Request for Designation as an Interpretation and Analysis (IA) Course in Explorations
Name_____Kent Andersen________________________________________
Course number and title__HON 225: Creativity: Person, Process, Place______________
Departmental endorsement____HON________________________________________
Has this course been submitted for any other Explorations designation? ___N_______
If so, which one? ______________
Please list which of your course assignments or activities addresses each of the guidelines, state
briefly how this is accomplished, and attach a syllabus or a preliminary redesign plan for the
course.
Criteria for analytical interpretation problem solving courses include

the use of a formal method of analysis/interpretation
The methods of analysis in this course are primarily qualitative and reflective. The
readings employ ethnographic, cultural, aesthetic, and theoretical approaches as well.

that can be applied to discrete problems/goals and
The main object of study is creativity and the creative processes of individuals and
groups in specific times and places. Everyone values creativity, but few people
understand what it really is or what it entails—let alone how to cultivate it and bring it
fully into being. This course seeks to remedy that problem by surveying the
conversations about creativity taking place among psychologists, anthropologists,
cultural critics and theorists, aesthetic philosophers, and historians. Doing so, one
hopes, can help us better understand the relationship between culture and creativity as
well as cultivate our own creative abilities.

that require students to apply that method in specific ways.
Students apply the concepts developed in the course in two specific ways: an interview and their
own creative solution to a problem that confronts them. Students will interview one or more
people involved in creative work, using that interview data to critically engage the
course materials. Likewise, they will engage in their own creative problem solving
process by identifying and developing a solution to a problem that they want to solve,
reflecting on that process in light of course concepts and ideas.
Return this form as one electronic file with a syllabus appended to shagen@bsc.edu by 30 May 2011.
HON 225 Creativity: Person, Process, Place
Instructor: Kent Andersen
DRAFT OF SYLLABUS FOR FALL 2011
Introduction
Everyone values creativity, but few people understand what it really is or what it entails—let
alone how to cultivate it and bring it fully into being. This course seeks to remedy that problem
by surveying the conversations about creativity taking place among psychologists,
anthropologists, cultural critics and theorists, aesthetic philosophers, and historians. Doing so,
one hopes, can help one better understand the relationship between culture and creativity as
well as cultivate one's own creative abilities.
Learning Outcomes:
1. I can articulate the key concepts used in the formalized study of creativity, such as
domain, field, flow, collaboration, improvisation and play, problem-solving and problemfinding, novelty and utility, ritual, culture, stasis and change, learning, adaptation, and so
on.
2. I can use these concepts to explain how an individual or group engages in creative work
by interviewing, observing, or researching these individuals and analyzing their work
through these concepts.
3. I can use these concepts to guide my own thinking by finding and developing a solution
to a problem that concerns me.
4. I can help others understand concepts relevant for the study of creativity and help others
research and apply those concepts by collaborating with my classmates.
Graded Materials and Assignments:
1. Three Concept Exams. At the end of each unit, these exams ask students to
demonstrate their comprehension of the key concepts and issues involved in the
academic study of creativity.
2. Interview Analysis. This assignment asks students to interview an individual or small
group engaged in creative problem-solving. Students will analyze the "raw data" of their
interviews in light of the concepts discussed in the readings and write-up their findings
for posting on a class blog. Both Csikszentmihalyi and the Root-Bernstein's rely on this
kind of qualitative analysis for their work, and thus serve as the models.
3. Creative Application. This final assignment asks students to apply their understanding of
the creative person, process, product, and place. The task is to identify a problem and
develop a creative solution to that problem. That is, create something. Following this
creative process, students will analyze and reflect on their problem-solving process and
write up their findings in a presentation for the class.
4. Attendance, Participation, Engagement (APE).
Required Readings:
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1996). Creativity: Flow and the psychology of discovery and invention.
New York, NY: Harper Perennial.
Root-Bernstein, R. Bernstein, M. (1999). Sparks of genius: The 13 thinking tools of the world's
most creative people. New York, NY: Mariner Books.
Sawyer, K. (2007). Group genius: The creative power of collaboration. New York, NY: Basic
Books.
Singer, I. (2011). Modes of creativity: philosophical perspectives. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Thomas, D. Seely Brown, J. (2011). A new culture of learning: cultivating the imagination for a
world of constant change. ??,??: CreateSpace.
Additional articles on Moodle:
Borofsky, R. (2001). Wondering about Wutu. In J. Liep (Ed.), Locating cultural creativity (pp.6270). Sterling, VA: Pluto Press.
Narayan, K. (1993). On nose cutters, gurus, and storytellers. In R. Rosaldo, S. Lavie, and K.
Narayan (Eds.) Creativity/ Anthropology (pp. 30-53). Ithaca, NY: Cornell UP.
Parkin, D. (2001). Escaping cultures: The paradox of cultural creativity. In J. Liep (Ed.), Locating
cultural creativity (pp.133-143). Sterling, VA: Pluto Press.
Schieffelin, E.L. (1993). Performance and the cultural construction of reality: A New Guinea
example. In R. Rosaldo, S. Lavie, and K. Narayan (Eds.) Creativity/ Anthropology (pp.
270-195). Ithaca, NY: Cornell UP.
Schechner, Richard. (1993). Ritual, violence, creativity. In R. Rosaldo, S. Lavie, and K. Narayan
(Eds.) Creativity/ Anthropology (pp. 296-320). Ithaca, NY: Cornell UP.
Tsing, A.L. (1993). "Riding the horse of gaps": A Meratus woman's spiritual expression. In R.
Rosaldo, S. Lavie, and K. Narayan (Eds.) Creativity/ Anthropology (pp. 100-132). Ithaca,
NY: Cornell UP.
Additional materials & chapters may be used from:
Carter, R. (2004) Language and creativity: The art of common talk. New York, NY: Routledge.
Weiner, R.P. (2000). Creativity and beyond: Cultures, values, change. Albany, NY: SUNY
Press.
Pope. R. (2005). Creativity: Theory, history, practice. New York, NY: Routledge.
Robinson, K. (2001). Out of our minds: Learning to be creative. Sussex, England: Wiley.
Austin, J.H. (1978, 2003). Chase, chance, and creativity: The lucky art of novelty. Cambridge,
MA: MIT Press.
Bohm, D. (1998). On creativity. New York, NY: Routledge.
Course Outline:
Unit 1: Individual Minds: The Person and The Process
Unit 2: Place and Context: Groups and The Systems Approach
Unit 3: Place and Context 2: Culture and Change