Explore Culture, History & Humanities Courses
Explore our extraordinary range of Humanities courses and lectures. We offer both introductory and specialist in-depth courses to suit all levels of interest and experience, from one-off courses in History, Politics, and Economics to in-depth courses in Art History, Film Studies, Literature, and Science and Nature.
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.
- Interactions between the Mediterranean world and Anglo-Saxon EnglandCourse start date: Fri 5 Dec 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Stephen Pollington.Full fee £29.00 Senior fee £23.00 Concession £19.00 - Friday lates: Artemisia Gentileschi: power, identity and ambition in painting
Course start date: Fri 5 Dec 2025Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Elisa StafferiniExplore the life and work of Artemisia Gentileschi, a leading Baroque painter whose bold depictions of women and artistic self-fashioning challenged expectations. This session examines her major works, self-portraits and legacy within the context of seventeenth-century art and society.
Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £19.00 Concession £12.00 - Creative writing: getting started Course start date: Sun 11 Jan 2026 (and 7 other dates)
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Henry MartinGive creative writing a try on this fun and supportive short course. Ideal if you want to express yourself but need help in getting started. Guided exercises will encourage you to experiment and unlock your imagination.Full fee £79.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £40.00 - A taste of philosophy Course start date: Sat 6 Dec 2025 (and 3 other dates)
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Karl WhiteHave you ever wondered what philosophy is? What do philosophers talk about? Can they tell you the meaning of life or is it just jargon and navel gazing? Come along and find out.Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £15.00 Concession £12.00 - How to get an agent Course start date: Sat 6 Dec 2025 (and 2 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Rosie ChardThis intensive workshop offers students insider, need-to-know information on securing a literary agent.Full fee £79.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £40.00 - Literature taster Course start date: Sat 6 Dec 2025 (and 2 other dates)
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Patricia SweeneyDo you want to explore how to go about understanding a poem? How to do a close reading of a work of fiction? Come and find out what makes a literature class at City Lit so special.
The course also presents an overview of our upcoming literature offering in fiction, poetry, drama and literary non-fiction.Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £15.00 Concession £12.00 - Digital Archaeology: AI and the Preservation of the PastCourse start date: Sun 7 Dec 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Vina TheodorakopoulouExplore how AI and digital tools are reshaping archaeology and heritage. Reflect on the ethics, power and promise of preserving the past in a data-driven world. Discuss why heritage still matters.
Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £55.00 Concession £45.00 - Studying Film: A TasterCourse start date: Sun 7 Dec 2025 (and 2 other dates)
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Jon WisbeyThis taster of forthcoming film courses at City Lit in 2026 offers you the chance to think about which ones to take while also providing an opportunity to explore some of the key areas in film studies more generally.
Learn how to evaluate and discuss films while enjoying a working example of a City Lit film studies class.
We will view clips from a wide variety of films, exploring themes and technique in British, European and modern American cinema. There will be a chance to review term two film courses at City Lit (January - July 2026).Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £15.00 Concession £12.00 - Lunchtime lecture: William Blake, a life of innocence and experience Course start date: Wed 10 Dec 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Sarah JaffrayExplore the art of William Blake from a political perspective, looking at his social and cultural context as a working-class artist working in a rapidly changing world.
Full fee £14.00 Senior fee £11.00 Concession £9.00 - Art history taster Course start date: Wed 10 Dec 2025 (and 9 other dates)
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Sarah JaffrayCurious about art history? Join us for this taster session where we explore different ways into visual art and its histories from the ancient to the contemporary.Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £15.00 Concession £12.00 - Adoring the Christ Child in art: images of the very generous Magi Course start date: Thu 11 Dec 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Emma Rose BarberThe images of the Adoration of the Magi will be taken from medieval illuminated manuscripts, as well as panel paintings done for churches and chapels and fresco cycles. Artists covered include Italian artists such as Duccio, Giotto, Botticelli, Fra Filippo Lippi, Fra Angelico, Gentile da Fabriano, and northern Renaissance artists including Gossaert and Breughel.Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £15.00 Concession £12.00 - History of ideas: the invention of Christmas Course start date: Sat 13 Dec 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Angela PlattBeginning around the middle of the 19th century, a ‘new Christmas’ came into the fore; a reinvented Christmas, if you will. Why did this Christmas shift as it did – to produce the modern celebration many people still enjoy today? In this course, the stories of those groups and individuals who impacted this ‘reinvention of Christmas’ will be shared.Full fee £29.00 Senior fee £23.00 Concession £19.00 - South Bank and the Festival of BritainCourse start date: Mon 5 Jan 2026
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Diane BursteinOn this virtual tour we go back to 1951 when the Festival of Britain took Londoners out of post war austerity to marvel at the latest innovations in art, design, industry and technology at a festival to celebrate the centenary of the Great Exhibition of 1851. Find out how this event was a catalyst for the regeneration of the entire South Bank which is today famous for its arts centre. We trace the surviving remnants of the festival including a mural by artist Topolski, two sculptures and the recently restored Royal Festival Hall. We view the post festival arts centres such as the National Theatre and finish with a great riverside panoramic view from the Oxo Tower.Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £19.00 Concession £12.00 - Philosophy and memoryCourse start date: Mon 5 Jan 2026
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Anita KasabovaWhat is memory? How does memory impact our sense of self and time? Why does memory often go wrong? If our memory is unreliable, can it provide knowledge of our personal past? How is memory registered in the body? What is collective memory? This course explores memory through philosophical and psychological lenses.Full fee £179.00 Senior fee £143.00 Concession £116.00 - The Asante EmpireCourse start date: Tue 6 Jan 2026
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Apeike UmoluChart the rise and fall of the Asante Empire, how it became synonymous with wealth, culture, and military prowess in the 19th century, and how it used religious and political innovations to become a global economic superpower. Tutor: Apeike Umolu.
Full fee £119.00 Senior fee £119.00 Concession £77.00
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