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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- Picture book writing
Course start date: Sun 29 Oct 2023 (and 7 other dates)Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Andrew WealeWould you like to write a picture book text for young children? This course is designed for children's writers and for illustrators wishing to write their own stories, develop their ideas and technique.
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 - Ways into advanced film studies: film aesthetics Course start date: Wed 1 Nov 2023
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Paul SuttonHave you wondered why a film might have moved you so powerfully or why it looked so stunningly beautiful? Have you wanted to know quite how a film was able to communicate its story to you so effectively? If so, then this advanced level film studies course is for you. It aims to explore in depth the language of cinema, the way in which film connects with its spectators at the level of film form, in other words, film aesthetics. Writers and critics have long asked similar questions, as have filmmakers themselves, and we will follow some of the most celebrated in their quest for answers. We will look briefly at how films are made and at the importance of cinematography, editing, mise en scène and sound, before exploring in depth film’s aesthetic qualities. We will think about the importance of history for the development of film form and we will analyse clips and sequences from individual films so as to better approach and understand film aesthetics.Full fee £99.00 Senior fee £99.00 Concession £64.00 - Philosophy reading groupCourse start date: Wed 1 Nov 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Kate BanksDescartes’ Meditations is arguably the foundational text of modern Western philosophy influencing not only the what of philosophy, but the how and the why. Reading it together, we’ll discover the stone that created ripples still affecting our thinking today.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £55.00 Concession £45.00 - Charlotte Bronte: Jane Eyre and Villette Course start date: Wed 15 Nov 2023 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Sophie OxenhamThis online Literature course focuses on two novels by Charlotte Brontë: Jane Eyre and Villette. We will develop an appreciation of Brontë’s narrative methods and concerns through close analysis of her language, alongside engaging with the literary, historical and critical contexts of these novels, and the Brontë ‘mythology’ itself.
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 £79.00 Concession £64.00 - Shakespeare's women: Rosalind, Ophelia, Lady Macbeth Course start date: Wed 24 Jan 2024
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Sophie OxenhamThis online Literature course will look at three of Shakespeare’s female characters: Rosalind (As You Like It), Ophelia (Hamlet) and Lady Macbeth (Macbeth). We will consider their wit, madness and ambition, exploring Shakespeare’s language, the historical context, and the plays in performance.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £55.00 Concession £45.00 - Exploring horror cinemaCourse start date: Wed 28 Feb 2024
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Jon WisbeyExplore the horror film through a range of key films, concepts and critical accounts of the genre. In doing so, we will consider its history and development and the ways in which different production contexts, for example, American, European and East Asian horror cinemas, have given rise to significant variations within the genre, with each having distinctive styles, themes and film 'cycles'.
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 - Animals in art - from medieval art to today Course start date: Wed 6 Mar 2024
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Irina ChkhaidzeThis course focuses on historical shifts in the depiction of animals from the late medieval period to the present, and on the contemporary representations of human-animal relations.
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 out on social media for writersCourse start date: Wed 22 May 2024
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Lisa GollLearn to wield a powerful tool in the contemporary writer’s arsenal: social media.Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £69.00 Concession £35.00 - Art and critical theory: rethinking 'nature'Course start date: Wed 26 Jun 2024
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Irina ChkhaidzeExplore the role of critical theory within the field of art history, and learn new ways of thinking about art by focusing on how recent authors have been rethinking our understanding of nature.
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 - Dickens' London
Course start date: Wed 10 Jul 2024Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Molly Rumbelow - Hitchcock's British filmsCourse start date: Wed 20 Sep 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Jon WisbeyAlfred Hitchcock established his reputation early on in his British career, particularly with a series of thrillers that showcased his distinctive style. This course explores his British films and the factors that helped to shape his filmmaking and, subsequently, his reputation as a major film artist, while also considering his position in, and relationship to British cinema of the 1920s and 1930s.
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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