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.
- The Portuguese Empire; establishment, world-making, demise and legaciesCourse start date: Wed 12 Feb 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Ingrid Aguiar SchlindweinA journey through the rise and fall of the Portuguese Empire. Uncover pioneering navigation, understand colonial societies in Brazil, Africa, and Asia through their economies, culture, independence struggles, and legacies.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £79.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £51.00 - Philosophy reading group: Nietzche's Twilight of the IdolsCourse start date: Wed 5 Mar 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Karl WhiteTwilight of the Idol is one of Nietzsche’s last texts. Subtitled ‘How to do Philosophy with a Hammer,’ he taps at traditions and dogmas to sound out its hollow gods.
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 - Understanding the role of maritime geopolitics in the 21st centuryCourse start date: Wed 5 Mar 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Maisa EdwardsThis course studies the creation and shaping of major trade routes in the North and South Atlantic, the Indian and Pacific Oceans, considering their history, economics and defence systems so we can better understand maritime geopolitics in the 21st century.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £79.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £51.00 - Che Guevara & his RevolutionsCourse start date: Wed 19 Mar 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Anna GrimaldiWe're all familiar with the image of Ernesto 'Che' Guevara - but why is the idea of this man still so powerful, even 65 years after the Cuban Revolution? Join Dr Anna Grimaldi to explore Guevara's life, ideology, impact and legacies.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £79.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £51.00 - Discover the AssyriansCourse start date: Wed 26 Mar 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Michael BloomfieldThe Neo-Assyrian Empire was one of the most powerful and influential empires of the ancient world. Join us to learn more aboutits history from the early 10th to the close of the 7th century BCE.Full fee £79.00 Senior fee £63.00 Concession £51.00 - Farms to finance: an introduction to political economyCourse start date: Wed 30 Apr 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Ingrid Aguiar SchlindweinHuman economies have many foundations, from agriculture to banking. Some are unstable, yet we often feel powerless to change them - even when they threaten our survival. Are there alternatives? Join ud online to learn more.
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 - Private portraits: painted miniatures in early modern EuropeCourse start date: Wed 30 Apr 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Elizabeth EyresPortrait miniatures are some of the most exquisite and beguiling likenesses ever produced. Their tiny scale and painstaking creation give them an intricacy, intimacy and sense of intrigue. These often reflect the circumstances in which they were gifted to their new owners by the person commissioning them, and both the images and their wider contexts repay our close study on this course.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £79.00 Senior fee £63.00 Concession £51.00 - Dickens' LondonCourse start date: Sat 10 May 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Molly Rumbelow'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.' Enjoy this introduction to Dickens' work and the London of his time. Morning lecture at City Lit followed by a walk in the area of the city connected to his work.Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £55.00 Concession £45.00 - Keepers of Stories: researching your family historyCourse start date: Wed 21 May 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Join Jenneba to build confidence and skills to get into your family history!Full fee £99.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £64.00 - Black Latin AmericaCourse start date: Wed 21 May 2025
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 £79.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £51.00 - The global economy unpacked: the forming of the economies of the Global SouthCourse start date: Wed 21 May 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Ingrid Aguiar SchlindweinExplore how historical, political, and economic factors have shaped Global South economies. Analyze trade, governance, urbanization, poverty, sustainability, and challenges, fostering a holistic understanding of their development within the global landscape.
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 - Art revolutions from 1905-1925Course start date: Wed 4 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Christopher CollierCubism, Futurism and Constructivism are pivotal movements in the history of modern art – encapsulating all the promise and peril of the 20th century’s devastating birth, and even helping rewrite perceptions of space and time.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £79.00 Senior fee £63.00 Concession £51.00 - The Global Economy unpacked: Latin America in the Global Economy from 1800 onwardsCourse start date: Wed 11 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Ingrid Aguiar SchlindweinSouth America's economic journey: colonization, industrialization, neoliberal reforms, regional integration, challenges, sustainability, and emerging opportunities for inclusive growth.
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 - The US Civil Rights Movement: from Reconstruction to the passing of the 1965 Voting Rights ActCourse start date: Wed 18 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Zoe QuinnExplore the African American Civil Rights movement in the southern states from Reconstruction to the passing of the Civil Rights Act in 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.Full fee £59.00 Senior fee £47.00 Concession £38.00
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