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.
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- Leonard Cohen: song, poetry, prose and personaCourse start date: Thu 15 May 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Richard NilandThis class explores the work of Leonard Cohen, examining his poetry, song, prose and persona in the context of the literary and musical traditions that shaped his art. We delve into Cohen’s meditations on life and the modern world through his absorption and reworking of a rich range of cultural influences.Full fee £169.00 Senior fee £135.00 Concession £110.00 - Understanding the dynamics of the Middle East: authoritarianism and democracyCourse start date: Thu 15 May 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Caglar EzikogluJoin Dr. Çaglar Ezikoglu to exlore the dynamics of authoritarianism and democracy in the Middle East, analysing key political structures, movements, and their impacts on regional stability.Full fee £119.00 Senior fee £119.00 Concession £77.00 - Getting away with murder: how to write crime fiction
Course start date: Thu 25 Sep 2025 (and 2 other dates)Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Sophie McKenzieWant to write a murder mystery that will knock readers dead? On this course you'll learn how to plot a murder most horrid and develop your writing to create maximum suspense.Full fee £159.00 Senior fee £159.00 Concession £80.00 - Ways into poetry: intensive Course start date: Thu 25 Sep 2025 (and 5 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Alice FrecknallRelatively new to writing poetry? This shorter version of our introductory Ways into poetry course offers an opportunity to experiment with language and a variety of poetic devices alongside fellow emerging poets. Discover the key elements of a poem in a friendly and interactive class.Full fee £159.00 Senior fee £159.00 Concession £80.00 - Global Connections: Oral Histories of Ugandan Asians in Britain after 1972Course start date: Thu 22 May 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Syeda AliThis one day course brings together evidence from interviews with the ever decreasing number of original arrivals to the UK from Uganda, following Idi Amin’s expulsion in 1972.
Using oral history we ask questions of what we can learn from the personal testimony of individuals and what unique insights this gives us.Full fee £10.00 Senior fee £10.00 Concession £7.00 - Spectacles of the Ancient worldCourse start date: Thu 22 May 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Michael BloomfieldThis course explores some of the most elaborate and powerful displays of the Graeco-Roman world. Designed to entertain, inform, and elicit support, often at times of great political or religious significance, they were unforgettable, and have long exercised an influence on our own understanding of the nature of power.Full fee £99.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £64.00 - 17th century England, revolution and restoration: Oliver Cromwell and the Protectorate era Course start date: Thu 22 May 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Ellen CarpenterA 'Brave, Bad Man?' Join us to explore the life of Oliver Cromwell, from his rise to power during the Civil Wars to his brief rule as Lord Protector of the Commonwealth in the period 1653-1658. We will also assess the brief rule of Cromwell's son, Richard, and his deposal in 1659.Where did it all go wrong for Richard?Full fee £199.00 Senior fee £159.00 Concession £129.00 - An introduction to the philosophy of Simone WeillCourse start date: Thu 29 May 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Karl WhiteIn this course we will look at aspects of the wide-ranging and intriguing philosophy of Simone Weil, one of the 20th century’s most intriguing and mysterious thinkers.Full fee £79.00 Senior fee £63.00 Concession £51.00 - Modern France: from de Gaulle and the Resistance to MacronCourse start date: Thu 5 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Sebastien Ardouin(Re)discover France's complex politics during the Fourth and Fifth Republics, and the social challenges and tensions the country faced both at times of growth and modernisation and of crisis and doubts. - 'The future is now', an introduction to video art Course start date: Thu 5 Jun 2025
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.Full fee £49.00 Senior fee £49.00 Concession £32.00 - Political Parties in Modern British PoliticsCourse start date: Thu 5 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Ian McGarvieThis course explores the historical origins, key developments in leadership and ideas, key policy and its foundations, recent electoral success, and support within the wider community of the major political parties in contemporary Britain. Join us to discuss!Full fee £119.00 Senior fee £95.00 Concession £77.00 - Symbols and stories: saints in art Course start date: Thu 5 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Elizabeth EyresSaints are represented in masterpieces of Christian art from 1200 to the present – learn how to recognise them, decode their meanings and iconography and enhance your understanding of this aspect of art history. This course includes a gallery visit. - Literary Adaptations: From Page to ScreenCourse start date: Thu 5 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Zoe CrombieSince the inception of film, the medium has been borrowing from literature, transforming novels, plays and poems into audio-visual experiences with varying degrees of success. Through a range of classic films, we will examine the techniques and practices available to filmmakers in the adaptation process, as well as the challenges of translating a story or concept from one form to another.Full fee £169.00 Senior fee £135.00 Concession £110.00 - Writing for video games Course start date: Thu 30 Oct 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Thomas McMullanLearn about the fundamentals of writing for video games, from interactive dialogue to environmental storytelling.Full fee £159.00 Senior fee £159.00 Concession £80.00 - Writing romance Course start date: Thu 12 Jun 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Aliya Ali-AfzalIt is a truth universally acknowledged that a writer in possession of a single pen can compose an unforgettable romance novel. This six-week course will guide students through the plotting of modern romance stories.Full fee £149.00 Senior fee £149.00 Concession £75.00
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