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.
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- Philosophy and memoryCourse start date: Mon 13 Jan 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Anita KasabovaWhat is memory? How does memory impact our sense of self and time? Why does memory often go wrong? If our memory is unreliable, can it provide knowledge of our personal past? How is memory registered in the body? What is collective memory? This course explores memory through philosophical and psychological lenses.
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 - Film studies taster
Course start date: Mon 13 Jan 2025 (and 1 other date)Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Jon WisbeyLearn how to evaluate and discuss films while enjoying a working example of a City Lit Film Studies class. In this class we will view and explore clips from a number of films, including popular remakes, enabling us to consider and compare themes and techniques from differing filmmaking countries. There will be a chance to review – in brief – upcoming film courses at City Lit (January - September 2025).
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £10.00 Senior fee £10.00 Concession £10.00 - Byzantine journey: medieval pilgrimage and artCourse start date: Mon 13 Jan 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Helen DejeanFor medieval pilgrims, visiting St Catherine’s Monastery, Sinai was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and a powerful spiritual experience. Today, although an established tourist destination, the modern encounter with the sacred arts of the famous Monastery and ‘God-Trodden Mountain’ is often curtailed by time and limited access. This course aims to explain its many treasures and biblical loca sancta in relation to medieval and modern pilgrimage.Full fee £169.00 Senior fee £135.00 Concession £110.00 - Why are history and memory important? Course start date: Mon 13 Jan 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Martin JorgensenThis session will explore how history and memory work in the different spheres of British society and address the question of how we can engage to promote history and memory work as democratic practice.Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £19.00 Concession £12.00 - Ways into creative writing Course start date: Wed 15 Jan 2025 (and 10 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Rosie ChardWant to have a go at creative writing in a supportive environment? Join one of these introductory courses. Guided exercises will give you the tools to explore language creatively and find your own writing voice.Full fee £239.00 Senior fee £239.00 Concession £120.00 - The Renaissance at home in the V&ACourse start date: Tue 14 Jan 2025
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Lydia GoodsonStep into the Italian Renaissance home in this three- part course taught in the unrivalled collection of Renaissance objects in the V&A. Discover how furnishings, paintings and objects were made and used in the fashionable homes of Renaissance Italy.Full fee £99.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £64.00 - Akhenaten, Pharaoh of Egypt (part 2): The end of his reign & its sequelCourse start date: Tue 14 Jan 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Michael DuiganThe final years of the reign of Akhenaten, the gathering storm and tragedy which ended the ‘dream’ of Amarna.Full fee £249.00 Senior fee £199.00 Concession £162.00 - Five revolutionary exhibitions in art history Course start date: Tue 14 Jan 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Henry MartinFrom the opening of the Louvre in 1793 to the present-day Venice Biennale, this course uses five exhibitions (in Anglo-European history) as a jumping off point to explore and examine art-historical and contemporary themes and talking-points, including nationalism, modernism, colonialism, identity politics and representation.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £129.00 Senior fee £129.00 Concession £84.00 - Europe in the 1930s: the rise of the dictators and the collapse of the international orderCourse start date: Tue 14 Jan 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Sebastien ArdouinThe 1930s was Europe’s dark decade, as democracy gave way to dictatorship in many countries, tensions rose, the post-First World War order disintegrated, and the continent, subjected to Hitler’s policies and ambitions, drifted towards war.Full fee £259.00 Senior fee £207.00 Concession £168.00 - Getting away with murder: how to write crime fiction Course start date: Tue 14 Jan 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Sophie McKenzieWant to write a murder mystery that will knock readers dead? On this course you'll learn how to plot a murder most horrid and develop your writing to create maximum suspense.
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 - Transports of delight: London's railway stations Course start date: Tue 14 Jan 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Blended (learn both online and in-person)
Tutors: Eleanor JacksonLondon's stations see over 1 billion journeys annually, but the buildings themselves are often ignored. Explore a different station and environs each week, discovering the architecture, history, stories and future of these lifelines of London. The course starts with an initial zoom lecture, followed by a series of walking tours.
This course will be delivered online and in person. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £229.00 Senior fee £183.00 Concession £149.00 - Rising powers: India, from Nehru to Modi Course start date: Tue 14 Jan 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Sebastien ArdouinWithin a few decades, India has become a key global actor. What explains this rise and what does it mean for the “world’s largest democracy” and the world?Full fee £259.00 Senior fee £207.00 Concession £168.00 - Women in art 1800-1900 Course start date: Tue 14 Jan 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Elizabeth EyresDuring the 19th century female painters and sculptors gained greater prominence, although a career in art was still challenging for women artists. In this course we examine their work and how such progress was achieved. - Medieval Britain & Europe: Makers of the Medieval North part 1Course start date: Wed 15 Jan 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Michael BloomfieldExplore the lives and achievements of some of the most influential men and women of faith and action in northern Europe during the earlier medieval period.Full fee £129.00 Senior fee £129.00 Concession £84.00 - Ways into screenwriting Course start date: Wed 15 Jan 2025 (and 3 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Alan NixonLearn to write for the screen on this practical, introductory course. Writing exercises, presentations and screenings will teach you key skills, and you’ll begin to produce work and an outline for a full-length project.Full fee £239.00 Senior fee £239.00 Concession £120.00
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