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. Full fee £239.00 Senior fee £239.00 Concession £120.00
  2. Full fee £219.00 Senior fee £219.00 Concession £110.00
    Rating:
    100% of 100
  3. From Nonsense to the Surreal: Edward Lear to Angela Carter
    Course start date:  Wed 25 Sep 2024

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Laurie Smith
    Surrealism is one of the great developments of 20th century literature. It’s different from the fantasies of previous centuries (fairy and folk tales, imaginative stories set in remote parts of the world, satires, science fiction) because it expresses complex bizarre experiences that many people recognise as possibly part of themselves. It may reflect desires which are difficult to admit but are sometimes expressed with wit and humour. We explore how surrealism developed from the apparent nonsense of three 19th century English writers.
    Full fee £249.00 Senior fee £199.00 Concession £162.00
  4. Reading Shakespeare: a director's perspective - Romeo and Juliet and the Taming of the Shrew
    Course start date:  Wed 25 Sep 2024

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Laura Baggaley
    Take a fresh look at Shakespeare, exploring selected plays in the company of an experienced theatre director. With performance in mind, we will examine the language and themes of two plays and discuss the extraordinary variety to be found within Shakespeare’s work.
    Full fee £199.00 Senior fee £199.00 Concession £129.00
  5. Full fee £209.00 Senior fee £209.00 Concession £105.00
    Rating:
    85% of 100
  6. Ways into advanced fiction, poetry and drama: the dawning of modernity
    Evening
    Course start date:  Wed 2 Oct 2024

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Patricia Sweeney
    For those who want to further develop their literary skills, focusing on the three main literary genres of fiction,



    poetry and drama. Read, analyse and debate works that reflect the cultural and historical changes as the world moves from the Victorian age to modernity, including 'The Awakening' (1899) by Kate Chopin, 'Three Sisters' (1901) by Anton Chekhov and poetry by Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson.
    Full fee £179.00 Senior fee £179.00 Concession £116.00
  7. Africa and the Classics - the role Africa played in shaping the Classical world and our modern understanding of it
    Course start date:  Wed 2 Oct 2024

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Szerdi Nagy
    This course aims to explore the multifaceted relationship between Africa and the Classical



    world, highlighting Africa's significant contributions to the Classical world.
    Full fee £229.00 Senior fee £183.00 Concession £149.00
  8. 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
  9. Lunchtime lecture: Cezanne - from aspiring Impressionist to Post-Impressionist revolutionary
    Course start date:  Wed 23 Oct 2024

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Julia Musgrave
    Explore the development of Cezanne revolutionary approach to painting, his techniques and motifs and some of the many artists whose work he influenced.



    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
  10. Cinema before 1930
    Evening
    Course start date:  Wed 30 Oct 2024

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Jon Wisbey
    Explore cinema's development from its earliest days to the arrival of sound, and view and discuss films such as A Trip to the Moon (1902), Sherlock Jr. (1924) and Sunrise (1927) and many others. We will also consider the contributions of key filmmakers, including the Lumière brothers, Georges Méliès, D W Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Sergei Eisenstein, F W Murnau and Alfred Hitchcock.



    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
  11. Philosophy reading group: Kierkegaard's Fear and Trembling
    Evening
    Course start date:  Wed 30 Oct 2024

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Kate Banks
    Fear and Trembling is a moving, challenging and influential work of philosophy: short but powerful. This course will offer an introduction to the work of Kierkegaard, explanation of some of the book’s knottier passages and group discussion.



    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
  12. Lunchtime lecture: Vincent van Gogh - London, Paris, and Japan
    Course start date:  Wed 20 Nov 2024

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Julia Musgrave
    Follow Vincent van Gogh from London to Paris in the late 19th century and discover the artistic influences and friendships that informed his 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
  13. 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 £29.00 Senior fee £29.00 Concession £29.00
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