Issues Facing Our World
In times of uncertainty, knowledge can help us understand what’s going on around us. City Lit’s range of History, Politics and Science courses explore a number of contemporary issues facing the world right now. A few of the questions we’re currently asking are:
- Can history help us navigate modern issues and crises?
- How can we safeguard democracies around the world including our own?
- Are there other ways of organising our economy?
- What is the impact of climate change on our lives?
Taught by experts in their field, our courses give you the opportunity to explore current affairs, historical issues, and global challenges. Join us as we discuss, debate, and dissect the answers.
42 courses available
The legacies of the Troubles in Ireland and Northern Ireland todayAn exploration of the sectarian violence that engulfed Northern Ireland, and how the conflict still shapes politics, memory, community relations, and identity across both Ireland and Northern Ireland today.
Full fee £189.00 Senior fee £151.00 Concession £123.00- Political leadership in modern UK politics
Explore the history of key general elections in recent British history, including Thatcher’s 1979 victory, the rise of New Labour, and the success and downfall of the Conservatives in the 21st century. Discover how the outcome of elections is shaped by party leadership, communications, policy, the media, and more.
Keeley Street
Thu 22 Oct 2026Ian McGarvieFull fee £139.00 Senior fee £111.00 Concession £90.00 - Global politics for beginners: a short introductionThis one-day introductory course on Global Politics for Beginners is designed to provide participants with a foundational understanding of key political concepts, global power dynamics, and contemporary international issues.Full fee £79.00 Senior fee £63.00 Concession £51.00
- Debt in the global political economyExplore the intricacies of debt within the global political economy, examining its impacts, mechanisms, and socio-economic consequences.
Online
Tue 27 Oct 2026Caglar EzikogluFull fee £139.00 Senior fee £139.00 Concession £90.00 - Road to Antalya: Global Climate Solutions at COP31
Will COP 31 address theunprecedentedthreats that climate change posesto society and the environment, or do we need more ambitious global solutions?
Online
Wed 28 Oct 2026Anita PunwaniFull fee £49.00 Senior fee £49.00 Concession £32.00 - Corruption and colonialism: how the past affects the presentIn large parts of the Global South, corruption is rampant but that was not always the case. By upending local values and customs and forcibly replacing indigenous institutions with Westerns structures, colonialism introduced systemic corruption on a grand scale that continues to this day.
Keeley Street
Sat 31 Oct 2026Tariq HassanFull fee £79.00 Senior fee £63.00 Concession £51.00 - Peacebuilding and Post-Conflict Societies
This four-week course explores peacebuilding in post-conflict societies, examining key concepts, case studies, and practical tools to understand how diverse actors rebuild and sustain peace after violent conflict.
Online
Wed 4 Nov 2026Maisa EdwardsFull fee £89.00 Senior fee £89.00 Concession £58.00 - Historical memory in UkraineExplore how Ukraine’s past is remembered and contested. This study day examines key historical events and symbols—including the Cossacks, the Holodomor Famine, and Chernobyl—and how memory shapes Ukrainian identity, politics, and global narratives in the 21st century.
Keeley Street
Sat 7 Nov 2026Olivia DurandFull fee £79.00 Senior fee £63.00 Concession £51.00 - Economic paradigms: are there alternatives to capitalism?Explore diverse economic theories beyond capitalism in economic paradigms with regards to the alternatives of capitalism and broaden your understanding of global economic systems.
Online
Wed 18 Nov 2026Caglar EzikogluFull fee £139.00 Senior fee £139.00 Concession £90.00 - Two and a half years in: how is the government faring?
The course will assess the performance of the Labour government in the eighteen months since its landslide victory in July 2024. This course will assess the government performance in key policy areas and will also assess potential developments in the future. It will also assess the government’s responses to developing issues.
Keeley Street
Thu 19 Nov 2026Ian McGarvieFull fee £139.00 Senior fee £111.00 Concession £90.00 - Historical memory in RussiaLearn how Russia’s past is remembered, contested, and rewritten in the present day. This study day explores Soviet and imperial legacies, historical narratives, and how memory is instrumentalised to shape national identity, politics, and contemporary conflicts.
Keeley Street
Sat 21 Nov 2026Olivia DurandFull fee £79.00 Senior fee £63.00 Concession £51.00 - Russia and Ukraine: The memory politics of conflictThe ongoing Russian occupation of Ukraine and the Ukrainian fight for its people, land and sovereignty is not only fought on the battlefield. A significant dimension revolves around how Ukraine as a multi-cultural nation and sovereign state challenges the dominant Russian political representation of the linkage between the history of the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union and today's Russia. Join us to understand how both history and memory are an integral dimension of the war.
Online
Thu 26 Nov 2026Olivia DurandFull fee £29.00 Senior fee £29.00 Concession £19.00 - How America replaced Britain in the Middle East 1945-2003This course charts the post 1945 entrance of the United States into the Middle East and the power struggle which ensued with Britain as a consequence. The course pierces the official discourse on the transatlantic relationship and provides a different perspective on how to understand and explain the volatile politics of the region.Full fee £79.00 Senior fee £63.00 Concession £51.00
- Payback time: historical injustices and reparationsWhat does a society owe to the descendants of people colonised, brutalised or otherwise exploited? The issue of financial compensation - reparations - to make amends for past horrors and their continuing harm remains complex and contentious.
Keeley Street
Sat 5 Dec 2026Tariq HassanFull fee £79.00 Senior fee £63.00 Concession £51.00 - Earth's six major mass extinctions: an introduction
An introductory course on a long-term perspective of extinction events throughout earth’s history, reminding us of the fragility of the planet's ecosystems. Looking back over the last 450 million years of earth’s history we will go beyond the extinction of the dinosaurs to mass extinctions that were even more devastating.
Keeley Street
Sat 5 Dec 2026Gary RetallickFull fee £79.00 Senior fee £63.00 Concession £51.00
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