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. The world of Bob Dylan
    Last Few Places
    Course start date:  Thu 2 May 2024

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Richard Niland
    This class explores the work of Bob Dylan, examining his song writing, musical style, and persona in the context of American cultural, political, and musical history, exploring how Dylan engages with American culture through his absorption and reworking of multifarious aspects of both historical and modern Americana.
    Full fee £179.00 Senior fee £143.00 Concession £116.00
  2. An introduction to the history of architecture
    Last Few Places
    Course start date:  Thu 2 May 2024

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Elizabeth Eyres
    Architecture is the one art form that we cannot avoid even if we try. It shapes our environment and the way we live our lives, so understanding why buildings look the way they do is a vital part of understanding the world around us. This introductory course will enable you to do just that by examining the development of architectural styles from Ancient Greece to the present day.



    This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.
    Full fee £229.00 Senior fee £183.00 Concession £149.00
    Rating:
    100% of 100
  3. Get together and read
    Course start date:  Thu 2 May 2024

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Claire Allen
    Enjoy 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
    Rating:
    97% of 100
  4. 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
  5. Friday lates: the body as image and material in 20th century art
    Evening
    Course start date:  Fri 3 May 2024

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Irina Chkhaidze
    Explore the representation of body and body-related practices by prominent modern and contemporary artists of the twentieth century.



    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
  6. An introduction to film
    Evening
    Course start date:  Fri 3 May 2024

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Jon Wisbey
    Develop your critical understanding of cinema through a range of concepts and critical approaches in film studies, including narrative, genre, spectatorship, authorship and directors, popular cinema, art cinema, national cinema and early film, along with technological developments including the transition to sound, while we view and discuss a range of key films from cinema's history as examples.



    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
    Rating:
    90% of 100
  7. Discovering Victorian London: empire, enterprise and education
    Course start date:  Tue 7 May 2024

    Location on this date:  Blended (learn both online and in-person)

    Tutors:  Eleanor Jackson
    Victorian London shaped today's city. Discover the lasting legacy of the Victorian age, uncover its secrets, and meet some of the characters who created one of the world's greatest cities.



    Initial lecture via zoom followed by 7 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 £179.00 Senior fee £143.00 Concession £116.00
    Rating:
    100% of 100
  8. America in the 70s: culture and society
    Evening
    Course start date:  Tue 7 May 2024

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Pauline Greene, Mark Malcomson, Paul Sutton, Patricia Sweeney, Ian Tucknott
    Journey through the history, literature, film, music and art of the 70s, an era of economic struggle and cultural change. While America continued to reflect aspects of 60s social upheaval, a more energised 'New Right' was emerging in defense of political conservatism and the traditional family, schisms that still exist today. We investigate the cross currents across the many facets of the 70s through a 'taster' of each subject area.



    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
  9. Before the election: the essentials of British politics!
    Course start date:  Thu 9 May 2024

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Ian McGarvie
    This essentials course will give you the foundations of the political system in the United Kingdom, whilst also enabling you to use your newly acquired knowledge to discuss and debate current affairs matters in real time.
    Full fee £99.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £64.00
  10. Spectacles of the Ancient world
    Course start date:  Thu 9 May 2024

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Michael Bloomfield
    This course explores some of the most elaborate and powerful displays of the Graeco-Roman world. Designed to entertain, inform, and elicit support, often at times of great political or religious significance, they were unforgettable, and have long exercised an influence on our own understanding of the nature of power.
    Full fee £89.00 Senior fee £71.00 Concession £58.00
  11. 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
  12. Philosophy and the meaning of life
    Evening
    Course start date:  Mon 13 May 2024

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Karl White
    The search for a meaning to life has consumed human beings since time immemorial. What is the purpose of our being here? How are we supposed to live our lives? Is there a God or are we just products of nature, and depending on our answer, what does that tell us about the way we should conduct ourselves? What do we even mean by meaning?! If these questions intrigue or puzzle you, then look no further! While we cannot guarantee any answers, the quest for meaning and the exploration of the topic lead to some of philosophy’s greatest thinkers and their reflections on this most pressing of issues.



    NB: No classes on 06/05/24 and 27/05/24.



    This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.
    Full fee £269.00 Senior fee £269.00 Concession £175.00
    Rating:
    100% of 100
  13. Classic drama: Antigone, Measure for Measure, The Country Wife
    Course start date:  Mon 13 May 2024

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Jenny Stevens
    We will read and discuss three classic plays: Sophocles’ Antigone, Shakespeare's Measure for Measure and William Wycherley’s The Country Wife. Focusing closely on structure, language and tone, we will consider how dramatists across time have explored themes such as sexual politics, family relationships and state power through their plays, as well as considering the social, cultural and historical contexts in which they were produced.
    Full fee £229.00 Senior fee £183.00 Concession £149.00
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