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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- The art of writing the personal essay
Course start date: Sun 21 May 2023Location on this date: Online
Follow in the footsteps of Dorothy Parker, George Orwell and Zadie Smith with this taster course on the personal essay, a continuously thriving genre of autobiographical writing.
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 - Study day: Degas, drawing the modernCourse start date: Sun 21 May 2023
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Sarah JaffrayExplore Degas’s extraordinary legacy as ‘one of the founders of Impressionism’. His dynamic paintings and sketches of everyday life and activities, and his bold colour experiments will be examined throughout this informative weekend art history course.Full fee £59.00 Senior fee £47.00 Concession £38.00 - Reviewing museums, exhibitions and galleriesCourse start date: Sat 27 May 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Claire CollisonThis fun and informative workshop will consider how to write an effective review of a museum or art gallery, or a specific exhibition. This particularly satisfying form of writing allows you to engage in greater depth with the arts.
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 - How to write a book about your expert knowledgeCourse start date: Sat 27 May 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Lorna VThis crash course aims to demystify the publishing process and help you formulate the first steps to writing your book, whether you’re an academic, a business expert or anyone else with specific professional expertise.
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 black out poetryCourse start date: Sat 27 May 2023
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Sarah WestcottSometimes a poem is shaped by stripping words away. This fun day workshop explores the emerging form of black out poetry. Learn how to find hidden poems in texts such as newspaper articles, advertisements and letters.Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £69.00 Concession £35.00 - Witchcraft in the modern world: 1900 to the presentCourse start date: Sat 27 May 2023
Location on this date: Keeley Street
From Wicca to the Satanic Panic, and from The Wizard of Oz to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, this course looks at why the modern world now has so many competing ideas about what witchcraft is.Full fee £59.00 Senior fee £47.00 Concession £38.00 - German Expressionism: From Horror to Film NoirCourse start date: Sat 3 Jun 2023
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: John WischmeyerGerman Expressionism influenced Hollywood horror after itself being influenced by early Swedish Nordic noir. Along with F.W. Murnau and Robert Wiene, Fritz Lang was one of the key figures of German Expressionist cinema. Their influence crossed borders and is alive today in cinema tropes, camera techniques and narrative themes still used by filmmakers, game designers and artists. Their films changed moviemaking forever as directors and set designers created a nightmare environment of unnatural perspectives and distorted images in early films such as Nosferatu (1922 F.W. Murnau), The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1919 Robert Weine), and Metropolis (1927 Fritz Lang) which led to Dracula (1931 Tod Browning), Spellbound (1945 Alfred Hitchcock) and Blade Runner (1982 Ridley Scott). American pulp fiction shaded this into film noir in The Killers (1946 Robert Siodmak) and Double Indemnity (1944 Billy Wilder), films created by directors who had fled the land of German Expression. It had come full circle.Full fee £59.00 Senior fee £47.00 Concession £38.00 - Plot your children's novel in two daysCourse start date: Sat 3 Jun 2023
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Sophie McKenzieYou’re a writer with some experience and a great idea for a children’s novel, but plotting is the thing that lets you down. Spend two days in this interactive workshop, learning about structure and developing your idea into a compelling plot.Full fee £99.00 Senior fee £99.00 Concession £50.00 - The poem as quest: writing narrative poetryCourse start date: Sat 3 Jun 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Ellen CranitchFrom ballads to myths, learn the techniques and styles needed to write narrative poetry.
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 - Being and empathy: the philosophy of Edith SteinCourse start date: Sat 3 Jun 2023
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: John GoffThis course aims to make Stein’s thought more familiar by examining her contribution to a philosophical-phenomenological understanding of faith and religion.Full fee £59.00 Senior fee £47.00 Concession £38.00 - Autobiography into fiction: a tasterCourse start date: Sat 3 Jun 2023 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street (other locations are available)
Tutors: Nick BarlayLearn how to turn real-life experiences into gripping fiction in this fun short course for fiction writing beginners and experienced writers. Develop your writing skills and explore techniques for transforming personal stories into strong narratives.Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £69.00 Concession £35.00 - Poetry masterclass at Keats House, HampsteadCourse start date: Sun 4 Jun 2023
Location on this date: Keats House
Tutors: Helen CoxThis advanced day workshop explores approaches to poetry and workshopping techniques in the idyllic surroundings of Keats House, the former Hampstead residence of the Romantic poet, John Keats.Full fee £79.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £79.00 - The lost town of Lundenwic: mid-Saxon London 600-900 CECourse start date: Sat 10 Jun 2023
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Stuart BrookesLook at the least known episodes in London's history, Lundenwic (AD 600-900) and Lundenburh (AD 900-1000).
Includes an introductory lecture, museum visit and guided walk.Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £55.00 Concession £45.00 - The AztecsCourse start date: Sat 10 Jun 2023
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Max CarocciDiscover one of the great New World civilisations and their achievements - the Aztecs of Mexico.Full fee £59.00 Senior fee £47.00 Concession £38.00 - Performance poetryCourse start date: Sat 10 Jun 2023
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Megan BeechWrite poetry and perform it, finding your own style and delivery under the guidance of a spoken word artist. Explore the differences between performance and other forms of poetry.Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £69.00 Concession £35.00
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