Objectives

The goals of this project are for students to apply course concepts to the analysis of a specific creative work.

Materials Required

Obtain or observe any creative work (including fiction writing, musical composition, film, a piece of art in any medium).

Description

It is difficult to define creativity, though we all hold assumptions about what it means to be highly creative. The purpose of this assignment is to explore course concepts by applying them to the analysis of a specific creative work, using this exercise to explore these ideas in greater depth.

Instructions

Your paper (not including title page, references, etc.) should be 3-4 typed, double-spaced pages. Please include the following sections:

1. Describe the work you selected, and why you selected this particular creative work.
2. Explain why you think this work represents an example of high creativity. Incorporate at least 3 course concepts in your explanation.
3. How well do you feel the course concepts account for why this work is so creative?
4. Do you think judgements of creative works can be made with objectivity, or are they inherently subjective? To what degree do you think it is possible to analyze what makes the work compelling or aesthetically valuable? When observers disagree about their judgements of a creative work, can their disagreements be resolved? How do we decide what qualities matter in judging creative works?
5. To what extent does your interpretation of the creator's intent influence your impression of the creativity of the work? If you knew the artist intended the work to have a different effect than what you experienced, would this change your judgement of the work?