Theories of Creativity
Taught by Sarah Campbell
Sarah Campbell develops multi-media content for digital learning platforms. She’s produced podcasts for the Poetry Foundation and contributed to public radio. Her literary criticism appears in the Arizona Quarterly and Jacket 2.
Once upon a time, she was tour guide for a day on the Burren in Ireland, waitress for a night in Edinburgh, and flower stand girl for a summer in San Diego. Her new book of poems, We Used to Be Generals, comes out this spring from f.o.b.w. press of Austin, TX.
Where do big ideas come from and how do you create the conditions to have them yourself?
There are as many theories of creativity as there are flavors of ice cream.
Creativity is many things to many people: a return to childhood, getting the competitive edge in business, spiritual fulfillment, self-realization, or just a way to have more fun. Whether you consider yourself full of it, or wanting it—and if you’re looking for actionable advice, which theory of creativity do you follow?
This course will give you an overview of the most current and popular theories of creativity. We’ll also look back at some older notions, too. We’ll discuss the overlap—or not—between ideas creativity and arts creativity. And then we’ll roll up our sleeves and apply some of these theories ourselves in a short creativity “workout” drawn from leading gurus in the field.