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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- Nuns, tarts, trouble and strife: medieval women (1)Course start date: Tue 26 Sep 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Vanessa KingWe will look beyond the myth of the meek fair maiden and see what life was really like for women in the middle ages. From the cradle to the grave, rich and poor.
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 - What do mathematicians do? An introduction to the philosophy of mathsCourse start date: Thu 28 Sep 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Oliver JosiahThis course offers the opportunity to explore fascinating questions concerning the nature of mathematical knowledge by providing an introduction to four major 19th and 20th century philosophies of mathematics.
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 - Get together and readCourse start date: Thu 28 Sep 2023 (and 2 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Claire AllenEnjoy talking with other people about the things you have read? Want to share great stories, poems and drama? Come along and join the conversation. The group is led by a shared reading practitioner trained by The Reader Organisation.Full fee £99.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £50.00 - How to get an agent
Course start date: Sat 30 Sep 2023 (and 1 other date)Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Sophie McKenzieThis intensive workshop offers students insider, need-to-know information on securing a literary agent.
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 £35.00 - US history for beginnersCourse start date: Tue 3 Oct 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Dafydd TownleyThis online course offers a brief examination of, and introduction to, the political, economic, social and cultural aspects of the United States, 1608 - 2001.
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 - Writing and rewriting fairytales Course start date: Tue 3 Oct 2023 (and 3 other dates)
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Victoria M. AdamsOnce upon a time there was a City Lit workshop all about writing fairytales. The quest: to inspire writers to pen stories of love, fear, forests, revenge, dragons, witches, kings, queens, frogs and magic.
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 £35.00 - Craft focus: character in fiction Course start date: Sat 7 Oct 2023 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Tasha KavanaghIn fiction, character and plot are inseparable elements of craft. Without characters there can be no action or plot. In this short course you will learn how to create characters that can drive a narrative forward and deepen its themes.Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £69.00 Concession £35.00 - Write a short story in a weekend Course start date: Sat 7 Oct 2023 (and 5 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Vicky GrutTurn your great idea into a short story on this fun practical course. Through a series of inspiring exercises, you'll be introduced to some key fiction-writing techniques and encouraged to draft a short story from beginning to end.Full fee £99.00 Senior fee £99.00 Concession £50.00 - From page to screen: Sherlock Holmes and Philip MarloweCourse start date: Sat 7 Oct 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Ellen CheshireThis course explores film adaptations of two great detectives of fiction: Sherlock Holmes and Philip Marlowe. By focusing on one of their most famous novels we will compare the literary and various cinematic versions, analysing themes and characters and discuss how the films adapt the novels to fit the medium of cinema.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £59.00 Senior fee £47.00 Concession £38.00 - Exploring art cinemaCourse start date: Sun 8 Oct 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Jon WisbeyEstablishing itself in the immediate post-war period, initially in Europe and later in world cinemas, art cinema is characterised by distinctive film styles and narrative structures that set it apart from popular forms of cinematic practice and representation. This course will consider its origins and development, its key films and filmmakers, and critical accounts of the concept art of cinema.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £59.00 Senior fee £47.00 Concession £38.00 - The Bicycle Thieves at 75Course start date: Sun 8 Oct 2023
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Graham RinaldiIn the inaugural 1952 Sight and Sound greatest film of all time poll, Vittorio De Sica’s neo-realist The Bicycle Thieves (Ladri di biciclette) was voted in first place. Seventy-five years after its initial release, we will celebrate and analyse the film’s enduring popularity with both audiences and critics alike.Full fee £59.00 Senior fee £47.00 Concession £38.00 - Poetry of the 30s: T.S. Eliot to Dylan ThomasCourse start date: Sun 8 Oct 2023
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Phoebe BraithwaiteWedged between the two wars, the poets of the 1930s were drawn to forces larger than themselves. For poets such as W.H. Auden and Louis MacNeice, war, revolution and the allure of communism dwarfed mere personal anxieties. Others – such as William Empson, Kathleen Raine and Dylan Thomas – found a seam of spiritualism in other, more mystical, even Romantic antecedents. Our course traces these discrepant paths through the decade. - Autobiography into poetry Course start date: Sun 8 Oct 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Sarah WardleLearn how to translate real-life experiences into powerful poems in this stimulating course for those interested in the meeting place between autobiography and poetry.
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 £35.00 - Autobiography into fiction: getting started Course start date: Sat 14 Oct 2023 (and 4 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Vicky GrutLearn how to turn real-life experiences into gripping fiction in this fun short course for fiction-writing beginners and experienced writers. Develop your writing skills and explore techniques for transforming personal stories into strong narratives.Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £69.00 Concession £35.00 - Craft focus: writing a strong story opening
Course start date: Sat 14 Oct 2023Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Sophie McKenzieA great opening is essential to get your reader’s attention. But do you start your story with a quirky phrase, explode into action, or build intrigue? Find the perfect beginning with this fun, interactive course. Suitable for those interested in writing short fiction and novels.
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 £35.00
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