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. Full fee £149.00 Senior fee £149.00 Concession £75.00
    Rating:
    100% of 100
  2. Full fee £79.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £40.00
  3. Victorian networks: How trains and telegraphs shaped 19th century culture
    Evening
    Course start date:  Wed 2 Oct 2024

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Harriet Thompson
    Ever wondered about the origins of our current networked culture and media-saturated society? Taking a deep delve into the weird and wonderful world of Victorian technologies, we will consider how advancements in media, transport, and communication produced new kinds of meaning and iterations of the human in the nineteenth century. Reading literary texts by Charles Dickens and Henry James, alongside theoretical work by Jacques Derrida, Roland Barthes, Sadie Plant, and Donna Haraway, we will consider the influence of new technologies on literary form and style.



    This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.
    Full fee £169.00
  4. Africa and the Classics - the role Africa played in shaping the Classical world and our modern understanding of it
    Course start date:  Wed 2 Oct 2024

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Szerdi Nagy
    This course aims to explore the multifaceted relationship between Africa and the Classical



    world, highlighting Africa's significant contributions to the Classical world.
    Full fee £229.00 Senior fee £183.00 Concession £149.00
  5. Seven wonders of the ancient world
    Course start date:  Fri 4 Oct 2024

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  William Sterling
    The Seven Wonders fascinate us, but what were they and why were they wonders? Using art, literature and



    archaeology we'll explore possible answers.



    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
  6. Starting your novel (a fortnightly course)
    Weekend
    Course start date:  Sat 5 Oct 2024

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Got a great idea for a novel? Jump start your project in this supportive course that covers craft basics such as character and plot. Ideal for writers of fiction with some experience who have an idea for a novel.
    Full fee £269.00 Senior fee £269.00 Concession £135.00
  7. Writing true crime
    Weekend
    Course start date:  Sat 5 Oct 2024

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Learn how to research and write a compelling true crime novel or script.
    Full fee £79.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £40.00
  8. American Hitchcock double bill: Shadow of a Doubt and Notorious
    Weekend
    Course start date:  Sun 6 Oct 2024

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Jon Wisbey
    During the 1940s Hitchcock found himself working with a range of Hollywood studios and producers on projects suited to his particular storytelling interests, with perhaps the two most successful and striking of these being the focus of this course. We will explore their production, structure and critical reception, while also noting significant differences between the two in terms of their tone.



    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
  9. Writings on solitude
    Course start date:  Mon 7 Oct 2024

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Kate Wilkinson
    What does it mean to be alone? This online literature class focuses on solitude. We’ll read and discuss extracts from two books – non-fiction and fiction – to think about different representations and experiences of solitude, its history of creative and spiritual significance, and the meanings solitude has for us today.







    We’ll discuss extracts from:



    Sara Maitland, A Book of Silence (2008). This unusual memoir combines autobiography, travel writing, meditation and essay, describing Maitland’s journey over several years away from a busy urban life towards contemplative solitude.







    Dave Eggers, The Circle (2013). A dystopian satire of the early internet age, this novel imagines a future in which technology is reshaping human connection in unsettling ways.



    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
  10. Argonautica: reading group (in translation)
    Evening
    Course start date:  Tue 8 Oct 2024

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Nikoletta Manioti
    A reading group focusing on the Argonautica by the Greek poet Apollonius of Rhodes (in English translation).



    This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.
    Full fee £149.00 Senior fee £149.00 Concession £97.00
  11. Languages of the ancient Near East: Sumerian, Akkadian, Egyptian
    Course start date:  Tue 8 Oct 2024

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Vaughan Pilikian
    This unique and wide-ranging course provides a broad introduction to the three major languages of the Ancient Near East, which together traverse a vast history of four millennia. In them were written some of the great landmarks of world literature, such as the Babylonian epic of Gilgamesh, the Egyptian Book of the Dead and the Sumerian Descent of Inanna.



    This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.
    Full fee £149.00 Senior fee £119.00 Concession £97.00
  12. Connecting through collaborative writing
    Course start date:  Wed 9 Oct 2024

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Brian Mullin
    Two (or more!) heads are better than one! Collaborate with others to create short pieces of theatre, using everyone's skills and ideas to tell collective stories.
    Full fee £5.00 Senior fee £5.00 Concession £5.00
  13. Gothic language: a taster
    Evening
    Course start date:  Wed 9 Oct 2024

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Stephen Pollington
    Discover the ancient language spoken by the Goths, an ancient Germanic population from Scandinavia who settled in North-Eastern and Eastern Europe.



    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
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