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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- Life in Anglo-Saxon EnglandCourse start date: Thu 2 Feb 2023 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Stephen PollingtonWhat was daily life like for people in England a thousand years ago? What clothes did they wear, what food did they eat, what were their houses like? What language did they speak and how was it written? What medical knowledge did they have, and who practised it? What were their religious beliefs, and what were their superstitions? The course will take a look at ordinary life in Anglo-Saxon England using evidence from archaeology, literature, iconography, place-names and other sources.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £189.00 Senior fee £189.00 Concession £123.00 - War and Austerity: politics, culture and society in Britain and Ireland, 1939-1955Course start date: Thu 27 Apr 2023
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Ellen CarpenterAspects covered include life on the Home Front in the UK and under the Emergency in Eire; the making of the post war world at home and abroad; the Arts, Science, leisure and popular culture.Full fee £139.00 Senior fee £111.00 Concession £70.00 - Italian cinema: From Neorealism to the Genre FilmCourse start date: Fri 28 Apr 2023
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Cristina MassaccesiThis cinema course focuses on Italian cinema in the years between 1945 and 1980. It will provide you with an overview of the main historical, cultural and social aspects of Italian filmmaking in Italy by looking at the work of some of its most influential author/directors.Full fee £99.00 Senior fee £99.00 Concession £64.00 - Contemporary art in London
Course start date: Fri 28 Apr 2023Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Chantal CondronExplore and discuss contemporary art on show in London. Each week we’ll visit 1-2 commercial galleries or a public gallery and examine specific exhibitions of contemporary art across a range of media including painting, works on paper, photography, new media and sculpture.Full fee £129.00 Senior fee £103.00 Concession £84.00 - Women in art: 1900-1960Course start date: Tue 2 May 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Elizabeth EyresOn this course we shall explore and examine the considerable, and significant, contributions of women painters and sculptors to the avant-garde art world during the first half of the 20th century.
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 £111.00 Concession £90.00 - Stories of LondonCourse start date: Wed 3 May 2023
Location on this date: Blended (learn both online and in-person)
Tutors: Eleanor JacksonExplore London’s rich history in a series of guided walks. Each week we examine a different neighbourhood & era from the capital’s past. We look at its people, both rich and poor, & the events that shaped the city.
Initial lecture via Zoom followed by 6 guided walks.
This course will be delivered online and in person. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £149.00 Senior fee £119.00 Concession £75.00 - Writing for magazinesCourse start date: Wed 3 May 2023 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Susan GrossmanGet inspired to write on this practical course for freelance journalists and bloggers. Learn to carry out research, interview people, pitch and publish stories, and build your presence on social media.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £129.00 Senior fee £129.00 Concession £65.00 - The Iliad reading group (in translation)Course start date: Wed 3 May 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Justin MurrayCome and explore Homer's great epic tale in translation.
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 - Get together and readCourse start date: Thu 19 Jan 2023 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Claire AllenEnjoy talking with other people about the things you have read? Want to share great stories, poems and drama? Come along and join the conversation. The group is led by a shared reading practitioner trained by The Reader Organisation.Full fee £99.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £50.00 - Poetic momentsCourse start date: Thu 4 May 2023
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Laurie SmithWhat makes some poets seize the moment in which they live, and write about it in poems which become famous and much loved? Some poems capture the spirit of their time so memorably that we feel they will always be read and admired. How does this happen?Full fee £139.00 Senior fee £111.00 Concession £90.00 - 'The Noise of Time': Russian poetry and society from Mayakovsky and Pasternak to Brodsky and StepanovaCourse start date: Thu 4 May 2023
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Stephen WinfieldExplore the ways in which the leading Russian poets of two contrasting periods – the early 20th century, from the Silver Age to the Revolution, and the late 20th – 21st centuries, from the end of the Soviet era up until our own time - responded and are still responding to the pressures of a society in the grip of profound political change.Full fee £169.00 Senior fee £135.00 Concession £110.00 - Introduction to Tate BritainCourse start date: Fri 5 May 2023
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Chantal CondronEach week, we'll explore a different aspect of the permanent collection at Tate Britain, looking at artworks from the 16th to the 21st centuries. This course is gallery based.Full fee £169.00 Senior fee £135.00 Concession £110.00 - From Caligari to Touch of Evil: Expressionism in the CinemaCourse start date: Fri 5 May 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Jon WisbeyCharacterised by chiaroscuro, or high contrast lighting, and similarly stylised narratives, the expressionist film informs German cinema of the 1920s, French poetic realism of the 1930s, and the American and European film noir of the 1940s and 1950s. This course explores a range of key examples of expressionist cinema drawn from these contexts and asks why the style continues to fascinate us.
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 the art of art history - part 2Course start date: Sat 6 May 2023
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Rachel SandersExplore a variety of art movements, from Neo-Classicism to Abstract Expressionism through an introductory study of the writing of art theorists and commentators who have made a significant contribution to Art History as a discipline.Full fee £169.00 Senior fee £135.00 Concession £110.00 - Looking at design: Arts and Crafts to Art DecoCourse start date: Sat 6 May 2023
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Rachel SandersStudy the design reform movements – Arts and Crafts, Aesthetic Movement, Art Nouveau and Art Deco – and analyse a wide range of products, including fashion and textiles, graphics, furniture and architecture within their social, historic and artistic context. Includes a museum visit.Full fee £139.00 Senior fee £111.00 Concession £90.00
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