History, culture & writing

Explore History, Culture & Writing

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.

Courses available both in-person and online

We offer a range of long and short courses allowing you to choose between in-person and online learning.

Learn in the centre of London with our in-person courses. Our purpose-built facilities in Covent Garden mean we are ideally located and easy to get to. 

See our guide to online learning for more information about accessing our live online courses.

All our courses are live, interactive, and taught by expert tutors. No matter how you prefer to learn, we've got the class for you.

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  1. Friday lates: Pacific portraits - British artists, Pacific sitters and their impact on 18th century portraiture
    Evening
    Course start date:  Fri 21 Jun 2024

    Location on this date:  Online

    From Joshua Reynold's portrati of Omai to portraits made during the voyages of Captain James Cook, discover how encounters with Pacific Islanders changed the course of British eighteenth-century.



    This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.
    Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £19.00 Concession £12.00
  2. Women in Ancient Greece
    Course start date:  Fri 28 Jun 2024 (and 1 other date)

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  William Sterling
    In this course we shall examine women in myth, women in religion and the everyday life of women. It will conclude with a visit to the British Museum.
    Full fee £59.00 Senior fee £47.00 Concession £38.00
  3. Writing for blogs
    Evening
    Course start date:  Fri 15 Nov 2024 (and 1 other date)

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Terry Freedman
    Got a passion, a journey or an obsession to share? Blogging is the perfect medium through which to share your interests with the world. This taster course teaches the essential skills required to write blogposts that will resonate.



    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 £40.00
  4. The writings of Cicero: an introduction
    Course start date:  Fri 19 Jul 2024

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Sean Gabb
    An introduction to one of the most influential and prolific Roman writers, Cicero, his life and works.



    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
    Rating:
    80% of 100
  5. Creative non-fiction
    Evening
    Course start date:  Mon 15 Apr 2024 (and 9 other dates)

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Paul Laffan
    Explore practical and imaginative approaches to creative non fiction, including travel writing, life writing and the essay. Analyse published work, produce your own pieces, and benefit from detailed feedback.



    This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.
    Full fee £219.00 Senior fee £219.00 Concession £110.00
  6. City Lit reading group 2
    Course start date:  Fri 22 Sep 2023 (and 1 other date)

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Patricia Sweeney
    Share thoughts and ideas about what you are reading, with books chosen by the group. Please come to the first session with suggestions (contemporary fiction in paperback) and having read 'Trust' by Hernan Diaz. Monthly meetings take place on 22 Sept, 27 Oct, 01 Dec; 19 Jan, 23 Feb, 22 March, 26 April, 24 May and 28 June.
    Full fee £199.00 Senior fee £159.00 Concession £129.00
  7. Nineteenth Century American Literary Classics
    Course start date:  Fri 27 Sep 2024

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Richard Niland
    This class explores the wonderful world of 19th century American literature, reading classic texts to broaden knowledge of literary history through a range of influential novels, stories, and poems. Among the writers considered in their literary, political, and cultural contexts will be Frederick Douglass, Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, Herman Melville, and Mark Twain.
    Full fee £199.00 Senior fee £159.00 Concession £129.00
  8. Friday lates: Surrealism and its international influence
    Evening
    Course start date:  Fri 27 Sep 2024

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Sarah Jaffray
    For the 100th anniversary of the movement, explore the impact of surrealism on international artists, social movements and cultural revolutions. Come to understand the historical importance of this massively influential movement.



    This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.
    Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £19.00 Concession £12.00
  9. Philosophy and literature: from existentialism to (post)modernism
    Course start date:  Fri 27 Sep 2024

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Barrie Selwyn
    Literature provides a very effective springboard into the understanding of the developing notions of selfhood and human nature in the history of ideas and philosophy sharpens our understanding of literature within the broader context of this history.
    Full fee £259.00 Senior fee £207.00 Concession £168.00
  10. City Lit reading group 1
    Course start date:  Fri 29 Sep 2023 (and 1 other date)

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Kate Wilkinson
    Share thoughts and ideas about what you are reading, with books chosen by the group. Please come to the first session on Friday 29 September with suggestions (English-language contemporary fiction in paperback) and having read 'Unsettled Ground', by Clare Fuller. Meetings take place on 29 September, 10 November, 2 February, 1 March, 10 May and 14 June.
    Full fee £149.00 Senior fee £119.00 Concession £97.00
  11. Friday lates: the Bauhaus in London
    Evening
    Course start date:  Fri 18 Oct 2024

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Julie Barlow
    The Staatliches Bauhaus opened its doors in Weimar, Germany in 1919. Fourteen years later it was shut down by the Nazis. Celebrate 100 years of Modernism in architecture and design and discover how Bauhaus style spread to London.



    This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.
    Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £19.00 Concession £12.00
    Rating:
    100% of 100
  12. Friday lates: magical modernism: modern art and the occult
    Evening
    Course start date:  Fri 25 Oct 2024

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Christopher Collier
    Discover Modern Art’s secret history: a mysterious melting-pot of mystic auras, magical colour theories, trances, alchemy and the spirit-physics of the 4th-dimension, hiding beneath the familiar stories of science, reason and industry.



    This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.
    Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £19.00 Concession £12.00
    Rating:
    100% of 100
  13. The Etruscans
    Course start date:  Fri 1 Nov 2024

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  William Sterling
    Discover the mysterious people who lived in Central Italy and ended up being enveloped by the Romans.
    Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £55.00 Concession £45.00
    Rating:
    93% of 100
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