Online History Courses
Take a closer look at the events, people and ideas that have shaped our world with City Lit’s online history courses. Whether you're fascinated by ancient civilisations, medieval Europe, modern politics or global history, our expert-led courses offer flexible and engaging learning — all from the comfort of your own home.
Explore key historical periods, movements and cultural changes, and gain insight into the social, political and economic forces that have influenced the course of history. With live interactive sessions, group discussion and guidance from experienced tutors, you'll build knowledge, develop critical thinking and share your passion for the past with fellow learners.
Our online history courses are open to adults of all ages — no prior experience required. Whether you're returning to study or exploring history for the first time, you'll find a welcoming, supportive environment to feed your curiosity and expand your understanding.
Explore our online history courses today and connect with the stories that continue to shape the world we live in.
123 courses available
- The Watergate crisisThis course will examine the short and long-term causes of the Watergate crisis and the Nixon administration’s cover-up and the crisis impact on American politics and society.
Online
Mon 11 Jan 2027Dafydd TownleyFull fee £159.00 Senior fee £159.00 Concession £103.00 - Six drugs that changed the world: from aspirin to chemotherapy
Join us to discover the origins, use, development and impact of six key drugs in the history of medicine.
Online
Tue 12 Jan 2027David IngledewFull fee £149.00 Senior fee £149.00 Concession £97.00 - Global encounters: Europe and the Ottoman Empire, 1100-1700The Turks entered European consciousness in 1071 when they captured the Byzantine emperor at the Battle of Manzikert. So began centuries of uneasy co-existence between Christians and Muslims on the fringes of Europe.Full fee £189.00 Senior fee £151.00 Concession £123.00
- The Western Front: 1914-1918
This Western Front still has a powerful hold over British popular memory, but the fighting and development of new technologies and tactics between 1914 and 1918 is widely misunderstood.
Online
Tue 12 Jan 2027Matthew PowellFull fee £219.00 Senior fee £219.00 Concession £142.00 - Germany in the long nineteenth century (1815-1918)This course offers a broad survey of German history from the end of the Napoleonic era to the end of the First World War in 1918.
Online
Wed 13 Jan 2027Rudolf MuhsFull fee £219.00 Senior fee £219.00 Concession £142.00 - 19th Century Britain and Ireland: Parliament, People and Protest 1832-1848Explore the main developments in British political history between 1832-1848 from the Whig government’s social reforms following the Great Reform Act to the Tory split over the repeal of the Corn Laws .
Online
Wed 13 Jan 2027David IngledewFull fee £149.00 Senior fee £149.00 Concession £97.00 - London's quartiersThrough 1 lecture and 7 guided walks, explore some of London’s quartiers - Soho, Mayfair, Covent Garden, Spitalfields, Clerkenwell, St James and Bloomsbury and understand how their very distinct characters were formed. The first session will be delivered via Zoom and other sessions will be guided walks.
London guide: Sue Jackson.Online
Thu 14 Jan 2027Sue JacksonFull fee £249.00 Senior fee £199.00 Concession £162.00 
Remodelling Europe after the Great War: the creation of new countriesWith the disintegration of empires at the end of the First World War, new states emerged. Some survived, others disappeared but the conditions of their creation had long-lasting consequences on Europe and the Middle East.Online
Thu 14 Jan 2027Sebastien ArdouinFull fee £299.00 Senior fee £299.00 Concession £194.00- Global encounters: beyond Europe in 12 Objects, 1500-1750
Twelve objects tell extraordinary tales of European adventures in Africa and the Far East. Six weeks of spice routes, silk roads, and surprising encounters. History's treasures await your discovery!
Online
Thu 14 Jan 2027Vanessa KingFull fee £189.00 Senior fee £151.00 Concession £123.00 - London History Lectures: Samuel Pepys' London
View plague-ridden London in the period 1665-66 through the diaries of Samuel Pepys. What can Pepys's eye witness account teach us about the horrors of everyday life in the era?
Online
Fri 15 Jan 2027Vanessa KingFull fee £19.00 Senior fee £19.00 Concession £12.00 - European history: visual arts and the birth of the nation 1500-1850
Explore how the visual arts have been used to create national identities and an (imagined?) shared history. Monuments commemorate heroes believed to embody civic virtues and a willingness to die for one’s country.
Online
Fri 15 Jan 2027Vanessa KingFull fee £279.00 Senior fee £223.00 Concession £181.00 - The European Reformation
The rise of Protestantism in sixteenth century Europe led to fundamental changes in world history which continue to reverberate today. How did Martin Luther, a monk of Wittenberg, ignite what we now call the Reformation?
Online
Fri 15 Jan 2027Vanessa KingFull fee £279.00 Senior fee £223.00 Concession £181.00 - The Crusades as seen from Western, Byzantine and Islamic perspectives
Explore the causes and progress of the Crusades from the Turkish capture of Jerusalem to the final expulsion of the Crusaders from the Holy Land.
Online
Mon 18 Jan 2027Sean GabbFull fee £219.00 Senior fee £175.00 Concession £142.00 - London on the Move: How Street Objects Shaped the City
From sedan chairs and hackney coaches to black cabs, gas lamps and red telephone boxes, London’s streets are full of objects that tell stories. Join Hazel Baker on this online course to learn what these objects might teach us about London's extraordinary history.
Online
Mon 18 Jan 2027Hazel BakerFull fee £139.00 Senior fee £111.00 Concession £90.00 - Sensing the Past: '6 Senses' in Historical Context
Join Dr. Linsey Hunter to discover the history of 6 senses: sight, hearing, taste, touch, smell...and the belief in the ability to see beyond the rational world. How were these senses understood by people in the past?
Online
Tue 19 Jan 2027Linsey HunterFull fee £149.00 Senior fee £149.00 Concession £97.00
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