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. Art history and cinema
    Course start date:  Tue 17 Sep 2024

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Gillian McIver
    Since cinema's earliest days, literature has provided movies with stories. But there is another way of looking at film: through its relationship with painting, the oldest of the art forms.



    We’ll look at paintings by Friedrich, Titian, Hopper, Bacon, Delaroche and many more. We’ll view Red Desert, Pan’s Labyrinth, Easy Rider – looking at realism, surrealism and more.



    As you can see, all of these are quite different! Let’s see how movies connect us to art history.



    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 £84.00
  2. Full fee £149.00 Senior fee £149.00 Concession £75.00
    Rating:
    100% of 100
  3. Exploring British cinema
    Evening
    Course start date:  Wed 18 Sep 2024

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Jon Wisbey
    Defining itself around themes such as realism, class and national identity, British cinema continues to find critical and popular acclaim, both domestically and internationally. This course explores British cinema, past and present, through a range of critical concepts and approaches, films - including both popular and art house - and filmmakers, and considers its function as a national cinema.



    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
  4. City Lit evening reading group
    Evening
    Course start date:  Mon 25 Sep 2023 (and 1 other date)

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Claire Allen
    Share thoughts and ideas about what you are reading, with books chosen by the group. Please come to the first session with suggestions (contemporary fiction in paperback) and having read The Fortune Men by Nadifa Mohamed. Monthly meetings on 25 Sept, 23 Oct, 27 Nov; 15 Jan, 19 Feb, 18 March, 29 April, 10 June, and 08 July.



    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 £97.00
  5. Poetry workshop: intensive
    Course start date:  Tue 16 Apr 2024 (and 2 other dates)

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Julie Irigaray
    Want to have your poems critiqued in a supportive environment? This intensive poetry workshop focuses on offering feedback to poets who have already written a selection of poems and are looking to push their writing further.



    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
  6. Reading for writers: the short story (a fortnightly course)
    Evening
    Course start date:  Tue 16 Apr 2024 (and 1 other date)

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Annabel Banks
    The best way to write good short stories is to read a lot of good ones first. Dive into the best of short fiction, explore point-of-view, character and pacing, and begin to apply the lessons learnt to your own writing in this fortnightly course.



    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
    Rating:
    100% of 100
  7. America in the 20s: culture and society
    Evening
    Course start date:  Tue 1 Oct 2024

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Pauline Greene, Mark Malcomson, Dale Mineshima-Lowe, Paul Sutton, Patricia Sweeney, Ian Tucknott
    From the Jazz Age and the Harlem Renaissance, to Prohibiton and the Depression, this online intertextual course explores the political, social and cultural context of 1920s America through a study of literature, history, music, film and art of the period. With different tutors for each specialism, the course provides a 'taster' in each subject as a gateway to further study in understanding this fascinating period in American culture and society.



    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
  8. From the Land of the Rising Sun: an introduction to Japanese Literature
    Evening
    Course start date:  Thu 3 Oct 2024

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Woody River
    Explore the strange and beautiful world of Japanese literature from the 17th century to the present. Follow the footsteps of a medieval travelling poet, delve into the Tokyo pleasure district, view Hiroshima through the eyes of survivors after the atomic bombing, and interpret dreams to illuminate Japanese history and culture. Using art, photography, history and film, you will explore poems, journals, short stories and novels by ten of Japan’s most important writers.



    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 £84.00
    Rating:
    95% of 100
  9. Argonautica: reading group (in translation)
    Evening
    Course start date:  Tue 8 Oct 2024

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Nikoletta Manioti
    A reading group focusing on the Argonautica by the Greek poet Apollonius of Rhodes (in English translation).



    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 £97.00
  10. Languages of the ancient Near East: Sumerian, Akkadian, Egyptian
    Course start date:  Tue 8 Oct 2024

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Vaughan Pilikian
    This unique and wide-ranging course provides a broad introduction to the three major languages of the Ancient Near East, which together traverse a vast history of four millennia. In them were written some of the great landmarks of world literature, such as the Babylonian epic of Gilgamesh, the Egyptian Book of the Dead and the Sumerian Descent of Inanna.



    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 £119.00 Concession £97.00
  11. Greek and Latin texts by the Church Fathers
    Course start date:  Wed 9 Oct 2024

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Mary Ruskin
    Come on a discovery of Patristics, where you'll read, analyse and discuss the texts written by the Church Fathers.



    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 £119.00 Concession £97.00
  12. Virgil's Aeneid reading group (in translation)
    Evening
    Course start date:  Wed 16 Oct 2024

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Justin Murray
    Discover one of the greatest works of Latin literature.



    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 £84.00
  13. 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
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