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London: The Global City 1851 to 2020 (Online)
Online course
+44 (0)20 7942 2000
Our courses are built using the latest Microsoft software. Tune in to expert lectures live or catch up on demand. Join discussions and continue your learning with downloadable handouts and presentations. Find out more >>
Tickets available from 10.00 on Wednesday, 4 February 2026
Interested in learning about London? Explore the changing landscapes and history of London from the creation of Albertopolis to dawn of the new millennium. A city shaped by empire and war, London was rebuilt and renewed as a global melting pot of cultures drawn from around the world.
With this online ticket, you can tune in to watch every lecture live as it is delivered, or you can learn at your own pace. Lecture recordings and study materials, lecture notes, copies of the presentations, and additional study materials are available in our secure Microsoft Teams environment for 10 weeks after the course ends, so you'll never miss a thing. And finally, join the conversation: share your perspective with your fellow students in our online discussions, and support each other in your further enquiries outside of class time.
If you would prefer to join this course in-person at V&A South Kensington, you have two options: attend the lectures live, or upgrade your experience with five complementary gallery talks.
For more details, see V&A Academy online questions · V&A
This course is suitable for participants aged 18 or over.
With this online ticket, you can tune in to watch every lecture live as it is delivered, or you can learn at your own pace. Lecture recordings and study materials, lecture notes, copies of the presentations, and additional study materials are available in our secure Microsoft Teams environment for 10 weeks after the course ends, so you'll never miss a thing. And finally, join the conversation: share your perspective with your fellow students in our online discussions, and support each other in your further enquiries outside of class time.
If you would prefer to join this course in-person at V&A South Kensington, you have two options: attend the lectures live, or upgrade your experience with five complementary gallery talks.
For more details, see V&A Academy online questions · V&A
This course is suitable for participants aged 18 or over.
V&A Academy Course Director
Mike Berlin
Mike Berlin is a Lecturer at Birkbeck College, University of London. He is a specialist in the social history of early modern London and has published extensively on the history of London’s guilds. Before joining Birkbeck, he was a research officer at the Centre for Metropolitan History, Institute of Historical Research.
This was a fantastic course, one of the best I have done and I do a lot of them! Many thanks to Mike and all the team. Previous online course student
Course overview
A city shaped by empire, war and decolonisation, London has gone from the heart of a vast and powerful Empire, an unrivalled centre of global trade and finance to becoming a global melting pot, shaped by the twin forces of modernisation and migration, seen in its architecture, art and design. This term course will explore the rich cultural and social history of a city whose fortunes waxed and waned with rise and fall of Imperial Britain, but which has always been sustained by the creativity and genius of its peoples, drawn from the four corners of the globe. Drawing on the work of cultural and social historians, V&A curatorial staff, and experts on art, design and fashion, we will explore the vicissitudes of London’s greatness as a world city, from the creation of Albertopolis to the dawn of the new millennium.
Guest speakers
Matt Cook, Jonathan Cooper Chair of the History of Sexuality at Mansfield College, Oxford University.
Colin Grant, Homecoming: Voices of the Windrush Generation, London: Jonathan Cape, 2019
Membership Priority Booking will open at 10.00 GMT on Wednesday 4 February. General Booking will open at 10.00 GMT on Thursday 12 February 2026.
Our courses are built using the latest Microsoft software. Tune in to expert lectures live or catch up on demand. Join discussions and continue your learning with downloadable handouts and presentations. Find out more >>
Enrol now
Online course: London: The Global City 1851 to 2020 (Online)
22 April 2026 - 24 June 2026
£300.00
Tickets not available yet
Need help enrolling? Talk to the admissions team:
+44 (0)20 7942 2000
Open 10.00 - 13.00, Monday to Sunday (closed 24-26 December)
Related events
Header image: Photograph by Paul Martin, 'London by Gaslight', modern toned print, 1970-2000