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. Lunchtime lecture: Reading Old Master Drawings - an art historical insight
    Course start date:  Wed 22 May 2024

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Sarah Jaffray
    What is drawing and what is its unique place in the history of art? Come to understand this special medium through an exploration of some of the greatest draughtspeople in Western European art.



    This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.
    Full fee £10.00 Senior fee £10.00 Concession £7.00
  2. Lunchtime lecture: Yoko Ono - viewer as participant
    Course start date:  Wed 12 Jun 2024

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Sarah Jaffray
    Get to know the art of Yoko Ono from performance art to installation. We explore how the artist works in collaboration with the participant to create communal art for all.



    This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.
    Full fee £10.00 Senior fee £10.00 Concession £7.00
  3. London's smaller galleries: Apsley House
    Course start date:  Wed 12 Jun 2024 (and 1 other date)

    Location on this date:  Off Site

    Tutors:  Julie Barlow
    Explore the home and art collection of Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington.
    Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £15.00 Concession £12.00
    Rating:
    90% of 100
  4. Creative non-fiction: a taster
    Evening
    Course start date:  Wed 4 Sep 2024 (and 1 other date)

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Julie Garton
    Have you had experiences that will move, delight or entertain readers? This taster session in creative-non fiction explores approaches to capturing your most poignant moments and crafting them into inspiring pieces of literature.



    This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.
    Full fee £10.00 Senior fee £10.00 Concession £10.00
    Rating:
    95% of 100
  5. Gothic language: a taster
    Evening
    Course start date:  Wed 9 Oct 2024

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Stephen Pollington
    Discover the ancient language spoken by the Goths, an ancient Germanic population from Scandinavia who settled in North-Eastern and Eastern Europe.



    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
  6. Connecting through collaborative writing
    Course start date:  Wed 9 Oct 2024

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Brian Mullin
    Two (or more!) heads are better than one! Collaborate with others to create short pieces of theatre, using everyone's skills and ideas to tell collective stories.
    Full fee £5.00 Senior fee £5.00 Concession £5.00
  7. Communication and trade routes between the Mediterranean and Asia
    Course start date:  Wed 4 Dec 2024

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Roberta Marin
    This talk will explore the different commercial routes that crisscrossed the vast area between Central Asia, the Mediterranean basin and the Arabian Peninsula.
    Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £19.00 Concession £19.00
  8. Lunchtime lecture: John Singer Sargent - beautiful subversion
    Last Few Places
    Course start date:  Wed 17 Apr 2024

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Sarah Jaffray
    Explore the historical context of John Singer Sargent’s fashionable portraits to better understand their depth and importance in modern art.



    This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.
    Full fee £10.00 Senior fee £10.00 Concession £7.00
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