Writing Courses & Workshops Online & in London

Come and explore London in writing! On this course we’ll study fiction and non-fiction texts about London. Contemporary perspectives on the city include two recent novels: Happiness by Aminatta Forna and Light Perpetual by Frances Spufford.

This course is an introduction to the key concepts in African philosophy. We will analyse the various positions and contestations regarding the nature, and trends in African philosophy, debate on communitarianism and personhood, and ubuntu.

This class explores the work of Leonard Cohen, examining his poetry, song, prose and persona in the context of the literary and musical traditions that shaped his art. We delve into Cohen’s meditations on life and the modern world through his absorption and reworking of a rich range of cultural influences.

What do we mean by ‘literary fiction’? What expectations do we bring to the novels we read? Do we really ‘escape’ when we enter fictional worlds? These are just some of the questions addressed in a course which focuses on the analysis of prose fiction. Reading texts as short as one-sentence ‘flash fiction’ to complete short stories, it engages with writing from a wide range of periods and authors, paying close attention to narrative techniques and their effects.

This online course introduces a selection of fairy tales from the First Golden Age of Children’s Literature, occurring in the latter half of the 19th century until the early 20th century. We will focus upon L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900), J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan (1911), George McDonald’s The Princess and the Goblin (1872), and Charles Kingsley’s The Water-Babies: A Fairy Tale for a Land-Baby (1863).

Join Dr Vince Cable, former minister and party leader of the Liberal Democrats, to learn more about key politicians who changed the global narrative on economics.

Godard’s definition of cinema is particularly apt for documentary. But today, documentary is at a crossroads, with first person, self-shot, iPhone filmmaking at one end of the spectrum and mega budget, celebrity-fronted or focused storytelling at the other. Is documentary up to the challenges of an era where facts themselves are in doubt – or is it the last hope of an otherwise overly massaged media, accused of ‘fake news’? When is factual filmmaking no longer factual? Reality television and co-called ‘constructed reality’ increasingly call into question the veracity of documentary protagonists increasingly cast – and paid – to be entertaining. Through the lens of current and recent releases, we look at animated documentary, activist documentary, archival documentary, and autobiographical documentary among other recent developments - and ask if the form has a future.







Dr Paul Kerr began his career working at the BFI, working in the National Film Archive, and as a freelance film and TV critic and lecturer. He then spent over 20 years as a producer and director, making arts and history programmes, including dozens of documentaries, for the BBC and Channel 4, as well as international broadcasters. More recently he was a Senior Lecturer in Film and Television at Middlesex University until 2024. His books include Hollywood Independent: How the Mirisch Company Changed Cinema (2023); The Hollywood Film Industry; and MTM: Quality Television and two co-authored dossiers, Multiplatforming Public Service Broadcasting and Drama Documentary. He has published articles in journals including Screen, Transnational Cinemas, The Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television and Critical Studies in Television as well as The Guardian, The Sunday Times, The Observer, Broadcast, NME and The New Statesman.

Whether you are a shower singer, an experienced singer or just like listening to songs in French, this course is for anyone who would like to improve their French pronunciation while enjoying beautiful songs from different French speaking countries.

Do you want to know you can work to an outstanding level in any work environment requiring expertise in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Access? Do you want a qualification to prove these skills? The Level 3 Certificate in IT User Skills (ECDL Advanced) will give you exceptional proficiency in word processing, spreadsheet, presentation and database software, and will improve your productivity in using IT. You will gain all the skills you need to work at the highest level in an office environment. The Advanced Learner Loan is available for this course.



You need to do a pre-course assessment. Contact universal.skills@citylit.ac.uk / 020 8078 0489 for a face-to-face assessment or click the Start Assessment button on this page. Log on with your email address (not name).

The Free Courses for Jobs initiative is for Londoners aged 24 or over at the start of the course who are: on a low-income; or on certain benefits; or do not have a full level 3 qualification. For more information Click here

The course fee is £1200.00. If you are unable to pay this upfront, you can choose to apply for an Advanced Learner Loan from Student Finance England (SFE) to help cover the course fee, repayable after the course ends. A deposit of £200.00 is also payable to secure your place (refundable after you complete the course). You can find more information about the Advanced Learner Loan www.citylit.ac.uk/advanced-learner-loans



For more information, please call Universal Skills on 0207 492 2511.

Explore the transformation of London from the onset of Thatcherism in 1979 to its status as a global metropolis in the 21st century.