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.
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- Where is the future? An introduction to the philosophy of timeCourse start date: Thu 7 Mar 2024
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Oliver JosiahTime is a familiar and fundamental part of our lives - we count down the minutes until lunch, we schedule meetings, we set alarms - and yet few subjects have proven as mysterious and elusive. This course will explore some of the key questions that have preoccupied philosophers and scientists for thousands of years.
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 £64.00 - An introduction to European decorative arts at the V&ACourse start date: Thu 18 Apr 2024
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Andreas PetzoldThe Victoria and Albert Museum has one of the finest and most comprehensive collections of European decorative arts in the world. This course aims to provide an introduction to these rich collections. It will focus on the period 1500 to 1900, but references later developments. The main media will be explored including textiles, ceramics, glass, metalwork, and silver.Full fee £89.00 Senior fee £71.00 Concession £58.00 - Makers not muses: Claude Cahun, Eileen Agar and Isabel Rawsthorne
Course start date: Thu 25 Apr 2024Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Chantal CondronExplore the work of three radical artists whose work and practice defied convention in modern art from the 1920s to 1960s. Discover how each artist challenged and transcended society’s expectations of being a ‘muse’ by living freely and making art in a variety of media, from painting and sculpture to collage, photography and performance.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information. - An introduction to paradoxCourse start date: Thu 25 Apr 2024
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Oliver JosiahA paradox is an apparently absurd conclusion derived from seemingly uncontroversial premises through supposedly valid reasoning. This course will introduce you to six major philosophical paradoxes and some of the attempts to solve them.
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 £64.00 - Struggle to be heard: Rimbaud, Cavafy, Tsvetaeva, Binta BreezeCourse start date: Thu 2 May 2024
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Laurie SmithWe look at four poets who struggled to be heard or accepted because their work was so different from what their society expected. What were the barriers they had to overcome and how did they win through to become admired and highly regarded? What made one of the poets stop writing at the age of 21 and the other three continue for the rest of their lives? What makes the poetry of all of them so original, and what can we learn from their resilience?Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £69.00 Concession £45.00 - An introduction to stained glass at the V&ACourse start date: Thu 9 May 2024
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Andreas PetzoldStained glass has been described as the most original and important medium in the high Middle Ages. The Victoria and Albert Museum has one of the finest and most comprehensive collections of stained glass in the world, spanning the twelfth century to the modern period. The course will provide an introduction to this medium and the collection of it in the Victoria and Albert Museum.Full fee £59.00 - George Eliot: Middlemarch Course start date: Thu 6 Jun 2024
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Sophie OxenhamThis short literature course will explore George Eliot’s novel, ‘Middlemarch’ (1871-2). Considered by many to be the greatest nineteenth century novel, we explore its narrative methods and characterisation, its rich engagement with the ideas and concerns of its age, and above all, its deep humanity that still resonates today.Full fee £99.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £64.00 - Introduction to Marxist philosophyCourse start date: Thu 6 Jun 2024
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Oliver JosiahThis course is intended as an introduction to the philosophy of Karl Marx and later Marxists such as Vladimir Lenin, Eduard Bernstein, and Rosa Luxemburg.
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 £64.00 - Mary Queen of ScotsCourse start date: Thu 13 Jun 2024
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Ellen CarpenterIntrigue, murder, execution…despite over 500 years passing since her death, Mary’s colourful life continues to attract filmmakers, novelists, and historians alike. Join us to discover what Mary’s reign, abdication and execution may teach us about the instabilities of social, religious, and political life in Scotland and England in the 1500s.Full fee £99.00 Senior fee £99.00 Concession £64.00 - Beckett and The Divine Comedy: a lifelong influenceCourse start date: Thu 13 Jun 2024
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Stephen WinfieldExplore the intimate relationship between Beckett’s universe of unbelief, presided over by a Godot who never comes, and Dante’s poem, the most exalted, vastly influential literary expression of medieval Christianity, whose presence can be felt everywhere in the Irishman’s long oeuvre, in every genre – in his plays, novels, stories, poems, essays - and at every stage of his career. What brought them together, and what were the results?Full fee £99.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £64.00 - Writing the personal: autobiographical theatre
Course start date: Thu 4 Jul 2024Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Brian MullinLearn how to select and shape your own life experiences into a dynamic text for live performance on this supportive online course. Suitable for those with some experience of creative writing.
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 £45.00 - Economics for beginnersCourse start date: Thu 21 Sep 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Naresh SonparEconomics is about what drives human behaviour in making decisions faced with limited resources. Join this online course to learn a toolkit of skills, approaches and ways of thinking that you can apply to a wide range of problems.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.
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