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.

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  1. Art and revolution: in the long 18th century
    Last Few Places
    Course start date:  Fri 21 Feb 2025

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Sarah Jaffray
    From the absolute monarch to the beheaded king, discover how artists contributed to the cultural revolutions of the ‘long 18th century’ (1630s-1800). We explore how shifts in artistic style and subject matter reflected dramatic social change. Through reading the philosophy of the age we uncover how this era’s complex notions of beauty and justice still impact art and society today.
    Full fee £199.00 Senior fee £159.00 Concession £129.00
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  2. Memories of European colonial empire
    Course start date:  Fri 21 Feb 2025

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Olivia Durand
    We 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.
    Full fee £169.00 Senior fee £135.00 Concession £110.00
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  3. Full fee £199.00 Senior fee £159.00 Concession £129.00
    Rating:
    93% of 100
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  4. Philosophy and cinema
    Course start date:  Fri 28 Feb 2025

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Daniel Weizman
    We explore the intersection of film and philosophy, engaging with the works of influential thinkers and film makers. Together, we discover how cinema opens new possibilities to examine enduring philosophical questions concerning the mind, reality, identity, and ideology.



    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 £135.00 Concession £110.00
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  5. Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphs: an introduction for beginners at the British Museum
    Last Few Places, Evening
    Course start date:  Fri 28 Mar 2025 (and 1 other date)

    Location on this date:  The British Museum

    Tutors:  Hugo Cook
    This four-week course delves into the written words and thoughts of the ancient Egyptians. Students will gain a foundation in the iconic writing of hieroglyphs, putting their newfound skills into practice by reading original texts from British Museum artefacts. This is a truly fascinating and intricate language, and it offers its readers the ability to understand the lost voices of one of history’s most remarkable civilisations. The class will be held at the British Museum. There will be no class on 18th April (Good Friday).
    Full fee £199.00 Senior fee £159.00 Concession £129.00
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  6. Full fee £159.00 Senior fee £127.00 Concession £103.00
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  7. Full fee £169.00 Senior fee £135.00 Concession £110.00
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  8. Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs: part 2
    Evening
    Course start date:  Fri 9 May 2025

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Hugo Cook
    Follow-on course from the Introduction. This four-week course uses British Museum objects related to ancient Egypt to broaden and deepen students' knowledge of Egyptian Hieroglyphs. The course will be held in Covent Garden, with frequent visits to the British Museum.
    Full fee £199.00 Senior fee £159.00 Concession £129.00
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  9. Full fee £169.00 Senior fee £135.00 Concession £110.00
    Rating:
    98% of 100
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  10. Ways of reading: aspects of narrative theory
    Course start date:  Fri 16 May 2025

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Jenny Stevens
    What do we mean by ‘literary fiction’? What expectations do we bring to the novels we read? Do we really ‘escape’ when we enter fictional worlds? These are just some of the questions addressed in a course which focuses on the analysis of prose fiction. Reading texts as short as one-sentence ‘flash fiction’ to complete short stories, it engages with writing from a wide range of periods and authors, paying close attention to narrative techniques and their effects.
    Full fee £199.00 Senior fee £159.00 Concession £129.00
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  11. A Social History of England in 12 Objects: From the Tudors to the Victorians
    Course start date:  Fri 16 May 2025

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Vanessa King
    What do Henry VIII’s rosary and the Golden Boy of Pye Corner tell us about Tudor and Stuart England? Study these and other items to build a comprehensive picture of social life in England over four centuries.



    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 £159.00 Concession £129.00
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  12. Apocalypse London: the city in dystopian fiction - 1880-1974
    Course start date:  Fri 16 May 2025

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Sarah Wise
    Explore representations of London in works of dystopian/science fiction, written between the 1890s and the 1970s. Our authors will include HG Wells, John Wyndham, George Orwell and Nigel Kneale.
    Full fee £169.00 Senior fee £169.00 Concession £110.00
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  13. Origins of the Italian Renaissance: the Primitivi
    Course start date:  Fri 6 Jun 2025

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Simone Chisena
    Discover the history, politics and intellectualism that fuelled the Italian Renaissance. Explore the art of Giotto and his peers from a new perspective.



    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 £135.00 Concession £110.00
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  14. Borderlines of madness in 19th century fiction
    Last Few Places
    Course start date:  Fri 31 Jan 2025

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Sarah Wise
    We 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 analyse are Charlotte Bronte, Edgar Allan Poe, Wilkie Collins, Gogol, Herman Melville and Charlotte Perkins Gilman.
    Full fee £179.00 Senior fee £143.00 Concession £116.00
    Rating:
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