Chasing Light: The Origins of Creativity
Syllabus
Jillena Rose
104 Shouldice Library
Office Phone: 635-2228 E-mail: jrose@lssu.edu
Office Hours: Wednesdays and Fridays, 12:00-1pm, and by appointment
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Course Materials:
 Required Text: Creativity: From Potential to Realization, by Robert J. Sternberg,
Elena L. Grigorenko, and Jerome L. Singer
 You should have a writing handbook handy so you can ensure that you are turning in
your best written work.
 I will provide additional readings as we progress through the course. Some of these
include excerpts from the letters of Georgia O’Keeffe and Alfred Steiglitz and the
biographies of Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein and W.A. Mozart. We will also explore
the journals of Leonardo DaVinci. We will be viewing portions of the BBC
Documentary, How Art Made the World.
 We will take advantage of a number of pod casts available in which artists and
scientists discuss the process of creating. One of the richest resources I’ve discovered
is connected with the Philoctetes Center for the Multidisciplinary Study of the
Imagination in Manhattan (http://philoctetes.org/about/).
 As you begin to research and prepare your presentation, I will work to make
additional resources available to you.
 I value any additional resources you might be able to contribute to our exploration of
creativity.
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Issues:
Creative thought fuels innovation in all areas of human experience from the arts to science,
including areas that seem, on the surface, almost devoid of creativity like business and agriculture.
Even in these latter, seemingly mundane areas, it is the creativity of entrepreneurs and crop rotation
analysts that propel us forward and helps us better care for the people and resources on our planet.
As necessary and natural to human experience as creativity is, it remains, in many ways, an
unknowable force. Books and theories abound on its chemical, spiritual, mathematical origins. Can
you define it? Can you mark the place in the brain from which it springs? Is it only given to a select
few or can anyone harness creative power? Can you measure or predict a person’s creative potential?
Is it a limited resource? Can people “use up” their store? And what fuels creativity? Madness? Lust?
Collaboration? Oppression? A Muse? Devotion to God? And finally, can a person ignore the
creative impulse? Does a creative person create at their will, or are they driven chemically or
spiritually to bring something new into the world?
This course is an opportunity for us to explore the myriad theories about the origins of creativity
in order to become more aware of the impact of this powerful force in our lives and in the world
around us, past and present. Together we will look at some of the scientific theories about the
process of creativity. Then, through intensive research of well-known creators, you, the students,
will explore what creative people have to say about the force of creativity in their lives and present
their findings to the class.
The Goal? To answer some questions about the origins of creativity, or maybe to create
some new ones. My goal as a guide in the class is that we all finish the course with new
found curiosity and respect for what human beings can do for themselves and others when
they follow the impulse to create.
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Work Load
Homework: Your home work for this class will consist primarily of reading/listening assignments.
In order to help you develop your ideas about what you’ve read and heard, you will be asked to
prepare short response assignments to what you’re reading and listening to. You can use these
responses in our class discussions as a way to avoid that at-a-loss-for-words feeling.
Group Presentation and Paper: 35 percent of your grade in this class will be determined by your
participation and development of a group presentation and paper that you will offer to the class in
the second half of the semester. Your group will choose and research 1-2 creative individuals with
the goal of answering some of the questions we’ve developed surrounding the origin and nature of
creativity. For instance, you might be interested in the connections between madness and creativity
and choose to explore the letters and work of Sylvia Plath and Vincent Van Gough. Your group
would create a rich visual presentation which would involve the class through questions and
handouts. Your group would also provide a written paper of your analysis and findings. Each
member will receive a group grade and an individual grade. You can, of course, approach this work
creatively and I am hoping that you will find all the presentations fun and thought provoking. More
details to follow.
Tests: We will have two tests, a mid-term and a final exam. Both will be Take-home essay exams.
Quizzes: I reserve the right to give short pop quizzes if it seems that the group is coming in
unprepared to discuss what they’ve read.
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Quality of Written Assignments. I would expect that in an honors class I do not have to state
this, but I will, just be sure we’re clear: I expect all written assignments to be proofread, typed and
double-spaced. If, as I look at your assignments, I find so many mechanical errors that I cannot
understand your point, I will return your work to you and ask you to re-write and re-submit your
paper. You will not receive credit for the paper until I can read it comfortably.
We will follow MLA guidelines for the presentation and citation of all your work.
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Plagiarism: Plagiarism results in automatic failure and possible dismissal from the
university. You must acknowledge any quotation or general indebtedness to the work of others,
whether your source is written, published, or spoken. In some cases, you may simply write a note of
acknowledgement at the end of your paper to people who helped you; at other times, you will need
to cite your sources more formally. If you are quoting from someone else, for example, you must
indicate that you are doing so by naming your source, using appropriate quotations marks, and
giving reference for your material. If you are summarizing or otherwise drawing upon the work of
others, you need to make that clear to your reader as well. You should not give or loan your writing
to other students without being sure that you have received an appropriate acknowledgement.
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Attendance: Successful completion of this course depends on regular attendance. Therefore, you
are required to attend class each and every time we are scheduled to meet. Because this
course will emerge out of what you have to say about creativity, and because we have so much
material to cover, I will not be lenient with attendance. If you miss more than three class periods,
you will, more than likely, fail the course. If you foresee obstacles that will prevent you from
attending class on a regular basis, please withdraw from the course now before the end of the
Add/Drop period.
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Grades: Your grade will be determined like this:
Attendance and Participation:
35%
Group Presentation and Paper: 35%
Mid-Term:
10%
Final Exam:
20%
IPASS: If at mid-term your grades reflect that you are at risk for failing some or all of your classes,
you will be contacted by a representative of IPASS. The IPASS program (Individual Plan for
Academic Support and Success) is designed to help you gain control over your learning through proactive communication and goal-setting, the development of intentional learning skills and study
habits, and personal accountability.
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Cell Phones: Please turn off your cell phone and leave it stowed in your purse or backpack or
pocket.
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Disabilities and Accommodations:
In compliance with Lake Superior State University policy and equal access laws, disabilityrelated (learning, medical, physical, etc.) accommodations or services are available. Reasonable and
Effective accommodations and services will be provided to students if requests are made in a timely manner, with appro
priate documentation, in accordance with federal, state, and University
guidelines. Students who desire such services must register with the Resource Center for Students
with Disabilities (RCSD) to enable the RCSD to verify the disability and determine reasonable academic accommodation
s. RCSD is located in the Library Room 101. The telephone number is (906)635-2454.
Students must also meet with their professors the first week of class, to discuss their disability-related needs.