History, culture & writing

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.

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. Developing your novel
    Last Few Places, Evening
    Course start date:  Thu 18 Apr 2024 (and 6 other dates)

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Sarah Leipciger
    Have you started work on your novel? This course is suitable for experienced creative writers who want to make progress with a novel draft. Learn more about the art of novel writing and move your project forward in a supportive workshop environment.



    This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.
    Full fee £219.00 Senior fee £219.00 Concession £110.00
    Rating:
    91% of 100
  2. Advanced fiction writing workshop
    Evening
    Course start date:  Thu 26 Sep 2024 (and 8 other dates)

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Livia Franchini
    For experienced writers, this supportive but rigorous workshop offers the perfect opportunity to develop your novel or short story. Receive in-depth feedback and benefit from detailed group discussions on the art of fiction.



    This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.
    Full fee £249.00 Senior fee £249.00 Concession £125.00
    Rating:
    93% of 100
  3. Writing for children: workshop
    Course start date:  Thu 18 Apr 2024 (and 4 other dates)

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Penny Joelson
    On this ongoing workshop you will develop your work-in-progress with constructive feedback from tutor and classmates. You need to have completed a ‘Writing for children’ course before joining this class.



    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
    Rating:
    98% of 100
  4. The Coming of the Sea Peoples: The Trojan War in the context of Mycenaean Greece and the Eastern Mediterranean in the Late Bronze Age
    Last Few Places, Evening
    Course start date:  Thu 18 Apr 2024

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Sean Gabb
    The Late Bronze Age is a story of collapse, from New Kingdom Egyptian to Hittite Anatolia, from the Assyrian Empire to Babylonian turmoil. Mycenaean Greece is a part of this and the Coming of the Sea Peoples is a terror that echoes through the pages of history. Come learn about how the world as we knew it ended!



    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
  5. Full fee £399.00 Senior fee £399.00 Concession £399.00
  6. Ways into poetry
    Evening
    Course start date:  Thu 16 Jan 2025 (and 6 other dates)

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Andrew Weale
    Relatively new to writing poetry? This inspiring course offers an opportunity to experiment with language and a variety of poetic devices alongside fellow emerging poets. Discover the key elements of a poem in a friendly and interactive class.



    This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.
    Full fee £239.00 Senior fee £239.00 Concession £120.00
    Rating:
    94% of 100
  7. Cultureplex ciné-club 2
    Evening
    Course start date:  Thu 25 Apr 2024

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Paul Sutton
    Come and join us at the Cultureplex Ciné-Club 2, where once a week, for 12 weeks (and throughout the academic



    year), we will watch and discuss film. Taking its cue from the famous Parisian ciné-club set up by the celebrated critic and writer, André Bazin, ‘the single thinker most responsible for bestowing on cinema the prestige both of an artform and of an object of knowledge’, and the man who foresaw the emergence of film studies as a legitimate discipline of academic study, our contemporary incarnation of the film club will offer a curated series of films for detailed study, discussion and debate. Each film will be introduced, 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.







    Please note that this course will screen a new and different set of films to HF211 Cultureplex Cine-Club, which will run with the same films screened last year. If you took the Cultureplex Cine-Club course last year (2023-4), please ensure that you take the Cultureplex Cine-Club 2 courses this year.
    Full fee £199.00 Senior fee £199.00 Concession £129.00
  8. Creative non-fiction
    Evening
    Course start date:  Thu 25 Apr 2024 (and 9 other dates)

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Vicky Grut
    Explore 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 £219.00 Senior fee £219.00 Concession £110.00
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