nclc375

This integrative learning community will survey how creativity has been historically defined, understood, and expressed. Students will specifically investigate how these historical concepts and practices of creativity have changed as a result of our increasing reliance on advanced technology. This course will challenge the notion of creativity as an inherent "gift" and explore the claim that creativity is becoming increasingly necessary for both personal and professional survival in today's world. Through interactive field studies and collaborative experiences, students will investigate the impact of creativity on our daily lives, what it means to build and maintain creative communities, and the social and political potential of creative conflicts.

Learning Objectives: By actively participating in this course, students will:

Understand and critically evaluate the concept of creativity as it has been historically defined and expressed.
Identify the major intersections of creativity within a variety of fields and disciplines.
Explore how the technological age has informed our understanding and practice of creativity.
Analyze, describe, and develop interpretive and evaluative arguments about the concepts and practices of creativity.
Identify, investigate, and evaluate various creative communities.
Explore the use of the creative process to enhance self-awareness and professional competence.

Commitment to Diversity: This class will be conducted as an intentionally inclusive learning community that celebrates diversity and welcomes the participation in the life of the university of faculty, staff and students who reflect the diversity of our plural society. All may feel free to speak and to be heard without fear that the content of the opinions they express will bias the evaluation of their academic performance or hinder their opportunities for participation in class activities. In turn, all are expected to be respectful of each other, as well as artist guests and/or others outside the university with whom we come into contact through the course of this class, without regard to race, class, linguistic background, religion, political beliefs, gender identity, sex, sexual orientation, ethnicity, age, veteran’s status, or physical ability.

Required Texts:

Florida, Richard. The Rise of the Creative Class: and How it’s Transforming Work, Leisure, Community and Everyday Life. Basic Books. 2002.
Solnit, Rebecca. A Field Guide to Getting Lost. New York: Penguin Books, 2005.
Ray, Paul and Sherry Anderson. The Cultural Creatives: How 50 Million People Are Changing the World. Three Rivers Press, 2001.
Other readings will be distributed on blackboard or as links on class blog.

Course Assignments: Students will demonstrate competence of the learning objects in the following ways:

Regular and interactive blog/journal entries in response to readings and class discussions.
Author/Work introduction.
Production and presentation of a field-study project.
Active and engaged participation in class and online discussions.

Attendance, Participation, and Preparation for Class:

This course entails a number of various in-class and out-of-class activities. As part of a learning community, you will be expected to do the readings assigned and be prepared to actively engage in class discussions, significantly contribute to the class blog, collaboratively work with others to produce a final field-study project, and lead at least one class discussion. You must have an active GMU email account, check it regularly, and respond to email inquiries in a timely fashion (this includes making sure it isn’t too full to receive emails). Of course, you cannot adequately participate if you miss classes or often arrive late or leave early, so although there is no grade, per se, for attendance, it may affect your overall participation grade. Your participation in this class will count for 15% of your final grade.

Blog / Journal Response Assignments:

At least once a week, you will be responsible for contributing your thoughts, reflections, and responses to readings, class discussions, and virtual experiences online at the class blog. In order to respond to and comment upon blog assignments, however, you MUST register with WordPress. I will walk you through how to do this (and the course blog) on the first day of class. These regular responses will help you further develop your own insights about creativity, interact and exchange ideas with your student colleagues, and hone your critical thinking and writing skills.

If, for any reason, you are unable to get online to the blog to post your response by the date/time it is due, you must still turn in your response via email or in class on the morning it is due. Late responses will not be accepted. Blog responses are worth 30% of the total grade; therefore, missing even one blog response could affect your final grade; missing two or more could substantially lower your final grade.

Author/Work Introduction:

Each student will introduce one author or set of smaller works in order to generate class discussion—to be presented the week the reading is discussed. The goal is to outline some of the author’s main arguments or ideas and provide reflections and questions that may help guide class discussion. Assignments will be made on the first day of class. The author introduction will count as 10% of your overall grade.

Field Study:

For the field-studies component, students will identify, explore, and evaluate, and present (to class) a creative community. Possible examples include: a neighborhood watch group, a co-op art gallery, a guerilla marketing group, a social services or community organization, public policy think-tank, internet or digital media start-up, sustainable development organization, civil service initiative, or community garden – groups that display particular creativity in their approach to their goals, organization, relationships to community/employees/members, etc. Of course, this field study would begin by asking the question: What makes a creative community?

The students, based on readings, discussions, site visits, contact with others in various fields, etc., would determine their own criteria for evaluation of a creative community. Additionally, you will each produce a final critical, reflective paper that will accompany your project (more details to be given in class).

The final field study will count for 35% of your final grade. The accompanying reflective paper will count for 10% of your final grade.

Evaluation Process: The evaluation process for all work in this class will take place through written feedback, interaction in peer groups, peer evaluations (for group projects), and conversations with the instructor, both online and in-person.

Grades for the course will be determined from the following general assignment categories:

In-class assignments and participation15%
Blog/Journal response assignments30%
Author/Work introduction10%
Final Field Studies Project35%
Final critical/reflective essay10%

Honor Code:

Students in this class are bound by the Honor Code, as stated in the George Mason University Catalog. The honor code requires that the work you do as an individual be the product of your own individual synthesis or integration of ideas. (This does not prohibit collaborative work when your instructor approves it.) As a faculty member, I have an obligation to refer the names of students who may have violated the Honor Code to the Student Honor Council, which treats such cases very seriously.

No grade is important enough to justify cheating, for which there are serious consequences that will follow you for the rest of your life. If you feel unusual pressure about your grade in this or any other course, please talk to me or to a member of the GMU Counseling Center staff.

Using someone else’s words or ideas without giving them credit is plagiarism, a very serious Honor Code offense. It is very important to understand how to prevent committing plagiarism when using material from a source. If you wish to quote verbatim, you must use the exact words and punctuation just as the passage appears in the original and must use quotation marks and page numbers in your citation. If you want to paraphrase or summarize ideas from a source, you must put the ideas into your own words, and you must cite the source, using the APA or MLA format. (For assistance with documentation, I recommend Diana Hacker, A Writer’s Reference.) The exception to this rule is information termed general knowledge—information that is widely known and stated in a number of sources. Determining what general knowledge means can be complicated, so the wise course is, “When in doubt, cite.” If you are uncertain about the ground rules on a particular assignment, ask for clarification.

Be especially careful when using the Internet for research. Not all Internet sources are equally reliable; some are just plain wrong. Also, since you can download text, it becomes very easy to inadvertently plagiarize. If you use an Internet source, you must cite the exact URL in your paper and include with it the last date that you successfully accessed the site. Additionally, the re-use of papers, presentations, etc., from one course in another course is not appropriate. In every NCC course, faculty expect that work that is submitted has been done only for that class. An exception is made for materials included within course and year-end portfolios.

Resources:

Students with Disabilities and Learning Differences: If you have a diagnosed disability or learning difference and you need academic accommodations, please inform me at the beginning of the semester and contact the Disabilities Resource Center (SUB I room 234, 703-993-2474). You must provide me with a faculty contact sheet from that office outlining the accommodations needed for your disability or learning difference. All academic accommodations must be arranged in advance through the DRC.

The University Writing Center is a free writing resource. Tutors are available to assist students at any level and at any stage of their writing process, thus EVERYONE can benefit from utilizing this service. Tutors will not proofread your writing, but they will help you to develop revision and editing strategies. The University Writing Center is located in Robinson A 114. For an appointment, call (703) 993-1200 or schedule online at http://writingcenter.gmu.edu. Also, consult the Writing Center website for more information about their services, as well as a variety of helpful online resources.

The Counseling Center offers an extensive academic skills program, with workshops on concentration, time management, exam preparation, etc., in addition to stress management, personal development, and individual counseling services. The Counseling Center main office is located in SUB 1, Room 364, 703-993-2380; for Learning Services, call 703-993-2999 or stop by SUB 1, Rom 354. For more information, see http://www.gmu.edu/departments/csdc/.