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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- Global maritime trade from 1500 to the presentCourse start date: Wed 4 Oct 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Maisa EdwardsWant to explore the creation and shaping of major trade routes in the North and South Atlantic, the Indian and Pacific Oceans? Join us to consider their history, economics and defence systems.
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 £79.00 Concession £64.00 - African resistance against empireCourse start date: Wed 25 Oct 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Martin JorgensenThe end of the Second World War marked a watershed in African history, catalysing resistance against colonial rule that had been in place for a century. This module examines the history of such growing anti-colonial resistance from the late 19th century onwards.
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 £69.00 Concession £45.00 - Picture book writing
Course start date: Wed 14 Feb 2024 (and 7 other dates)Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Andrew WealeWould you like to write a picture book text for young children? This course is designed for children's writers and for illustrators wishing to write their own stories; a starter course to develop both your ideas and your technique.
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 - Mystery religionsCourse start date: Wed 1 Nov 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Ann JeffersMystery religions were very popular in the ancient world and were organised as voluntary associations. Their popularity is attested in writings and in material culture of the Greco-Roman world. They offered intense religious experiences outside the official, civic religions. The participants were initiated into the mysteries: whilst there is considerable variety in form and content, a belief in a form of salvation was a common denominator of many of these mystery religions. The question of the relationship between the mystery cults and Christianity will also be broached.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information. - Ways into advanced film studies: film aesthetics Course start date: Wed 1 Nov 2023
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Paul SuttonHave you wondered why a film might have moved you so powerfully or why it looked so stunningly beautiful? Have you wanted to know quite how a film was able to communicate its story to you so effectively? If so, then this advanced level film studies course is for you. It aims to explore in depth the language of cinema, the way in which film connects with its spectators at the level of film form, in other words, film aesthetics. Writers and critics have long asked similar questions, as have filmmakers themselves, and we will follow some of the most celebrated in their quest for answers. We will look briefly at how films are made and at the importance of cinematography, editing, mise en scène and sound, before exploring in depth film’s aesthetic qualities. We will think about the importance of history for the development of film form and we will analyse clips and sequences from individual films so as to better approach and understand film aesthetics.Full fee £99.00 Senior fee £99.00 Concession £64.00 - Hitchcock's American filmsCourse start date: Wed 1 Nov 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Jon WisbeyHitchcock's American period saw his most spectacular work, a body of films that cemented his reputation not only as the 'master of suspense' but as a major filmmaker, one whose work includes some of cinema's most popular and critically admired films. This course explores Hitchcock's Hollywood career, the films, their production and their reception, while also assessing his critical reputation.
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 - Philosophy reading groupCourse start date: Wed 1 Nov 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Kate BanksDescartes’ Meditations is arguably the foundational text of modern Western philosophy influencing not only the what of philosophy, but the how and the why. Reading it together, we’ll discover the stone that created ripples still affecting our thinking today.
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 - From the Arab Spring to the Arab Winter: Causes, Legacies and ProspectsCourse start date: Wed 1 Nov 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Angelos SeposThe 2011 Arab Spring was an unprecedented event in the history of the Arab World with much promise for the people of the region. Why has it become an Arab Winter?
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 £79.00 Concession £64.00 - Black Latin AmericaCourse start date: Wed 1 Nov 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Anna GrimaldiThis course introduces and critically examines the concept of a Black or African Latin America through the region’s history, philosophy, activism, politics, diaspora, memory and culture.
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 £69.00 Concession £45.00 - Charlotte Bronte: Jane Eyre and Villette Course start date: Wed 15 Nov 2023 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Sophie OxenhamThis online Literature course focuses on two novels by Charlotte Brontë: Jane Eyre and Villette. We will develop an appreciation of Brontë’s narrative methods and concerns through close analysis of her language, alongside engaging with the literary, historical and critical contexts of these novels, and the Brontë ‘mythology’ itself.
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 £79.00 Concession £64.00 - The Dreyfus Affair and its legacyCourse start date: Wed 15 Nov 2023
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Sebastien ArdouinMiscarriage of justice, anti-Semitism, reason of state and ultimately triumph of justice. There is more to the Dreyfus Affair though, an event that polarised French society like few before and is at the heart of modern France. - Reading images: exploring film studiesCourse start date: Wed 10 Jan 2024 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Cristina MassaccesiThis comprehensive introductory course provides an overview of the main historical, technical and theoretical aspects of filmmaking and film analysis.Full fee £99.00 Senior fee £99.00 Concession £64.00 - The Stalin Regime: 1928-1941Course start date: Wed 10 Jan 2024
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Nick MorganThis is an introduction to the history of the Stalin regime in the Soviet Union between 1928 and 1941. Students will learn about key events during the Stalin years and how historians approach them.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information. - Shakespeare's women: Rosalind, Ophelia, Lady Macbeth
Course start date: Wed 24 Jan 2024Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Sophie OxenhamThis online Literature course will look at three of Shakespeare’s female characters: Rosalind (As You Like It), Ophelia (Hamlet) and Lady Macbeth (Macbeth). We will consider their wit, madness and ambition, exploring Shakespeare’s language, the historical context, and the plays in performance.
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 - Scientists you need to knowCourse start date: Wed 31 Jan 2024
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Newton, Einstein, Darwin…are the superstars of science. However, what about the others that made those giant leaps in scientific understanding for humankind? Join us as we start from the ancient world to the renaissance, moving to the age of enlightenment and finishing in the modern day. Dinner parties will never be boring again and that’s a promise!Full fee £99.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £64.00
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