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 online and in-person learning. 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. See our guide to online learning for more information about accessing our live online courses.

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  1. Lunchtime lecture: Vincent van Gogh - London, Paris, and Japan
    Course start date:  Wed 27 Sep 2023

    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
  2. Literature taster: poetry
    Course start date:  Wed 27 Sep 2023

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Sophie Oxenham
    Ever wondered what an online Literature course at City Lit is like? Or wondering whether studying poetry is for you? Tempted to try, but not ready to commit to a whole course? Try this taster session on studying poetry to boost your confidence and whet your appetite for further study!



    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. Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £19.00 Concession £12.00
    Rating:
    100% of 100
  4. A taste of politics
    Course start date:  Fri 29 Sep 2023 (and 1 other date)

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Martin Jorgensen
    Borders, conflicts, citizenship, elections, activism and global politics. We see these topics on the news every day. Some seem connected, others less so. Join our politics taster to get perspective and an overview of our politics courses.
    Full fee £10.00 Senior fee £10.00 Concession £10.00
    Rating:
    100% of 100
  5. Friday Late: The British Empire, sugar & enslavement
    Evening
    Course start date:  Fri 29 Sep 2023

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Ellen Carpenter
    How did sugar become central to Georgian dining and what impact did sugar consumption in Britain have on enslavement and the slave trade? Join us for a one-off Friday Late session on the history of sugar, sugar consumption in Britain and its darker associations with enslavement and slave produced crops in the Caribbean colonies.



    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
  6. Writing and rewriting fairytales
    Weekend
    Course start date:  Sun 3 Mar 2024 (and 3 other dates)

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Victoria M. Adams
    Once upon a time there was a City Lit workshop all about writing fairytales. The quest: to inspire writers to pen stories of love, fear, forests, revenge, dragons, witches, kings, queens, frogs and magic.



    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 £69.00 Concession £35.00
    Rating:
    98% of 100
  7. A sense of place: Constable’s Hampstead
    Course start date:  Tue 3 Oct 2023

    Location on this date:  Off Site

    Tutors:  Marilyn Greene
    Explore Georgian and Regency Hampstead walking in the footsteps of John Constable and seeing places he painted and quotes about his thoughts and feelings on Hampstead and his art.
    Full fee £10.00 Senior fee £8.00 Concession £7.00
  8. Lunchtime lecture: The Other Story – introducing the BLK Art Group
    Course start date:  Wed 4 Oct 2023

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Sarah Jaffray
    Get to know the ground-breaking art and ideas of the BLK Art Group, the early 1980s art and activist community whose work still shapes our conversations about art and culture in the UK today.



    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
  9. Friday lates: the Bauhaus in London
    Evening
    Course start date:  Fri 6 Oct 2023

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Julie Barlow
    The Staatliches Bauhaus opened its doors in Weimar, Germany in 1919. Fourteen years later it was shut down by the Nazis. Celebrate 100 years of Modernism in architecture and design and discover how Bauhaus style spread to London.



    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
    Rating:
    100% of 100
  10. Black British literature of the early twentieth century
    Weekend
    Course start date:  Sat 7 Oct 2023

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Rebecca Balfourth
    Discover Black British Literature in the twentieth century, featuring early work that has become part of the canon. Includes works by Samuel Selvon and Una Marson and an exploration of key themes and styles of narration for the literature of the period.



    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 £15.00 Concession £12.00
  11. The Bicycle Thieves at 75
    Weekend
    Course start date:  Sun 8 Oct 2023

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Graham Rinaldi
    In the inaugural 1952 Sight and Sound greatest film of all time poll, Vittorio De Sica’s neo-realist The Bicycle Thieves (Ladri di biciclette) was voted in first place. Seventy-five years after its initial release, we will celebrate and analyse the film’s enduring popularity with both audiences and critics alike.
    Full fee £59.00 Senior fee £47.00 Concession £38.00
  12. Poetry of the 30s: T.S. Eliot to Dylan Thomas
    Weekend
    Course start date:  Sun 8 Oct 2023

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Phoebe Braithwaite
    Wedged between the two wars, the poets of the 1930s were drawn to forces larger than themselves. For poets such as W.H. Auden and Louis MacNeice, war, revolution and the allure of communism dwarfed mere personal anxieties. Others – such as William Empson, Kathleen Raine and Dylan Thomas – found a seam of spiritualism in other, more mystical, even Romantic antecedents. Our course traces these discrepant paths through the decade.
    Full fee £59.00 Senior fee £47.00 Concession £38.00
    Rating:
    87% of 100
  13. Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £69.00 Concession £35.00
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