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.
Study in-person at City Lit or offsite, or online from the comfort of home, with interactive classes that allow you to participate in discussions with fellow adult students. We offer daytime, evening and weekend courses, both short and long. For more information on our online courses, please see our guide to online learning.
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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- Art history tasterCourse start date: Thu 9 Dec 2021 (and 5 other dates)
Location on this date: Online (other locations are available)
Ever wondered what art history is but don’t want to commit to a whole course? Wonder what's involved in online learning at City Lit? Try this taster session!
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 £10.00 - Christmas unwrapped: an exploration of the story, imagery, carols and traditions of ChristmasCourse start date: Sat 11 Dec 2021
Location on this date: Online
This course aims to unwrap the story, imagery, music and traditions of Christmas to see what they tell us about: the person of Jesus and his role, Christmas's origins and its place in contemporary society.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £29.00 Senior fee £23.00 Concession £18.00 - Playwriting: a taster
Course start date: Mon 6 Dec 2021 (and 3 other dates)Location on this date: Online
Give playwriting a try in this fun and supportive one-off taster session. Ideal if you want to unlock your imagination and express yourself, but need a bit of encouragement to get started.
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 £28.00 - Writing for magazinesCourse start date: Tue 2 Nov 2021 (and 4 other dates)
Location on this date: Online (other locations are available)
Get inspired to write on this practical course for freelance journalists and bloggers. Learn to carry out research, interview people, pitch and publish stories, and build your presence on social media.
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 £52.00 - Being in the world: Heidegger's philosophyCourse start date: Mon 10 Jan 2022
Location on this date: Online
“The being of 'being' is itself not a being”. Questioning the meaning of ‘Being’ lies at the root of Heidegger’s critique of the ‘crisis’ of Western culture that his philosophy sought to overcome.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £219.00 Senior fee £175.00 Concession £134.00 - Being and beauty: the philosophy of Japanese aestheticsCourse start date: Mon 10 Jan 2022
Location on this date: Online
Not something apart from everyday life but intrinsic to it, beauty in Japanese thought does not entail perfection but the surprise of imperfect and transient being.
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 £30.00 - The great philosophersCourse start date: Mon 10 Jan 2022
Location on this date: Online
Explore the ideas of major philosophers from Plato to Sartre. How does Western philosophy differ from religion
and science? What problems have the great philosophers tried to solve?
.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £239.00 Senior fee £239.00 Concession £105.00 - Understanding the modern worldCourse start date: Mon 10 Jan 2022 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Online (other locations are available)
Explore the ideas of four key thinkers whose ideas have vitally shaped our world. Examine their views on morality, meaning, the role and status of women, human nature, political and economic injustice and much more.
NB: No class on 7/03/2022 and 14/03/2022.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £179.00 Senior fee £179.00 Concession £79.00 - Contemporary cinema: the best films of the yearCourse start date: Mon 10 Jan 2022 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: KS - Keeley Street
A crucial course on contemporary/current cinema which coincides with the wide range of films released immediately before the Bafta/Oscar awards season. A weekly ‘what’s on’ previews these films and reviews films seen in the previous weeks. The first session is the drawing up of a definitive student list of the best films of the past year. This course is now more timely than ever as we return to cinemas and to the classroom at Keeley Street.
This course takes place in the classroom, please follow this link to find out what we are doing to keep you safe: Staying COVID-19 secure at City LitFull fee £159.00 Senior fee £159.00 Concession £97.00 - Picture book writingCourse start date: Mon 25 Oct 2021 (and 8 other dates)
Location on this date: Online (other locations are available)
Would 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, develop their ideas and technique.
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 £52.00 - Manuscripts and illuminationCourse start date: Tue 11 Jan 2022
Location on this date: KS - Keeley Street
Explore the techniques and styles used in producing manuscripts, from their earliest appearance to the 16th century. We'll consider the ways in which manuscripts were used and ask why such lavish attention was paid to them.
This course takes place in the classroom, please follow this link to find out what we are doing to keep you safe: Staying COVID-19 secure at City LitFull fee £129.00 Senior fee £103.00 Concession £79.00 - The influence of Japan on Western art in the 19th centuryCourse start date: Tue 11 Jan 2022 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: KS - Keeley Street (other locations are available)
Explore how 19th century European artists from the Impressionists to Art Nouveau were freed from the conventions of their cultural and artistic restraints by the motifs and philosophy of Japanese art.
This course takes place in the classroom, please follow this link to find out what we are doing to keep you safe: Staying COVID-19 secure at City LitFull fee £129.00 Senior fee £103.00 Concession £79.00 - Modern political philosophy: ideas and ideologies in the 21st centuryCourse start date: Tue 11 Jan 2022
Location on this date: Online
What are the key philosophical ideas behind the issues and debates of today? This is an opportunity to explore in more depth the concepts and ideologies that are shaping the politics of the 21st century. NB: No class on 08/03/2022.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £179.00 Senior fee £179.00 Concession £79.00 - The philosophical Hamlet: life, death and everything in betweenCourse start date: Tue 11 Jan 2022
Location on this date: KS - Keeley Street
Can we ever escape our past? Can we act to change our future? This course examines various philosophical themes through an engagement of different philosophical traditions and William Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
This course takes place in the classroom, please follow this link to find out what we are doing to keep you safe: Staying COVID-19 secure at City LitFull fee £239.00 Senior fee £191.00 Concession £105.00 - The Emperor of Ice Cream: why Wallace Stevens, Marianne Moore and Frank O'Hara are importantCourse start date: Tue 11 Jan 2022
Location on this date: Online
We will explore the work of these three major 20th century American poets, focussing on what is original about their work and how they changed people’s understanding of what is possible in poetry. We will look at how their poetry developed over their writing lifetimes, how they saw their work in relation to the poetry of the past and present, and how their poetry reflected or otherwise gave meaning to their lives – Stevens as a lifelong insurance lawyer, Moore as an unmarried woman without a profession and living with her mother, and O’Hara as an art curator as out-gay as it was possible to be until his untimely death in 1960.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £159.00 Senior fee £159.00 Concession £97.00
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