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.
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 an academic essay
Course start date: Tue 18 Apr 2023Location on this date: Online
Tutors: William BradyA crash course in essay writing – beginnings, middles and ends. Suitable for students on A level and access courses or undergraduates.
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 - Ways into creative writing: an introductionCourse start date: Mon 20 Feb 2023 (and 5 other dates)
Location on this date: Online (other locations are available)
Tutors: Yvonne SinghNot 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 £65.00 - Picture book writingCourse start date: Mon 13 Feb 2023 (and 3 other dates)
Location on this date: Online (other locations are available)
Tutors: Lou KuenzlerWould you like to write a picture book text for young children? This course is designed for children's writers and for illustrators wishing to write their own stories; a starter course to develop both your ideas and your technique.
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 - The EU today: integration, disintegration or both?Course start date: Tue 25 Apr 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Angelos SeposThe course examines the history, theories, dynamics and processes of European integration and disintegration manifested in the crises of the Eurozone, immigration, Brexit, the Covid-19 pandemic and the Ukraine war.
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 - The global politics of gender and sexualityCourse start date: Tue 25 Apr 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Barbara SchenkelAre you interested in thinking about what we mean when we say ‘gender’? What studying sexuality has to do with colonial structures? And the importance of thinking about different forms of marginalisation together, beyond gender and sexuality? Then this course is for you. It aims to give students a solid foundation for a critical intervention in contemporary debates that often render issues of gender, feminist movements, and sexual minorities into single-issue or individualising, decontextualised conversations.
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 £50.00 - Global history for beginnersCourse start date: Wed 26 Apr 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Martin JorgensenWhat is global history? How is it different from other ways of understanding history? This introductory course will give you a sense of what it means to study global history.
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 - Making sense of the Russian invasion of UkraineCourse start date: Wed 26 Apr 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Angelos SeposWant to get beyond headlines? Join Dr. Sepos to examine the causes and dynamics of the war in Ukraine by focusing on the role of US, EU and NATO, Putin’s Russia, and the international politico-economic system.
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 - The Iliad reading group (in translation)Course start date: Wed 3 May 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Justin MurrayCome and explore Homer's great epic tale in translation.
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 - From Caligari to Touch of Evil: Expressionism in the CinemaCourse start date: Fri 5 May 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Jon WisbeyCharacterised by chiaroscuro, or high contrast lighting, and similarly stylised narratives, the expressionist film informs German cinema of the 1920s, French poetic realism of the 1930s, and the American and European film noir of the 1940s and 1950s. This course explores a range of key examples of expressionist cinema drawn from these contexts and asks why the style continues to fascinate us.
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 - Unreal city: the history of London through literature from 1800 to todayCourse start date: Tue 9 May 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Sarah WiseFiction writers are often the first to identify and analyse a social phenomenon. We will examine two centuries of London history through the eyes of novelists and poets, from William Blake to Zadie Smith.
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 - Japanese crime fictionCourse start date: Thu 11 May 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Beatrice Ashton-LelliottJapanese crime literature is reaching new audiences, with many classics being translated into English for the first time. This course explores a range of Japanese mysteries, detectives and their recurring themes, from ‘locked room’ classics to the dark side of human nature – with many murders along the way!
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 - Exploring medieval literature: late medieval dramaCourse start date: Mon 15 May 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Thomas WhiteShakespeare and the Globe Theatre loom large in the history of drama in England. But what came before the Bard? What is the history of drama in the period before named playwrights were producing scripts for professional actors to perform in front of paying audiences? This course will cover the dramatic works of the late medieval period (c. 1350-1550), their fascinating cultural, social, and political contexts, and their influence on the development of drama in England.
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 £45.00 - American politics for beginnersCourse start date: Sat 20 May 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Sandra CarvalhoIn this introductory onlline course, you will explore the historical roots and evolution of American democracy, as well as current trends in the country’s national politics.
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 £71.00 Concession £58.00 - Histories and memories of empireCourse start date: Wed 31 May 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Martin JorgensenWe live in a world that still defined by different forms of imperial subjugation, but the former colonies and metropoles remember the colonial and imperial past very differently. Join us for an introduction to how the different communities and populations around the world remember and live with their imperial pasts.
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 - The history of the FBI: 1908-1976Course start date: Mon 5 Jun 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Dafydd TownleyThe online course will assess the impact of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the leadership of its first Director, J. Edgar Hoover, on US politics, society and culture from its beginnings in 1908 until 1976.
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
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