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.
- Writing and rewriting fairytales
Course start date: Sun 11 May 2025 (and 2 other dates)Location on this date: Online
Tutors: KR MoorheadOnce 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.Full fee £79.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £40.00 - How to read a film: a beginners' guide to cinema Course start date: Tue 16 Sep 2025 (and 2 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Paul SuttonThis course will develop your critical appreciation of the cinema by teaching you how to read and understand film texts. We will look at the elements that underpin film form – narrative, mise en scène, cinematography, editing and sound – alongside its historical development. We will consider film style by exploring classical, post-classical and art cinema and we will examine influential critical modes of analysis, such as genre, authorship and spectatorship.Full fee £179.00 Senior fee £143.00 Concession £116.00 - Global encounters: Europe and the Ottoman Empire, 1100-1700Course start date: Tue 13 May 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Vanessa KingThe Turks entered European consciousness in 1071 when they captured the Byzantine emperor at the Battle of Manzikert. So began centuries of uneasy co-existence between Christians and Muslims on the fringes of Europe.Full fee £169.00 Senior fee £135.00 Concession £110.00 - Ruling Russia: Tsars, Revolutions, Civil War , and the Triumph of Lenin (1860-1924)Course start date: Tue 13 May 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Zoe QuinnThis course explores the transformative period of Russian history from 1860 to 1924, encompassing the autocratic rule of the Tsars, the revolutionary upheavals of 1905 and 1917, the chaos of the civil war, and the consolidation of the Bolshevik regime. Students will examine key events, figures, and ideologies that shaped modern Russia, delving into the complexities of political, social, and economic changes during this era.
Please note: this course includes much of the material covered in previous Russian Revolution courses at the City Lit. Moreover this course is taught at an introductory level. Tutor: Zoe Quinn.Full fee £169.00 Senior fee £169.00 Concession £110.00 - A day at the V&A: an introduction to the collections Course start date: Tue 9 Dec 2025 (and 2 other dates)
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Elizabeth EyresSpend a fascinating day at the Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum exploring a range of galleries. We shall be looking at the decorative arts, paintings, sculpture and design from across the world and across the centuries in this remarkable museum.Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £55.00 Concession £45.00 - Ways into poetry: intensive Course start date: Tue 20 May 2025 (and 5 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Alice FrecknallAre you just starting to write poetry? This shorter version of our introductory Ways into poetry course offers an opportunity to experiment with language and a variety of poetic devices. Discover the key elements of a poem in a friendly and interactive class.Full fee £149.00 Senior fee £149.00 Concession £75.00 - The Disease of the Soul: Leprosy in the Middle AgesCourse start date: Tue 27 May 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Vanessa KingWe explore medieval attitudes towards the disease and the medical care available to sufferers. We also look at how the leper was depicted in art and literature before 1500 CE.Full fee £119.00 Senior fee £95.00 Concession £77.00 - Ways into creative writing: intensive Course start date: Tue 3 Jun 2025 (and 9 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Lucy PopescuNot sure whether creative writing is for you? Give it a try on one of these fun and supportive short courses covering the basics of fiction and poetry. Increase your confidence and produce work through guided exercises and discussion.Full fee £149.00 Senior fee £149.00 Concession £75.00 - Ways into Islamic art Course start date: Tue 3 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Anita ChowdryAn introductory course providing an overview of the development of the visual language of Islamic cultures in Asia, Africa and Europe.Full fee £129.00 Senior fee £103.00 Concession £84.00 - Radical Black FeminismCourse start date: Tue 3 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
This course explores radical black feminism through changing expressions of Black women’s radical practices of self-liberation and resistance to slavery, racial capitalism, imperialism, patriarchy and their intersecting systems of oppression.Full fee £149.00 Senior fee £119.00 Concession £97.00 - The philosophy of raceCourse start date: Tue 3 Jun 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Ovett NwosimiriThis course session touches upon the philosophical foundations of race, engaging with historical and contemporary debates on racial identity, racism, and justic
Full fee £10.00 Senior fee £8.00 Concession £7.00 - Struggles for Racial and Gender Justice in Latin AmericaCourse start date: Tue 3 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Pilar Villanueva MartinezThis course explores key contemporary movements for racial and gender justice in Latin America, including the feminist and women's movement, Indigenous peoples' land defense, and the anti-racist struggles of Afro-descendant communities.
Full fee £10.00 Senior fee £8.00 Concession £7.00 - Land Acknowledgement and Racial Justice: Approaches from Different Settler SocietiesCourse start date: Tue 3 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Olivia DurandLearn about the origins and purpose of land acknowledgements in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and beyond. Examine their role in racial justice, Indigenous sovereignty, and whether they create real change or remain symbolic gestures.
Full fee £10.00 Senior fee £8.00 Concession £7.00 - Racism and MigrationCourse start date: Tue 3 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Siobhan McGuirkWe will explore how ideas about race, Empire and belonging have shaped migration to and from Britain – alongside migration policies, laws and society – from the 1900s to today.
Full fee £10.00 Senior fee £8.00 Concession £7.00 - Who is presumed guilty? Amnesty International UK keynote on predictive policing, Prevent and protest clampdownsCourse start date: Tue 3 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Join Amnesty UK’s Amnesty UK’s Racial Justice Director Ilyas Nagdee for the keynote talk Who is presumed guilty? Amnesty International UK keynote on predictive policing, Prevent and protest clampdowns . The talk will take place 3 June from 10.30am to 12 noon, in the Cultureplex.
Full fee £0.00
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