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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- Change and Continuity in America 1865-1920
Course start date: Wed 8 Jan 2025Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Dafydd TownleyOn this interactive course we will explore the changes and continuities which took place in American politics, culture and society, from the end of the Civil War to the end of the Progressive Era.
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 £169.00 Concession £110.00 - Contemporary life and its discontents: paradoxes of the present Course start date: Wed 8 Jan 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Katie GossTwenty-first century culture is becoming increasingly strange: from conspiracy theories and climate anxiety to compulsive doom-scrolling and the meme-ification of everyday life. This course will explore these and other phenomenon endemic to the present, analysing and exploring their significance through texts, films, artworks, cultural objects and psychoanalytic theory.Full fee £169.00 Senior fee £135.00 Concession £110.00 - Art in 15th-century Siena Course start date: Wed 8 Jan 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Emma Rose BarberExplore the art, society and geography of 15th century Siena, the picturesque Tuscan republic. Expand your knowledge of the Italian Renaissance beyond the borders of Florence by studying one of its worthy artistic, political and intellectual rivals. - Introduction to experimental film Course start date: Wed 8 Jan 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Gillian McIverExperimental film is often non-narrative and avant-garde. It is made to explore the boundaries of film and push the limits of what is considered so-called normal filmmaking. Experimental films often use unconventional techniques such as animation, found footage and non-linear narrative structures to create unique visual experiences. The class will look at early experimental films by Georges Méliès, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy and Maya Deren, alongside recent digital works.
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 Concession £110.00 - The art of the Burgundian Netherlands c. 1360-1480 Course start date: Wed 15 Jan 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Julia MusgraveExplore how the extravagant lifestyle of the Burgundian court provided opportunities for an opulent Burgundian style to be developed and disseminated across Europe in the late middle ages and into the renaissance.
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 Concession £110.00 - The ‘Great Game’: Anglo-Russian rivalry in Asia Course start date: Wed 15 Jan 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Sebastien ArdouinThe Great Game evokes stories of spies, diplomatic intrigue, and wars in remote regions of Asia. But what was really the Great Game? Why did Britain and Russia become rivals? How did they seek to consolidate their positions? Why and how did it end?Full fee £199.00 Senior fee £159.00 Concession £129.00 - The foreign invention of British art Course start date: Wed 15 Jan 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Leslie PrimoTrace the importance of foreigners to the British art scene from the Tudor period to the Baroque. How did artists like Holbein, Dobson, van Somer and van Dyck influence the British School?Full fee £199.00 Senior fee £159.00 Concession £129.00 - Germany in the long nineteenth century (1815-1918) Course start date: Wed 15 Jan 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Rudolf MuhsThis course offers a broad survey of German history from the end of the Napoleonic era to the end of the First World War in 1918.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £189.00 Senior fee £189.00 Concession £123.00 - A short history of the Indian subcontinent Course start date: Wed 15 Jan 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Ketan VariaThe India subcontinent is unique in its heritage and history. Join us for a tour of of the period from Pre-Aryans (c5000 BCE) to the start of the Mughal empire.
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 £169.00 Concession £169.00 - Reading Shakespeare: a director's perspective - Pericles and King LearCourse start date: Wed 22 Jan 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Laura BaggaleyTake a fresh look at Shakespeare, exploring King Lear and Pericles in the company of an experienced theatre director. With performance in mind, we will examine the language and genres of two plays written late in Shakespeare’s career, and discuss how key themes echo through these drastically different works.Full fee £199.00 Senior fee £159.00 Concession £129.00 - More current affairs Course start date: Wed 22 Jan 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Michael BloomfieldContinue your exploration of current affairs through lively, informed discussion. Run as a tutor-moderated discussion group of current news events. This course follows on from 'Current affairs' but new students are welcome. Tutor: Michael Bloomfield.Full fee £189.00 Senior fee £151.00 Concession £123.00 - Britain and European integration: from aftermath of World War 2 to Brexit Course start date: Wed 22 Jan 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Alexandre DabThis course examines Britain's complex history with European integration from the end of the Second World War to Brexit.Full fee £199.00 Senior fee £159.00 Concession £129.00 - Looking at contemporary art Course start date: Wed 29 Jan 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Francesca CavalloExplore and discuss contemporary art on show in London. Each week we’ll visit 1-2 commercial galleries or a public gallery and examine specific exhibitions of contemporary art across a range of media including painting, works on paper, photography, new media and sculpture.Full fee £199.00 Senior fee £159.00 Concession £129.00 - Ways into Advanced Literature: 20th century readingsCourse start date: Wed 29 Jan 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Patricia SweeneyExplore the rewards of close reading analysis, focusing on the literary genres of fiction and drama. Read, analyse and debate seminal 20th century works, including Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf, Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald and The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams.Full fee £179.00 Senior fee £179.00 Concession £116.00 - The Rise & Fall of the British Empire Part 1: The Origins and Growth of the British Empire 1750-1914 Course start date: Wed 5 Feb 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Colm HickeyHow did a small nation in north-west Europe develop an empire that at its height covered 25% of the world? Did Britain have an imperial strategy? If so, what was it? If Britain did not have an imperial strategy did the empire evolve through war or trade or religion or as a result of inspirational individuals?Full fee £169.00 Senior fee £135.00 Concession £110.00
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