Global & Imperial History
Courses Online & in London
Thousands of years ago humanity migrated to almost every part of the world and as a consequence our history has since been global. Evidence from several thousand years show how the regions we now call the Middle East, South Asia and inland China were the first to see the emergence of agriculture and empires, each region defined by its eco-systems. Later, similar developments took place in Western and Central Africa and in Central and South America. Lastly, the region we later called Europe followed.
Since then, the connections between and within the different regions of the world have waxed and waned through the transfer of people, technologies, ideas, belief systems, and wealth. For several centuries this process has been defined by imperial cooperation, competition and conflict on the one hand and human creativity and resilience on the other. Much contested around the world, Europe emerged to become a global influence in this period, remaking several regions via the connections between with the imperial expansion and settler colonial state building of the 19th century, capitalism and industrialisation.
Today, historians are exploring these connections and their often-violent consequences with greater understanding than previously and, in the process of overcoming the Eurocentric and/or US-centric overall perspective(s), which came to dominate the discipline. This process is far from easy or simple, however. There is no quick fix. It is a longer conversation.
In recognition of this, we aim to make our courses not only enjoyable but also relevant to further your understanding of the varied links between our global past, present and future. Within our global and imperial history category, you will find courses of varying lengths as well as online, delivered either online or face-to-face, exploring different aspects of the journey to our global present.
Curious? Join us!
Courses available both in-person and online
We offer a range of 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, you’ll receive the same great City Lit experience. See our guide to online learning for more information about accessing our live online courses.
29 courses available
- Cultural Connections: Venice & Western Asia (With V&A visit)
During this study day we will gain a brief introduction to the history of the relationship between Western Asia, North Africa and the Italian States, with particular reference to Venice. Contrary to long-held misperceptions of hostility and confrontation, the relationship between these important regions was highly nuanced. The evidence paints a picture of trade, diplomacy and mutual connectivity via material culture. Am at the City Lit, pm at the V & A.
Full fee £99.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £64.00 - Turkish Letters and More: Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (1689-1762)
Writer, traveller, social critic, and medical innovator, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu was a remarkable woman. We look at her contribution to 18th-century literature, her groundbreaking travel writing, and advocacy for smallpox inoculation.
Keeley Street
Sat 6 Mar 2027Vanessa KingFull fee £49.00 Senior fee £39.00 Concession £32.00 - Global History Lates: Pearls
Trace the history of pearls from 5000 BCE to the 21st century. Did Cleopatra drink a pearl cocktail? Where can you harvest black pearls? Who wrote the Pearl Fishers? How has global warming affected pearl production?
Online
Fri 26 Mar 2027Vanessa KingFull fee £19.00 Senior fee £19.00 Concession £12.00 - Spice Encounters: When Europe encountered Asian Food 1500-1700
Eat you way around India, China and Japan through the eyes of Edward Terry and others. The Mongols in China and the Turkic conquerors of India initiated a fusion of cooking traditions still apparent today.
Online
Tue 13 Apr 2027Vanessa KingFull fee £189.00 Senior fee £151.00 Concession £123.00 - Europe in the 17th CenturyPost-Reformation Europe saw endemic warfare and plague. It was also an age of absolutism where royal courts reached their apogee as centres of patronage and splendour.
.Online
Fri 16 Apr 2027Vanessa KingFull fee £239.00 Senior fee £191.00 Concession £155.00 
The Global Cold WarThis 8 week course focuses on the conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union from a global perspective. Going beyond the traditional focus on the superpowers and Europe, we will explore how the Cold War affected every part of the world and created the current international system.
Keeley Street
Wed 28 Apr 2027Alexandre DabFull fee £239.00 Senior fee £191.00 Concession £155.00- The capital of the Safavid Empire: Shah Abbas I and the transformation of Isfahan (1501-1736)This course will trace the origins and development of the Safavid dynasty and the ongoing conflicts with the Ottoman neighbours. The choice of Isfahan as the capital of the empire will be also analysed.
Keeley Street
Sun 9 May 2027Roberta MarinFull fee £79.00 Senior fee £63.00 Concession £51.00 - A Fading Empire? Grandeur and Decline From Empire to Commonwealth 1950-2025
In 1914 Britain was undoubtedly the world’s super power; yet by 1960 this had all changed, as recognized by the British Prime Minister, Harold MacMillan who announced the process of decolonialization in his Winds of Change speech. Join us to discover the history of the decline of the British Empire and the foundations of the Commonwealth.
Keeley Street
Thu 13 May 2027Colm HickeyFull fee £239.00 Senior fee £191.00 Concession £155.00 - From Goths to Mongols: A Horde-able History (with British museum visit)
Discover who were the barbarians in the Ancient and Medieval World. How did the Chinese and the West interact with ‘the other’? Were the Vikings simply ‘long-haired tourists who occasionally roughed up the natives’ (Wallace-Hadrill 1975)? We will spend the morning at the City Lit and afternoon at the British museum.
Keeley Street
Sat 22 May 2027Vanessa KingFull fee £69.00 Senior fee £55.00 Concession £45.00 - The East India Company & India
Chart the rise and fall of the East India Company in India on this one-day workshop, from 1600 to 1858.
Keeley Street
Sat 29 May 2027T HussainFull fee £79.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £51.00 - Lunchtime Lecture: Britain, Nuclear Testing & The Christmas Island Controversy
During this lunchtime lecture we will assess the role of Britain in nuclear testing, developments and warfare in the late 1950s with reference to the controversy surrounding the detonation of Nuclear bombs off the coast of Christmas Island in the Pacific. Tutor: Ellen Carpenter. Ellen is the daughter of a British Christmas Island veteran.
Keeley Street
Tue 22 Jun 2027Ellen CarpenterFull fee £19.00 Senior fee £15.00 Concession £12.00 - Global History Friday Lates: ChocolateJoin our Global History Friday Late session to explore the history of chocolate from its origins in the Americas to its widespread consumption as a global commodity in the modern period.
Online
Fri 25 Jun 2027Linsey HunterFull fee £19.00 Senior fee £19.00 Concession £12.00 - Global history for beginnersWhat is global history? How is it different from other ways of understanding history? This introductory course will give you a sense of what it means to study global history.
Online
Thu 1 Oct 2026Olivia Durand, Martin JorgensenFull fee £259.00 Senior fee £207.00 Concession £168.00 - History, memory and mental wealth: why we need to talk about empireFormally, European imperialism ended decades ago. Yet, the different legacies still affect the world and many societies today. Join us for a discussion on why we need to talk about empire and mental wealth.
Keeley Street
Fri 9 Oct 2026Martin JorgensenFull fee £10.00 Senior fee £10.00 Concession £5.00
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