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 online and in-person learning. 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. See our guide to online learning for more information about accessing our live online courses.

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  1. Full fee £149.00 Senior fee £149.00 Concession £75.00
    Rating:
    90% of 100
  2. Full fee £149.00 Senior fee £119.00 Concession £97.00
  3. Introduction to experimental film
    Course start date:  Tue 9 Jan 2024

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Gillian McIver
    Experimental film is often non-narrative and avant-garde. It is made to explore the boundaries of film and push the limits of what is considered so-called normal filmmaking. Experimental films often use unconventional techniques such as animation, found footage and non-linear narrative structures to create unique visual experiences. The class will look at early experimental films by Georges Méliès, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy and Maya Deren, alongside recent digital works.
    Full fee £149.00 Senior fee £119.00 Concession £97.00
  4. Poetry workshop: intensive
    Course start date:  Tue 9 Jan 2024 (and 1 other date)

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Julie Irigaray
    Want to have your poems critiqued in a supportive environment? This intensive poetry workshop focuses on offering feedback to poets who have already written a selection of poems and are looking to push their writing further.



    This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.
    Full fee £139.00 Senior fee £139.00 Concession £70.00
  5. Contemporary life and its discontents: paradoxes of the present
    Course start date:  Wed 10 Jan 2024

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Katie Goss
    Twenty-first century culture is becoming increasingly strange: from conspiracy theories and climate anxiety to compulsive doom-scrolling and the meme-ification of everyday life. This course will explore these and other phenomenon endemic to the present, analysing and exploring their significance through texts, films, artworks, cultural objects and psychoanalytic theory.
    Full fee £149.00 Senior fee £119.00 Concession £97.00
  6. Post-colonial cinemas
    Course start date:  Wed 10 Jan 2024

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Jean-Baptiste de Vaulx
    This course will examine a crucially important but often neglected area of film history, namely the responses to and against colonialist legacy made by many different strands of filmmaking around the Global South, from films like The Battle of Algiers, to Latin American Third Cinema, via Sub-Saharan African filmmakers such as Sembene or Mambety, in order to enrich the canon of world cinema.
    Full fee £119.00 Senior fee £119.00 Concession £77.00
  7. World cinema
    Course start date:  Thu 11 Jan 2024

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Gillian McIver
    Have you ever wondered what lies beyond Hollywood? Are you interested in films from across the globe? Then this six-week introductory course is for you. We will consider alternative cinemas to the dominant North American industry and will focus each week on a selection of illustrative films from movie producing continents such as India, Asia, South America and Africa.



    This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.
    Full fee £119.00 Senior fee £119.00 Concession £77.00
    Rating:
    93% of 100
  8. Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan 1917-21: Revolution, Conflict and Experiments in Independence
    Evening
    Course start date:  Thu 11 Jan 2024

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  David Rowson
    Want to learn more about Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan (also known as South Caucasus)? Join our tutor David Rowson who lived in Georgia for several years to explore more!



    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
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