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.
- Ways into creative writing: intensive
Course start date: Tue 5 Aug 2025 (and 7 other dates)Location on this date: Online
Tutors: William BradyNot sure whether creative writing is for you? Give it a try on one of these fun and supportive short courses covering the basics of fiction and poetry. Increase your confidence and produce work through guided exercises and discussion.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £149.00 Senior fee £149.00 Concession £75.00 - Ways into poetry: intensive Course start date: Tue 5 Aug 2025 (and 3 other dates)
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Billie ManningAre you just starting to write poetry? This shorter version of our introductory Ways into poetry course offers an opportunity to experiment with language and a variety of poetic devices. 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 £149.00 Senior fee £149.00 Concession £75.00 - City Lit at the BFI: Luchino Visconti - Noble RealistCourse start date: Thu 9 Jan 2025
Location on this date: BFI Southbank
Tutors: Chris DarkeThe filmmaker Luchino Visconti remains a key figure in Italian film history. Admired for Neorealist works – Obsession (1943), The Earth Trembles(1948) and Rocco and his Brothers (1960) – he is also remembered for epic, elegiac literary adaptations, such as The Leopard (1963) and Death in Venice (1971). In this 4-week course, which runs on consecutive Tuesdays from 14th to 28th January with the final class on Thursday 6th February, Chris Darke will explore the career and legacy of this truly great director. Attendance on this course also includes an optional complimentary ticket to the BFI's Luchino Visconti season introduction on Thursday 9th January at 18:10.
Given that the course runs across a number of different days, the full schedule is detailed below:
Thursday 9th January, 18:10: NFT1, BFI Visconti Season Introduction delivered by season curator Christina Newland (tickets will be e-mailed to all students enrolled, but attendance is optional)
Tuesday 14th January, 18:30 - 20:30: NFT4 Course Week 1 (Chris Darke)
Tuesday 21st January, 18:30 - 20:30: NFT4 Course Week 2 (Chris Darke)
Tuesday 28th January, 18:30 - 20:30: NFT4 Course Week 3 (Chris Darke)
Thursday 6th February, 18:30 - 20:30: NFT4 Course Week 4 (Chris Darke; please note that this final class takes place on Thursday rather than Tuesday).Full fee £119.00 Senior fee £119.00 Concession £77.00
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