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.
- 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: Tue 20 May 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 £149.00 Senior fee £149.00 Concession £75.00 - 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 - 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 - '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 - 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. - Writing for video games Course start date: Tue 10 Jun 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Thomas McMullanLearn about the fundamentals of writing for video games, from interactive dialogue to environmental storytelling.Full fee £149.00 Senior fee £149.00 Concession £75.00 - 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 - Russia and Ukraine: The memory politics of conflictCourse start date: Thu 12 Jun 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Olivia DurandThe ongoing Russian occupation of Ukraine and the Ukrainian fight for its people, land and sovereignty is not only fought on the battlefield. Join us to explore how history and memory politics is also at central
Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £19.00 Concession £12.00 - Section 28 and Collective Memory: LGBTQ+ Activism, Education, and ResistanceCourse start date: Thu 12 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Syeda AliExplore the history of Section 28 (1988-2003) in three online workshops. We examine its political origins and effects and how it shaped LGBTQ+ rights and collective memory in Britain.al history we ask questions of what we can learn from the personal testimony of individuals and what unique insights this gives us.Full fee £49.00 Senior fee £49.00 Concession £32.00 - Ways into poetry: a gentle paceCourse start date: Thu 12 Jun 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Andrew WealeAre you brand new to writing poetry? Do you want to build your confidence in a supportive environment alongside other beginners in the craft? This gentle short course guides students taking their first steps on the path to becoming a poet.Full fee £149.00 Senior fee £149.00 Concession £75.00 - The Socratic philosophers: AristotleCourse start date: Thu 19 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: John GoffThis is a basic introduction to the philosophy of Aristotle, of which his ‘Ethics’ & ‘Politics’ will form the core.Full fee £119.00 Senior fee £119.00 Concession £77.00 - Literary Landscapes: Black London in Caleb Nelson’s Open Water and Sam Selvon’s The Lonely LondonersCourse start date: Thu 26 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Online
Black London is shifting and ever-evolving. This course explores how Costa award winning Caleb Nelson’s novel ‘Open Water’ and the great 1950’s classic of immigrant fiction, Sam Selvon’s ‘The Lonely Londoners’ reimagined our multicultural metropolis.Full fee £79.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £79.00
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