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. Writings on solitude
    Course start date:  Mon 7 Oct 2024

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Kate Wilkinson
    What does it mean to be alone? This online literature class focuses on solitude. We’ll read and discuss extracts from two books – non-fiction and fiction – to think about different representations and experiences of solitude, its history of creative and spiritual significance, and the meanings solitude has for us today.







    We’ll discuss extracts from:



    Sara Maitland, A Book of Silence (2008). This unusual memoir combines autobiography, travel writing, meditation and essay, describing Maitland’s journey over several years away from a busy urban life towards contemplative solitude.







    Dave Eggers, The Circle (2013). A dystopian satire of the early internet age, this novel imagines a future in which technology is reshaping human connection in unsettling ways.



    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
  2. History on film and TV
    Evening
    Course start date:  Mon 28 Oct 2024

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Gillian McIver
    Historical drama is one of the most popular movie genres. But how accurate is it, and is that important? We will look at a sample of films and TV shows set in the Tudor era of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, to explore how the depiction of the past is presented on screen. Who are the heroes and villains, and do these depictions affect our understanding of real-life history? We’ll examine Elizabeth, The Other Boleyn Girl, Anonymous, Mary, Queen of Scots, A Man for All Seasons, and more.



    This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.
    Full fee £119.00 Senior fee £119.00 Concession £77.00
  3. Being ecological: environmental consciousness in cultures of climate crisis
    Evening
    Course start date:  Mon 4 Nov 2024

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Katie Goss
    This course will introduce students to exciting initiatives in twenty-first century cultural discourse that attempt to reconceptualise what an ecological consciousness might be or feel like. Drawing on theoretical and literary texts, films, performance art, and political activism, we will explore radical ways of rethinking and reinhabiting our relations with more-than-human worlds, and how they open new possibilities for living on a damaged planet.
    Full fee £169.00 Senior fee £169.00 Concession £110.00
  4. Introduction to journalism
    Evening
    Course start date:  Mon 4 Nov 2024 (and 3 other dates)

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Allis Moss
    On 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 £149.00 Senior fee £149.00 Concession £75.00
    Rating:
    96% of 100
  5. 20th & 21st Century Black British Literature
    Evening
    Course start date:  Mon 4 Nov 2024

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Rebecca Balfourth
    Explore some important names in Black British Literature – from Booker-winning novelist Bernadine Evaristo to T.S. Eliot Award-winning poet Roger Robinson, through to new and exciting work by Okechukwu Nzelu, who was longlisted for the 2023 Jhalak Prize, and non-fiction by Zadie Smith. Read, analyse and discuss this literature in context to earlier examples of writing by Black people in Britain, including pioneering feminist, poet, playwright, and broadcaster Una Marson and novelist and short fiction writer, Sam Selvon.



    This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.
    Full fee £119.00 Senior fee £119.00 Concession £77.00
  6. Full fee £10.00 Senior fee £10.00 Concession £10.00
    Rating:
    60% of 100
  7. Full fee £199.00 Senior fee £199.00 Concession £100.00
  8. Starting your novel: intensive
    Evening
    Course start date:  Mon 20 Jan 2025

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Sarah Leipciger
    Got 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.
    Full fee £149.00 Senior fee £149.00 Concession £75.00
    Rating:
    100% of 100
  9. Journaling: a taster
    Evening
    Course start date:  Mon 10 Feb 2025

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Julie Garton
    This inspiring taster course led by an experienced journaler, encourages students to explore a range of techniques and prompts in order to find an approach to life writing that suits them.



    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
  10. Full fee £189.00 Senior fee £189.00 Concession £95.00
  11. Writing about food
    Evening
    Course start date:  Mon 15 Apr 2024 (and 1 other date)

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Laura Silverman
    Love food and want to write about it? Whether you’re keen to review dishes, interview chefs or write about sustainable eating, now is your chance. This course will cover writing for established publications as well as personal blogs.



    This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.
    Full fee £179.00 Senior fee £179.00 Concession £90.00
    Rating:
    100% of 100
  12. Existentialism and the arts
    Last Few Places
    Course start date:  Mon 22 Apr 2024

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  John Goff
    Existentialist themes of anxiety, anguish, dread, freedom, melancholy, loneliness, death and absurdity pervade the arts from the era of Romanticism onwards. What is the cultural significance and consequence of giving expression to such concerns?



    NB: no classes on 6th and 27th May.
    Full fee £269.00 Senior fee £215.00 Concession £175.00
    Rating:
    100% of 100
  13. The rise and fall of Oscar Wilde
    Last Few Places
    Course start date:  Mon 22 Apr 2024

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Julian Birkett
    Oscar Wilde was the most controversial writer of late Victorian Britain. He was famed for his wit, extravagant lifestyle, and sexual adventures. His plays and his sensational novel The Picture of Dorian Gray were celebrated and admired. But his scandalous trial and conviction “for gross indecency with men” ruined him, and he ended his life in Paris, destitute and alone. His dramatic trial marked a turning point in British attitudes to sex and culture.
    Full fee £149.00 Senior fee £119.00 Concession £97.00
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