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.
Filters
- Creative non-fiction
Course start date: Mon 25 Apr 2022 (and 13 other dates)Location on this date: Online (other locations are available)
Tutors: Paul LaffanExplore 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 £105.00 - Introduction to political philosophyCourse start date: Tue 20 Sep 2022
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Christopher HornerWhat are the ends and means of politics? Interweaving modern history and politics with key philosophical texts, study and debate the ideas, ideologies and concepts underpinning our thinking about the organisation of society.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £189.00 Senior fee £189.00 Concession £95.00 - Starting your novelCourse start date: Mon 25 Apr 2022 (and 6 other dates)
Location on this date: Online (other locations are available)
Tutors: Vicky GrutGot a great idea for a novel? Jump start your project in this supportive course that covers craft basics such as character and plot. Ideal for writers of fiction with some experience who have an idea for a novel.
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 £105.00 - Spanish Art 1900-1937: the age of Picasso, Miró and DalíCourse start date: Wed 21 Sep 2022
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Mark Stuart-SmithReflecting a 'silver age' of literature, art in Spain before the Civil war encompasses the modernist genius of Picasso, Juan Gris and Miró; the surrealism of Dalí and the late Impressionism of Joaquín Sorolla.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £169.00 Senior fee £169.00 Concession £110.00 - The medieval history of SicilyCourse start date: Thu 22 Sep 2022
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Michael BloomfieldThis course explores the extraordinary medieval history of Sicily, the largest Mediterranean island, a bridge between Italy and Africa. We meet Greeks, Byzantines, Arabs, all-conquering sophisticated Normans, and the brutal, Empire-hungry Henry VI whose son Frederick promoted himself as the ideal king of an ideal kingdom….
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £189.00 Senior fee £189.00 Concession £95.00 - British Cinema of the 1980s: From My Beautiful Laundrette to Withnail and ICourse start date: Thu 22 Sep 2022
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Mick McAloonIn spite of Margaret Thatcher’s hostility towards the British film industry, the 1980s was an incredibly fertile period for British cinema. This online course explores the era’s defining films, including Meantime (Leigh 1983), My Beautiful Laundrette (Frears 1985), and Withnail and I (Robinson 1987), and its most influential filmmakers (Alan Clarke, Derek Jarman, Stephen Frears, Mike Leigh) and considers the socio-cultural influences at work.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £189.00 Senior fee £189.00 Concession £123.00 - Craft focus: grammar, syntax, and style for creative writersCourse start date: Fri 29 Apr 2022 (and 3 other dates)
Location on this date: Online
Great poetry and prose begin when the writer puts the right words in the right places. Learn how and why the rules and conventions of language matter in this new course, which combines creative writing with opportunities to learn/revise essential points of grammar and useful literary concepts. Suitable for beginning writers looking to build confidence, and those with more experience who would like to practise these essential skills.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £179.00 Senior fee £179.00 Concession £90.00 - From the Holy Roman Empire to the unification of Germany (the Middle Ages to 1871)Course start date: Mon 26 Sep 2022
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Rudolf MuhsThe course offers a broad survey of the German lands over the centuries from the Middle Ages to the Unification of
Germany in 1871.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £169.00 Senior fee £169.00 Concession £85.00 - London ‘lowlife’ in fiction: 1889-1907Course start date: Mon 26 Sep 2022
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Sarah WiseWe will explore the themes of poverty, politics, gender and ethnicity in London at the end of the 19th century/start of the 20th century through the eyes of writers of fiction, but also through the testimony of their non-fiction contemporaries – social investigators, government officials, journalists and philanthropists.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £179.00 Senior fee £179.00 Concession £116.00 - Colonial America: European Settlement 1560 – 1815Course start date: Wed 28 Sep 2022
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Dafydd TownleyThe online course explores European settlement (British, French, Spanish, Russian, Swedish) of North America. It examines the differences between English colonies; the American Revolution; the formation of the United States; and the War of 1812.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £169.00 Senior fee £169.00 Concession £85.00 - Japanese imperialismCourse start date: Thu 29 Sep 2022
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Dale Mineshima-LowePerhaps you are familiar with the history of the British empire. What about that of Japan? Join us to learn more.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £169.00 Senior fee £169.00 Concession £85.00 - World War 2: collaboration and resistance in Hitler's EuropeCourse start date: Wed 5 Oct 2022
Location on this date: Online
The course looks at the origins, articulations and legacies of resistance and collaboration in Hitler’s Europe (1939-1945).
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £169.00 Senior fee £169.00 Concession £85.00 - Avant-garde women: art innovations of the 20th & 21st centuriesCourse start date: Thu 13 Oct 2022
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Irina ChkhaidzeDiscover the work of prominent modern and contemporary women artists from the early twentieth century to the present, looking at the political and social transformations reflected in the artworks.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £179.00 Senior fee £179.00 Concession £116.00 - Spanish Art 1937-2000: propaganda, censorship and memoryCourse start date: Wed 9 Nov 2022
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Mark Stuart-SmithExplore the development of Spanish art from Picasso’s 1937 'Guernica' to the installations of Juan Muñoz in the 1980s and 1990s. We will focus on key episodes highlighting General Franco’s impact on Spanish art 1936-2000.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £169.00 Senior fee £169.00 Concession £110.00 - Understanding the modern worldCourse start date: Mon 9 Jan 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Christopher HornerExplore the ideas of four key thinkers whose ideas have vitally shaped our world. Examine their views on morality, meaning, the role and status of women, human nature, political and economic injustice 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 £189.00 Senior fee £189.00 Concession £95.00
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