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. Colonial America: European settlement 1560 – 1815
    Evening
    Course start date:  Wed 24 Apr 2024

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Dafydd Townley
    The 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 £179.00 Senior fee £179.00 Concession £116.00
    Rating:
    100% of 100
  2. 20th Century Britain: The Thatcher Age 1975-1997
    Evening
    Course start date:  Wed 24 Apr 2024

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  David Fowler
    The fourth in a new cycle of modern British history courses, this course examines the transformative social and cultural change in Britain during the Thatcher Decade; probing how far the Thatcher Governments were responsible for social and cultural change. Or was this largely the work of provincial cultural entrepreneurs like Tony Wilson (“Mr Manchester”)?



    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
  3. Philosophy Reading Group
    Evening
    Course start date:  Wed 24 Apr 2024

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Kate Banks
    Descartes’ Discourse on Method, one of the foundational texts of modern philosophy, begins with the audacious claim that all minds could agree were they to apply the same rational method of thinking.







    Reading it together, we will assess this method and whether it leads us to share Descartes’ conclusions.



    This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.
    Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £55.00 Concession £45.00
  4. Cyborg cultures: hybrid beings and monstrous identities
    Course start date:  Wed 24 Apr 2024

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Katie Goss
    In this course students will be introduced to theories of posthumanism that suggest ways we can embrace ‘monstruous’ identities and ‘mutant’ forms of knowing. Through popular science fiction films and literary texts, we will contemplate the complex coming together and apart of bodies-minds-worlds in contemporary culture and explore experiences of hybridity and metamorphosis.



    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
  5. Women writing and walking: Virginia Woolf, Nan Shepherd, Rebecca Solnit
    Course start date:  Wed 24 Apr 2024

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Sophie Oxenham
    This online course considers the relationship between walking and writing in three innovative works of literary non-fiction: Virginia Woolf’s essay ‘Street Haunting’ (1927), Nan Shepherd’s ‘The Living Mountain’ (written c. 1945, first pub. 1977), and Rebecca Solnit’s ‘A Field Guide to Getting Lost’ (2006).



    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
  6. How to plot your children’s novel
    Evening
    Course start date:  Wed 24 Apr 2024

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Sophie McKenzie
    You’re a writer with some experience and a great idea for a children’s novel, but plotting is the thing that lets you down. Over six weeks on this fun and interactive course you’ll learn how to structure your book, finding fresh ways to develop your idea into a compelling plot.



    This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.
    Full fee £139.00 Senior fee £139.00 Concession £70.00
  7. Writing for magazines
    Course start date:  Wed 24 Apr 2024 (and 5 other dates)

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Susan Grossman
    Get inspired to write on this practical course for freelance journalists and bloggers. Learn to carry out research, interview people, pitch and publish stories, and build your presence on social media.



    This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.
    Full fee £139.00 Senior fee £139.00 Concession £70.00
    Rating:
    98% of 100
  8. Ways into poetry
    Evening
    Course start date:  Wed 24 Apr 2024 (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 £209.00 Senior fee £209.00 Concession £105.00
    Rating:
    94% of 100
  9. Full fee £209.00 Senior fee £209.00 Concession £105.00
    Rating:
    85% of 100
  10. Art, politics & culture in East and West Germany, and after the Reunification
    Evening
    Course start date:  Wed 24 Apr 2024

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Irina Chkhaidze
    Explore German art from the 1960s to present, from movements such as Conceptualism, Fluxus, Capitalist Realism and Neo-Expressionism to the most recent multi-media art.



    This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.
    Full fee £119.00 Senior fee £119.00 Concession £77.00
  11. African philosophy
    Course start date:  Wed 24 Apr 2024

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Ovett Nwosimiri
    This course is an introduction to African philosophy. We will analyse the various positions and contestations regarding the nature, and trends in African philosophy, debate on communitarianism and personhood, African ethics, ubuntu, and decolonisation of knowledge.
    Full fee £199.00 Senior fee £159.00 Concession £129.00
  12. Tales from everywhere: international fictions from the 20th century
    Course start date:  Wed 24 Apr 2024

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Aamer Hussein
    Join us to read and discuss a selection of novels from the 1950s and 1960, in English and in translation, some of which, like Stan Barstow’s powerful story of upward mobility A Kind of Loving and Ngugi Wa Thiongo’s poignant portrait of unrest in Kenya Weep Not, My Child, have rarely been out of print. Some are recent rediscoveries, such as Han Suyin’s story of forbidden romance in wartime London, Winter Love, and Chingiz Aitmatov’s delicate Kyrgyz fable, Jamilia. Fresh translations of Magda Szabo’s Iza’s Ballad and Tove Ditlevsen’s autobiographical coming of age story,Youth, are also included.



    NB. This course will have a break week on Wednesday 29 May.
    Full fee £229.00 Senior fee £183.00 Concession £149.00
  13. Exploring European cinema
    Evening
    Course start date:  Wed 24 Apr 2024

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Jon Wisbey
    This class introduces you to a range of themes and issues in European cinema, including art cinema, national cinema, movements, 'moments' and new waves, authorship, popular cinema and genre, along with key developments in European film history from the silent era to the present day, key films, directors and the canon of European cinema, and a range of critical accounts of European cinema.



    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
    Rating:
    100% of 100
  14. Creative non-fiction
    Evening
    Course start date:  Wed 25 Sep 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 £249.00 Senior fee £249.00 Concession £125.00
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