Explore History, Culture & Writing

We 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.

So you've finished your novel. What's next? This short course provides guidance in submitting to agents and publishers, and helps you to tailor your work to maximise its potential in the marketplace.



This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.

This 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.

Want to connect to the news stories you didn’t realise you didn’t know as well as covering elements of the stories you may have not yet heard? Join Natasha to explore different headlines and news stories!



This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.

In the 1990s, films by Abbas Kiarostami, Jafar Panahi, Mohsen and Samira Makhmalbaf announced Iranian cinema on the global stage as one of the most exciting national cinemas around. But even now, the history and culture behind these films, as well as the many other masterpieces of Iranian cinema, remain too little-known. This course shall give an overview of the wider story of Iranian cinema.

Brexit was an unprecedented event in the history of the EU. Why did it happen and what has been its impact on Britain and Europe?



This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.

Have a taste of exploring the ancient Athenian stage, and how they still speak to us about the challenges we face today.



This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.

Come and join us at the Cultureplex Ciné-Club: Jean-Luc Godard, where once a week, for 6 weeks, we will watch and discuss films by this iconic and influential filmmaker. An offshoot of our existing Cultureplex Ciné-Club courses and taking its cue from the famous Parisian ciné-club set up by the celebrated critic and writer, André Bazin, this incarnation of the film club will offer a curated series of Jean-Luc Godard’s films for detailed study, discussion and debate. Each film will be introduced, placed in both its cinematic, cultural and historic context as well as being situated within the Godardian oevure. In sharing our viewing in City Lit’s premier screening room, the Cultureplex, we will approximate the experience of watching film in the cinema, one that is intense and fully focussed in a way that other modes of viewing often are not. After the screening we will devote the rest of the class to a collective exploration of the film, led by the tutor, but involving everyone in a participatory discussion that will allow all to express their responses, their views, their thoughts on the film screened.

The history of the cinema is a rich, rewarding and dynamic area of study. Cinema, because it is both an art form and an industrial product, can be studied from several different historical perspectives. These have included investigations into the history of technological development associated with cinema’s origins and its subsequent development, but historians have also explored its evolution into an art form. They have written about important individual figures or influential groups and have examined specific films in great detail. Historians have also examined the national, cultural, political and social contexts that might offer insight into the cinema at a given historical moment. They have examined the changing demographic and viewing habits of spectators and explored the mutability of cinemas themselves. With so much to consider and so many different approaches to take, the history of cinema continues to evolve. As such this advanced level film studies course will explore what it means to study film history, examine the various methodologies that one might take, while at the same time looking at relevant filmic and cinematic examples.

The term film noir has been used to describe visual style, themes and narratives in a range of American genres, particularly crime films of the 1940s and 1950s, but it has also been used to describe areas of British, French, and, as part of the giallo tradition, Italian cinema. Explore film noir through a range of critical concepts and historical periods, while assessing its enduring appeal.



This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.

The course will look at the emergence of the novel as a literary genre during the Hellenistic period, a genre which has given birth to the modern novel.



This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.

Join us to gain an understanding of the partition of British India in August 1947 from the perspective of history (written and oral), literature and film.



This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.

The role of ancient Israelite women has been at the forefront of discussions about gender and sexuality as the biblical stories have been formative in mapping out subsequent understanding of women’s sexuality. This course will explore gender roles and sexuality in ancient Israel through biblical stories and laws about women in ancient Israel. We will explore a range of texts from myths, to laws, love poetry and texts portraying graphic violence against women while asking questions about the implications of gender constructions for the status of women in ancient Israel.



This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.

In 1789 ordinary French people successfully rebelled against the absolute monarchy and privileged nobility. Find out how the struggle over the social and political system which would replace the Ancien Regime would divide both France and Europe. Tutor: Zoe Quinn.



This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.