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.
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- 'We're still here': new contemporary painting in the UK
Course start date: Fri 9 Jun 2023Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Chantal CondronLiving in a digital age, is contemporary painting ‘redundant'? This four week course explores how alive and kicking contemporary painting is in Britain. Discover how exciting, new UK-based artists use both experimental and traditional painting approaches to address issues of identity, history and personal experience.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £99.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £64.00 - The Norwich School - a unique society of landscape painters Course start date: Fri 9 Jun 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Elizabeth EyresOn this course you will study the fascinating work of the 19th century Norwich School, a loose association of generations of painters from artistic families who worked in Norwich, Norfolk, one of the most important and wealthy regional capitals of the day. You will explore the beautiful landscapes produced by these artists and also discover work produced by remarkable women in the group.
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 - Friday lates: 'the future is now', an introduction to video art Course start date: Fri 9 Jun 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Irina ChkhaidzeExplore the early history of video art, its rise as a medium and its significance as a contemporary art practice. We focus on the influential video works from the 1960s-1980s.
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 - Friday lates: Agnes Martin - pioneer, painter, iconCourse start date: Fri 16 Jun 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Henry MartinThis course examines the unconventional life and artworks of Agnes Martin (1912–2004), regarded as one of the great artists of the Twentieth Century. Topics covered include Abstract Expressionism, Minimalism, LGBTQ artists, and the role of the biography in Art History.
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 - The enduring fascination of Medea: adapting Euripides for the modern stageCourse start date: Fri 30 Jun 2023
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Jenny StevensEuripides’ Medea has fascinated audiences for centuries, its tragic action confronting spectators with scenarios almost too terrible to contemplate. Successive generations have adapted the play for their own times, ensuring its place in theatrical repertoires and the cultural consciousness. This course considers how 20th and 21st century adaptations of the tragedy have responded to its most compelling and disturbing act: Medea’s killing of her own children.Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £15.00 Concession £12.00 - Showing the goods: luxury in Greek vascular paintingCourse start date: Fri 30 Jun 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Simone ChisenaA the saying goes, “what’s the point of being rich if you cannot brag about it?”; well, the Ancient Greeks were masters at this art to the point of depicting it in plain sight across their vases and vessels. Let us look through this kaleidoscope into the lives of Athenian well-to-dos to see what form their wealth assumed and how its depiction became a synonym for luxury across the Mare Nostrum.
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 £15.00 Concession £12.00 - Art history taster Course start date: Fri 7 Jul 2023 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Sarah JaffrayEver wondered what art history is but don’t want to commit to a whole course? This taster explores some of the ways art historians come to their interpretion art. Build your confidence in looking at art by learning what art and art history really are.Full fee £10.00 - Micropoetry: small poems, big ideas
Course start date: Fri 14 Jul 2023Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Jennifer WongExplore the emerging art form of micropoetry in this fun but informative day workshop. Compose your own poetry and learn how to make every word on the page count.Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £69.00 Concession £35.00 - The writings of Cicero: an introductionCourse start date: Fri 21 Jul 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Sean GabbAn 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 - T.S. Eliot's The Waste Land at 100Course start date: Fri 2 Jun 2023
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: David Barnes100 years ago this autumn an extraordinary poem was published that changed the literary world in ways we are still processing today. T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land was a modernist masterpiece, a broken hymn of despair, a collage of voices from different cultures and histories – and a poem that soon became iconic. From its memorable opening line – ‘April is the cruellest month’ – to its closing prayer, it takes us through a rich cast of characters and settings, evocations of myth and religion, and references to modern life. In this course we will look at the poem’s politics, its attitude to religion and sex, its many allusions, and the great writers it influenced.Full fee £139.00 Senior fee £111.00 Concession £90.00
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