal stories into coherent, engaging narratives.
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 - A taste of creative writingCourse start date: Sat 13 Aug 2022 (and 12 other dates)
Location on this date: Online (other locations are available)
Tutors: Tasha KavanaghGive 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 has 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 - Writing for children: a tasterCourse start date: Tue 12 Jul 2022 (and 3 other dates)
Location on this date: Online (other locations are available)
Tutors: Andrew WealeDevelop your ideas for children's stories in this practical and interactive short course. Topics will include plot, characterisation and viewpoint, and how to approach the children's publishing industry today.
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 - Beat writer’s blockCourse start date: Sat 16 Jul 2022 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Online (other locations are available)
Tutors: Kate SmurthwaiteA one day course for anyone who has started a project and lost their way, run out of momentum or found themselves staring at a blank page and wondering where the fun of writing went.
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 - Advanced academic writing: year 3 undergraduate and beyondCourse start date: Sat 16 Jul 2022 (and 3 other dates)
Location on this date: Online (other locations are available)
Tutors: Anne WilsonExplore the building blocks and strategies for good academic writing at postgraduate level. Ideal for those studying or contemplating academic writing beyond undergraduate studies.
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 - Writing for blogs: a tasterCourse start date: Sat 11 Feb 2023 (and 3 other dates)
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Lorna VAlready started a blog and want to know how to craft more engaging blog posts? This fun but informative workshop teaches the essential skills required to craft blogposts that will resonate with your audience.
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 - Oscar Trivia: The Secret History of Hollywood’s Academy AwardsCourse start date: Sat 16 Jul 2022
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: John WischmeyerThe story of the Oscars is the story of behind-the-scenes Hollywood. Oscar-winning script guru William Goldman famously said of Hollywood: “Nobody knows anything.” Certainly, nobody knows what wins Oscars, otherwise they would just follow a formula. Did you know that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was founded in 1927 by MGM studio boss Louis B. Mayer to prevent unionisation? It didn’t, but the Academy continued as a way to promote the film industry. To this day, its membership is self-selecting, and done in secret. Billy Crystal thought 'The Academy’ meant people in robes high in the Hollywood Hills seriously discussing film. It didn’t, but we will.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £59.00 Senior fee £47.00 Concession £36.00 - Masters of Cinema: Fritz LangCourse start date: Sat 16 Jul 2022
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Jon WisbeyExplore the cinema of Fritz Lang from his German films featuring fantasy themes, including Die Nibelungen and Metropolis and others reflecting Weimar society, such as M and The Testament of Dr Mabuse, to his Hollywood period and films dealing with American society, such as Fury, psychological film noirs, including Woman in the Window and Scarlet Street, and crime films such as The Big Heat.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £59.00 Senior fee £47.00 Concession £36.00 - Pacifism: the moral and philosophical dilemmas in the 21st centuryCourse start date: Sat 16 Jul 2022
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Bruce JohnsonFew people enjoy living with violence in society, but not many of us are prepared to identify as pacifists. What dilemmas do we face, when trying to adopt more peaceful practices?
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £59.00 Senior fee £47.00 Concession £30.00 - Ways into screenwriting: a tasterCourse start date: Sun 17 Jul 2022 (and 5 other dates)
Location on this date: Online (other locations are available)
Tutors: Alan NixonWant to write scripts but don't know how to start? Discover the basics of screenwriting - character, conflict and more - on this short online course that's designed to help you shape your ideas and get your story going. Please note: this course has 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 - Writing poetry: experiments in chance and choiceCourse start date: Sat 23 Jul 2022 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Mariah WhelanExplore interesting, off-beat and diverse approaches to generating verse on this one-day course. Try out cut-ups, found lines, experiments in meter and rhyme, and much more.
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 - AI and robots: what is the future for love?Course start date: Sat 23 Jul 2022
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Oliver JosiahSex robots are coming. But will this technology lead to a happier world in which sexual inequalities are addressed? Or will sexbots undermine our human relationships by perpetuating troubling attitudes toward women, minorities, and consent?
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £59.00 Senior fee £47.00 Concession £30.00 - A taste of philosophyCourse start date: Sat 7 Jan 2023 (and 3 other dates)
Location on this date: Online (other locations are available)
Tutors: John GoffHave you ever wondered what philosophy is? What do philosophers talk about? Can they tell you the meaning of life or is it just jargon and navel gazing? Come along and find out.
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 - Autobiography into fiction: a tasterCourse start date: Sat 23 Jul 2022 (and 5 other dates)
Location on this date: Online (other locations are available)
Tutors: Vicky GrutLearn how to turn real-life experiences into gripping fiction in this fun short course for fiction writing beginners and those interested in writing fiction from life. Develop your writing skills and explore techniques for transforming personal stories into written narratives, realistic or fantastical. Please note: this course has 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 - Borderlines of Madness in 19th century fictionCourse start date: Sat 23 Jul 2022 (and 2 other dates)
Location on this date: Online (other locations are available)
Tutors: Sarah WiseWe will explore various themes related to insanity and altered states of consciousness by examining a number of 19th-century works of fiction. Novelists and poets often had the greatest insights into the workings of the mind, and many Victorian psychiatrists cited works of fiction in their case studies. Among the authors we will cover are Charlotte Bronte, Edgar Allan Poe, Wilkie Collins, Gogol, Herman Melville and Charlotte Perkins Gilman.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £49.00 Senior fee £39.00 Concession £30.00
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