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. An introduction to European decorative arts at the V&A
    Course start date:  Thu 18 Apr 2024

    Location on this date:  Off Site

    Tutors:  Andreas Petzold
    The Victoria and Albert Museum has one of the finest and most comprehensive collections of European decorative arts in the world. This course aims to provide an introduction to these rich collections. It will focus on the period 1500 to 1900, but references later developments. The main media will be explored including textiles, ceramics, glass, metalwork, and silver.
    Full fee £89.00 Senior fee £71.00 Concession £58.00
  2. Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £69.00 Concession £35.00
    Rating:
    98% of 100
  3. Makers not muses: Claude Cahun, Eileen Agar and Isabel Rawsthorne
    Course start date:  Thu 25 Apr 2024

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Chantal Condron
    Explore the work of three radical artists whose work and practice defied convention in modern art from the 1920s to 1960s. Discover how each artist challenged and transcended society’s expectations of being a ‘muse’ by living freely and making art in a variety of media, from painting and sculpture to collage, photography and 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
    Rating:
    90% of 100
  4. Private portraits: painted miniatures in early modern Europe
    Course start date:  Fri 26 Apr 2024

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Elizabeth Eyres
    Portrait miniatures are some of the most exquisite and beguiling likenesses ever produced. Their tiny scale and painstaking creation give them an intricacy, intimacy and sense of intrigue. These often reflect the circumstances in which they were gifted to their new owners by the person commissioning them, and both the images and their wider contexts repay our close study on this course.
    Full fee £99.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £64.00
  5. Ways into advanced art history: writing histories
    Evening
    Course start date:  Wed 1 May 2024

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Sarah Jaffray
    Develop a greater understanding of art history and how to analyse the cultural meaning of an artwork by going in-depth with the ideas of prominent art historians. This course is meant to cultivate your personal practice of art history through small, guided research and writing projects.
    Full fee £99.00 Senior fee £99.00 Concession £64.00
  6. Struggle to be heard: Rimbaud, Cavafy, Tsvetaeva, Binta Breeze
    Evening
    Course start date:  Thu 2 May 2024

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Laurie Smith
    We look at four poets who struggled to be heard or accepted because their work was so different from what their society expected. What were the barriers they had to overcome and how did they win through to become admired and highly regarded? What made one of the poets stop writing at the age of 21 and the other three continue for the rest of their lives? What makes the poetry of all of them so original, and what can we learn from their resilience?
    Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £69.00 Concession £45.00
  7. Create your first poetry collection
    Evening
    Course start date:  Tue 19 Nov 2024 (and 1 other date)

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Julie Irigaray
    You've written and workshopped your poetry, and now you're ready to create your first collection. But where do you begin with that process? This workshop offers instruction and advice on putting together your first poetry collection.



    This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.
    Full fee £79.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £40.00
    Rating:
    100% of 100
  8. An introduction to stained glass at the V&A
    Course start date:  Thu 9 May 2024

    Location on this date:  Off Site

    Tutors:  Andreas Petzold
    Stained glass has been described as the most original and important medium in the high Middle Ages. The Victoria and Albert Museum has one of the finest and most comprehensive collections of stained glass in the world, spanning the twelfth century to the modern period. The course will provide an introduction to this medium and the collection of it in the Victoria and Albert Museum.
    Full fee £59.00 Senior fee £47.00 Concession £38.00
  9. Writing poetry: getting started
    Evening
    Course start date:  Thu 23 May 2024 (and 1 other date)

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Billie Manning
    This short, fun workshop is the perfect starting point for students who are writing for the first time or new to the poetry path. Join us for thought-provoking writing exercises and poetry theory for beginners.



    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
  10. Magic in the ancient world
    Course start date:  Wed 29 May 2024

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Ann Jeffers
    How do you define magic and divination? Why has the Western world traditionally viewed magic as opposed to religion and science? These and other issues will be discussed in this thought-provoking course.



    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
  11. The criminalization of protests and democracy in Western Europe
    Evening
    Course start date:  Tue 4 Jun 2024

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    This course looks at the responses of Western European governments to recent protests and asks what the increasing criminalisation of protests means for the state of democracy in these countries.
    Full fee £99.00 Senior fee £99.00 Concession £64.00
  12. Movements in art: Impressionism
    Course start date:  Wed 5 Jun 2024

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Elizabeth Eyres
    Study the work of a controversial group of painters working in and around Paris from the late 1860s and 1870s and explore how these artists re-thought their creative practice in response to modern life.



    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
    Rating:
    90% of 100
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