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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- Understanding contemporary art: ideas and origins
Course start date: Mon 2 Oct 2023Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Christopher CollierEver wondered what's going on in the mind of contemporary artists? This course explores the ideas and historical background behind some of today’s most intriguing works, from Conceptualism and Video to Body Art and Installation.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information. - Nineteenth century French fictionCourse start date: Mon 2 Oct 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Megan BeechNineteenth-century France was full of intrigue and squalor. Even a century after the upheaval of the French revolution, the country continued to grapple with issues of hierarchy, capitalism, and inevitable family dramas. In this course we’ll explore these themes through three of the most successful writers of this period: Zola, Maupassant and Flaubert.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £149.00 Senior fee £149.00 Concession £97.00 - Introduction to journalism Course start date: Mon 6 Nov 2023 (and 2 other dates)
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Allis MossOn this course students will explore the basic skills a freelance journalist needs to write and sell news and features to newspapers and magazines. From developing ideas and identifying outlets to interview skills and approaching editors.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £139.00 Senior fee £139.00 Concession £70.00 - Contemporary Black British Literature: Zadie Smith, Bernardine Evaristo, Benjamin Zephaniah, Roger RobinsonCourse start date: Mon 6 Nov 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Rebecca BalfourthAn introduction to late 20th and early 21st Century Black British Literature, the course features authors such as Zadie Smith, Bernadine Evaristo and Benjamin Zephaniah, as well as T.S. Eliot Prize-winning poet Roger Robinson. While looking towards the future, the course also examines the history of Black Britain - with many of the books explored locating their characters within an historical context.
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 £99.00 Concession £64.00 - Starting your novel: intensive Course start date: Mon 15 Jan 2024
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Sarah LeipcigerGot a great idea for a novel? Jump start your project in this supportive, intensive course that covers craft basics such as character and plot. For fiction writers with some experience, and for those comfortable working at a fast pace.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information. - Styles in art: from medieval to modernCourse start date: Mon 15 Jan 2024
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Leslie PrimoA survey of Western art from the Gothic to the Victorian age, discussing Renaissance, Mannerism, Baroque, Neoclassicism, Romanticism and Realism, and the ideas shaping each period.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £229.00 Senior fee £229.00 Concession £149.00 - Writing an academic essay
Course start date: Tue 16 Jan 2024 (and 1 other date)Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Sinead KeeganA crash course in essay writing – beginnings, middles and ends. Suitable for students on A level and access courses or undergraduates.
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 £99.00 Concession £50.00 - The art of the essay: from Michel de Montaigne to Audre LordeCourse start date: Mon 22 Jan 2024
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Dalia NeisWe will go on a journey to investigate the art and form of the essay through collectively reading a variety of essayists from the early 20th century to the present day. We will explore the essay’s hazy boundaries between diary, literary criticism, nature writing, elegy, aphorism, political tract, and mystical/religious experiences through key essayists including Walter Benjamin, Virginia Woolf, Clarice Lispector, Audre Lorde, Etel Adnan, James Baldwin, David Rattray, and Claudia Rankine.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information. - Fin de siecle writers: Oscar Wilde to Olive SchreinerCourse start date: Mon 29 Jan 2024
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Megan BeechThis online course will look at the unique style of writers who emerged at the end of the nineteenth century. We’ll explore fin de siècle writers who were grappling with new questions of modernity. Using the exciting backdrop of the 1890s, this course explores the cultural innovations of the period alongside the works of Oscar Wilde and other writers of this period.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £149.00 Senior fee £149.00 Concession £97.00 - The Global Economy unpacked: Latin America in the Global Economy from 1800 onwardsCourse start date: Mon 5 Feb 2024
Location on this date: Online
South America's economic journey: colonization, industrialization, neoliberal reforms, regional integration, challenges, sustainability, and emerging opportunities for inclusive growth.
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 £99.00 Concession £64.00 - Introduction to British Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi LiteratureCourse start date: Mon 12 Feb 2024
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Rebecca BalfourthExplore literary works by British writers of Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi descent that capture themes essential to human experience: China Room by Sunjeev Sahota, Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie, Marriage Material by Sathnam Sanghera and poetry by Imtiaz Dharker.
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 £99.00 Concession £64.00 - Figures in British politics and society you need to know!Course start date: Mon 12 Feb 2024
Location on this date: Online
The aim of this course is to bring to the forefront those, in British politics and society, who may have been confined to the fringes of history, simply been forgotten about or had their stories altered to fit a certain narrative. Curious? Join our tutor Natasha Ashman-Banks to learn more!
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 £99.00 Concession £64.00 - The Bloomsbury Group: art & designCourse start date: Mon 19 Feb 2024
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Julia MusgraveThey lived in squares and loved in triangles. Discover the art and influence of the Bloomsbury Group, through the work of their key artists: Vanessa Bell, Roger Fry and Duncan Grant.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £119.00 - The global economy unpacked: the forming of the economies of the Global SouthCourse start date: Mon 22 Apr 2024
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Ingrid Aguiar SchlindweinExplore how historical, political, and economic factors have shaped Global South economies. Analyze trade, governance, urbanization, poverty, sustainability, and challenges, fostering a holistic understanding of their development within the global landscape.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £89.00 Senior fee £89.00 Concession £58.00 - Medieval Drama: the Mystery CyclesCourse start date: Mon 3 Jun 2024
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Rachel BuglassThis course explores the Medieval Mystery plays, also known as the York Corpus Christi plays, focusing on the oldest of the four great cycles of biblical drama that have survived from late Medieval England. We will consider theatrical conventions, costumes and props, the performances and open-air staging of the plays and the medieval guilds and writers that were responsible for them.
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 £99.00 Concession £64.00
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