Culture, history & humanities

Explore Culture, History & Humanities Courses

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.

Courses available both in-person and online

Join us in the heart of London for in-person classes. Our modern campus in Covent Garden is easy to reach and buzzing with creativity. With modern purpose-built facilities and state-of-the-art equipment, it’s the perfect space to support your learning journey. Explore our facilities >

Prefer learning online? Our live online courses bring expert teaching to you, wherever you are.

Whether you choose to study in-person or online, all our courses are live, interactive, and taught by expert tutors. Wherever and however you want to learn, we’re here for you.

Courses available both in-person and online

We offer a range of long and short courses allowing you to choose between in-person and online learning.

Learn in the centre of London with our in-person courses. Our purpose-built facilities in Covent Garden mean we are ideally located and easy to get to. 

See our guide to online learning for more information about accessing our live online courses.

All our courses are live, interactive, and taught by expert tutors. No matter how you prefer to learn, we've got the class for you.

 

We're delighted to share with you part of our upcoming Autumn term Culture and Humanities programme; please note that we expect the full Autumn Term programme to be on the website by the middle of May so check back soon!

 

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  1. Full fee £10.00 Senior fee £10.00 Concession £10.00
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  2. Contemporary British and international fiction
    Course start date:  Wed 17 Sep 2025

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Aamer Hussein
    We will be looking at novels from recent years that explore various dimensions of culture and society, reading and discussing a brief and careful selection of novels in English from several countries, diverse in style and genre. Titles include Piranesi, Susanna Clarke's mysterious and 'weird' tale of secrets and lost texts, William Boyd's Trio, which follows the life of an actress, a film producer, and a writer obsessed with the suicide of Virginia Woolf, Small Things Like These by Clare Keegan, in which a coal merchant becomes involved with the fate of a pregnant teenager trapped in a Magdalene Laundry, and Michelle de Kretser's Theory and Practice follows the academic trajectory of a Sri Lankan feminist researching the novels of Woolf.
    Full fee £259.00 Senior fee £207.00 Concession £168.00
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  3. Beyond the headlines: Left populism and socialism today
    Evening
    Course start date:  Wed 17 Sep 2025

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Salome Ietter
    This course will provide an overview of the politics of ‘Left populism’ in their historical perspective and contemporary manifestations as well as in their relation to socialist politics.
    Full fee £79.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £51.00
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  4. Exploring British cinema
    Evening
    Course start date:  Wed 17 Sep 2025

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Jon Wisbey
    Defining itself around themes such as realism, class and national identity, and differentiating itself from Hollywood and other national cinemas, British cinema has found critical and popular acclaim both domestically and internationally. This course explores key themes and developments in British cinema, past and present, through a range of films, filmmakers and critical concepts and responses.
    Full fee £129.00 Senior fee £129.00 Concession £84.00
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  5. Reading Shakespeare: a director's perspective - Merchant of Venice and Othello
    Course start date:  Wed 24 Sep 2025

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Laura Baggaley
    Take a fresh look at Shakespeare, exploring selected plays in the company of an experienced theatre director. With performance in mind, we will examine the language and themes of two plays, watch and compare clips of stage productions and discuss the extraordinary variety to be found in Shakespeare’s work.
    Full fee £219.00 Senior fee £175.00 Concession £142.00
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  6. Literature taster: poetry
    Course start date:  Wed 24 Sep 2025

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Sophie Oxenham

    Curious about reading poetry? Join us for this taster session to boost your confidence and whet your appetite for further learning and exploration!

    Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £15.00 Concession £12.00
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  7. Full fee £249.00 Senior fee £249.00 Concession £125.00
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  8. National Gallery
    Course start date:  Wed 24 Sep 2025 (and 1 other date)

    Location on this date:  Off Site

    Tutors:  Leslie Primo
    Discuss a differently themed group of paintings each week in front of the pictures. An opportunity to understand our national collection in greater depth.
    Full fee £299.00 Senior fee £239.00 Concession £194.00
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  9. Wild Nights: poetry and desire
    Course start date:  Wed 24 Sep 2025

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Laurie Smith
    Some friendships, including with people of the same sex, may become so intense as to be love, though not necessarily of a sexual kind. We will look at some great poets who have had this experience and expressed it brilliantly in their work: Shakespeare and Byron, Tennyson and Emily Dickinson, Arthur Rimbaud and Thomas Hardy, C P Cavafy and the great 20th century Russian poet Some Marina Tsvetaeva, and finally our recent Poet Laureate, Carol Ann Duffy.
    Full fee £259.00 Senior fee £207.00 Concession £168.00
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  10. Cultureplex Ciné-Club: women directors and their wonderlands
    Evening
    Course start date:  Wed 24 Sep 2025

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Katie Goss
    Come and join us at the Cultureplex Ciné-Club: Women directors and their Wonderlands, where you will have the opportunity to view and discuss the work of innovative female filmmakers whose work generates dazzling visions of alternative modes of living and spectatorship. A development from our existing Cultureplex Ciné-Club courses and taking its cue from the famous Parisian Ciné-club set up by the celebrated critic and writer, André Bazin, this incarnation of the film club will allow for the viewing of a different film each week, followed by detailed discussion and debate. The film will be introduced, and placed in both its cinematic, cultural and historic context. In sharing our viewing in City Lit’s premier screening room, the Cultureplex, we will approximate the experience of watching film in the cinema, one that is intense and fully focussed in a way that other modes of viewing often are not. After the screening we will devote the rest of the class to a collective exploration of the film, led by the tutor, but involving everyone in a participatory discussion that will allow all to express their responses, their views, their thoughts on the film screened.
    Full fee £239.00 Senior fee £239.00 Concession £155.00
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