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.
- Hollywood Screwball Comedies
Course start date: Sat 25 Jun 2022Location on this date: Online
Tutors: John WischmeyerSuddenly sound brought a new genre in the early 1930s, a new type of romantic comedy, led by women throwing curveballs at Production Code censorship. Carole Lombard, Kate Hepburn, Rosalind Russell, and the mysterious Lady Eve, killing it in the face of the Great Depression. Screwball satirised the traditional love story, it was the battle of the sexes fought by women armed with rapid-fire, overlapping, cross-purposes Dorothy Parker dialogue directed by Howard Hawks, Frank Capra and Preston Sturges. This was a new theme for Hollywood and for audiences at the time.
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 - Writing eco-poetry: a tasterCourse start date: Sat 25 Jun 2022 (and 2 other dates)
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Sarah WestcottHow might poets write about the natural world in 2022 and beyond, and what is an eco-poem?
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 - Creative non-fiction: an introductionCourse start date: Thu 9 Jun 2022 (and 5 other dates)
Location on this date: Online (other locations are available)
Tutors: Claire CollisonThis short introductory course explores the core elements of creative non-fiction across genres such as travel writing, the personal essay and life writing. On this course you will start to produce your own works of creative non-fiction.
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 - Ways into creative writing: an introductionCourse 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 - Picture book writingCourse start date: Mon 6 Jun 2022 (and 11 other dates)
Location on this date: Online (other locations are available)
Tutors: Andrew WealeWould 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 £40.00 - Writing a memoir: an introductionCourse start date: Thu 16 Jun 2022 (and 5 other dates)
Location on this date: Online (other locations are available)
Tutors: Julie GartonSome moments in our lives are so powerful they beg to be shared with the world. This course will help you plan and craft a memoir that will resonate and inspire.
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 - Biography writingCourse start date: Thu 9 Jun 2022 (and 2 other dates)
Location on this date: Online (other locations are available)
Tutors: Robert FraserWhat makes a great biography? Learn to experiment with your own life writing as you uncover the techniques and methods of this exciting genre with a professional biographer.
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 - Performance poetryCourse start date: Sat 18 Jun 2022 (and 2 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street (other locations are available)
Tutors: Arji ManuelpillaiWrite poetry and perform it, finding your own style and delivery under the guidance of a spoken word artist. Explore the differences between performance and other forms of poetry.Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £69.00 Concession £35.00 - Craft focus: novel plotting workshop (advanced)Course start date: Sun 5 Jun 2022 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Jonathan BarnesIf you have made a start on your novel, but need help getting it into shape, this course provides a flexible template that will help you to overcome the obstacles ahead.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £199.00 Senior fee £199.00 Concession £100.00 - The poem as quest: writing narrative poetryCourse start date: Sat 11 Jun 2022 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Ellen CranitchFrom ballads to myths, learn the techniques and styles needed to write narrative poetry.
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 - 'We're still here': new contemporary painting in the UKCourse start date: Fri 10 Jun 2022 (and 1 other date)
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 £64.00 - Symbols and stories: saints in artCourse start date: Tue 21 Jun 2022 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Online (other locations are available)
Tutors: Elizabeth EyresSaints are represented in masterpieces of Christian art from 1200 to the present – learn how to recognise them, decode their meanings and iconography and enhance your understanding of this aspect of art history.
NB.The first class is online due to the rail and tube strike on Tuesday 21 June. The rest of the course will take place in person at City Lit, Keeley Street.Full fee £139.00 Senior fee £111.00 Concession £90.00 - 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
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