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.
- Philosophy and cinemaCourse start date: Fri 30 May 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Daniel WeizmanWe explore the intersection of film and philosophy, engaging with the works of influential thinkers and film makers. Together, we discover how cinema opens new possibilities to examine enduring philosophical questions concerning the mind, reality, identity, and ideology.Full fee £169.00 Senior fee £135.00 Concession £110.00 - Origins of the Italian Renaissance: the PrimitiviCourse start date: Fri 6 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Simone ChisenaDiscover the history, politics and intellectualism that fuelled the Italian Renaissance. Explore the art of Giotto and his peers from a new perspective.Full fee £169.00 Senior fee £135.00 Concession £110.00 - Contemporary art in London
Course start date: Fri 19 Sep 2025Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Chantal CondronExplore 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. - Film and Philosophy: Thinking through CinemaCourse start date: Fri 26 Sep 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Is The Matrix a science-fiction movie starring Keanu Reeves, or the most influential work of philosophy of the last fifty years? Who is more nihilistic, Humphrey Bogart or Frederic Nietszche? In this course, we will examine the relationship between film and philosophy, engaging with current debates in film theory and in wider society. We will consider whether it is appropriate to label film as a form of philosophy, how film acts as philosophy, and the ways in which our experiences of watching film helps up to think through ideas about the human experience that have received attention amongst centuries of philosophical literature. Is film merely entertainment, or is it our most important form of philosophy?Full fee £179.00 Senior fee £179.00 Concession £116.00 - Global arts of Africa Course start date: Fri 24 Oct 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Thomas BalfeThis course introduces major forms of African art in their regional and global contexts. It studies classical traditions of carving, metal casting, architecture and textile arts as well as twentieth-century and contemporary developments, including the work of photographers and conceptual artists.Full fee £199.00 Senior fee £159.00 Concession £129.00 - Women behind the lens: 1920-2020 Course start date: Fri 7 Nov 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Chantal CondronExplore the work of six influential female photographers across a century of practice from 1920. Featuring Claude Cahun, Lee Miller, Dora Maar, Cindy Sherman, Nan Goldin, and Zanele Muholi, this course examines how each artist challenged convention, documented social realities, redefined the creative act of photography and the experience of being behind the lens.
Full fee £179.00 Senior fee £143.00 Concession £116.00 - The mirror of nature: art and culture in the 17th century Course start date: Fri 9 May 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Leslie PrimoThe 17th century produced some of the greatest artists of all time: Rubens, Rembrandt, Velazquez and Bernini to name but a few. Explore the work of these key artists and understand the history, styles and ideas that shaped the century.Full fee £169.00 Senior fee £135.00 Concession £110.00 - Ways of reading: aspects of narrative theoryCourse start date: Fri 16 May 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Jenny StevensWhat do we mean by ‘literary fiction’? What expectations do we bring to the novels we read? Do we really ‘escape’ when we enter fictional worlds? These are just some of the questions addressed in a course which focuses on the analysis of prose fiction. Reading texts as short as one-sentence ‘flash fiction’ to complete short stories, it engages with writing from a wide range of periods and authors, paying close attention to narrative techniques and their effects. - Art in the 1920s and 1930s: Western art between the wars Course start date: Fri 9 May 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Sarah JaffrayDiscover how art in Europe and America between the wars reacted to the culture of the times. Explore the experimental world of Surrealism, Constructivism, de Stijl and other political art and abstract art of the era.
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