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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- Ways into playwriting: a taster
Course start date: Sat 8 Apr 2023 (and 1 other date)Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Nicole AcquahExplore the fundamental techniques of writing for the stage in this introductory online course. Get to grips with dialogue, character, story and structure, and start work on your own play.
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 - The art of the dissertationCourse start date: Sat 22 Apr 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Anne WilsonAre you approaching your dissertation year at undergraduate level? On this workshop you will receive expert guidance on how to structure and write your dissertation project to a high academic standard.
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 - Writing and rewriting fairytalesCourse start date: Sat 22 Apr 2023 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Online
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 - Picture book writingCourse start date: Mon 13 Feb 2023 (and 3 other dates)
Location on this date: Online (other locations are available)
Tutors: Lou KuenzlerWould 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; a starter course to develop both your ideas and your technique.
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 £50.00 - Makers not muses: Claude Cahun, Eileen Agar and Isabel RawsthorneCourse start date: Wed 26 Apr 2023
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Chantal CondronExplore 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.Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £69.00 Concession £45.00 - European ceramics in the Victoria and Albert Museum: an introductionCourse start date: Thu 27 Apr 2023
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Andreas PetzoldThe Victoria and Albert Museum has the finest and most comprehensive collection of ceramics in the world. The course will provide an introduction to the European collections discussing them from a variety of standpoints, including technique, style, imagery, function, types and designers.Full fee £79.00 Senior fee £63.00 Concession £51.00 - Strange tales and dark dreams: Fantasy, horror and surrealism in European cinemaCourse start date: Sat 29 Apr 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Jon WisbeyExplore a selection of films from the early days of European cinema, and later, that draw on a range of key genre traditions, but which have also acquired significant critical reputations, with their memorable visual qualities and unsettling narratives lending them an enduring place in both cinema and popular culture. Strange tales and dark dreams to fascinate, horrify and astound you.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £59.00 Senior fee £47.00 Concession £38.00 - Looking at Indigenous art in London galleriesCourse start date: Tue 2 May 2023
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Francesca CavalloJoin us for an introduction to Indigenous Art through visits to London museums and galleries. From the Tate to the British Museum with some galleries in between, we explore how the art of indigenous cultures, past and present, are displayed and discussed in London.Full fee £129.00 Senior fee £103.00 Concession £84.00 - Visionary experiments: American art of the 1940s and 50sCourse start date: Fri 5 May 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Sarah JaffrayExplore American art during and just after World War II. From abstraction expressionism to social justice in photography and printmaking see how the US's unique context created the foundation for experimental and transgressive art.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £109.00 Senior fee £87.00 Concession £71.00 - Henry James: The Portrait of a LadyCourse start date: Wed 10 May 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Sophie OxenhamThis short online literature course will explore Henry James’s novel ‘A Portrait of a Lady’ (1881). We will explore James’s narrative methods and concerns, and also engage with contextual and critical material to inform our reading.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £49.00 Senior fee £39.00 Concession £32.00 - Women behind the camera: in Hollywood and beyondCourse start date: Sat 13 May 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Ellen CheshireSince 1952, the British Film Institute through its magazine, Sight and Sound, has conducted a poll of film critics every decade to find out what are the Greatest Films of All Time. When the latest poll was published in December 2022 it sent #FilmTwitter into a tailspin. There seemed to be some surprise that a film few had seen and was directed by a woman had now taken that top spot. In this Study Day we will look at the women directors whose films feature on 2022 poll.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £59.00 Senior fee £47.00 Concession £38.00 - Developing your fairytaleCourse start date: Sat 13 May 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Nicole AcquahAlready devised a cunning plan for your own fairytale? This fun workshop coaches students on how to add an extra dash of magic into the cauldron while writing in the fairytale genre.
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 - An introduction to stained glass at the V&ACourse start date: Thu 18 May 2023
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Andreas PetzoldStained 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 Concession £38.00 - Study trip: art highlights of LisbonCourse start date: Fri 19 May 2023
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Marie-Anne MancioJoin us to explore the art of the beautiful city of Lisbon, a magnet for artists in recent years and fast becoming gentrified. This three-day tour with an expert art historian takes you to its many artistic highlights from ancient to contemporary and includes day trips to Belem and the pretty seaside resort of Cascais. Max places: 14.Full fee £429.00 Senior fee £429.00 Concession £429.00 - Masterworks of Japanese Horror cinemaCourse start date: Sat 20 May 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Jon WisbeyRing (1998) established a 'J' horror phenomenon but the genre really began with Gojira/Godzilla (1954) and evolved through a series of popular, cult, and art house works featuring monsters, evil spirits, haunted videotapes and psychological terrors. This course explores a selection of key works in Japanese horror cinema, past and present, their critical reputation and impact on the horror genre.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £59.00 Senior fee £47.00 Concession £38.00
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