造力—〈掌握信息与技能，投入于梦想的能力〉（海尔斯伯格）—在艺术、科学、商业和课堂教学中最为人所重视。但创造的过程是怎样的呢？是什么让它旺盛并最终燃起创造之火？为了尝试回答这些问题，我们即将在这门课程探究西方文化理解创造的方式：在创造力本身和它的来源上我们得到什么和敬畏什么；作家、艺术家、科学家怎样描述他们自身的创造过程；心理学家和哲学家怎样使之理论化；尤其是在二十世纪的电影中，创造力被展示的方式；日常生活包括我们自己生活中的创造力。阅读资料包括心理学家Rollo May的《创造的勇气》的一部分，和Joan Didion，John Updike，Alice Walker，Oliver Sacks及其他人的文章。另外，我们也将观看舞蹈指导Paul Taylor、建筑师Maya Lin和爵士音乐家Dave Brubeck的录像片段。我们将以日志的方式记录下我们对创造过程的观察和思考。我们全班也将在学期初的一个晚上观看一部电影。

"Creative activity (isn't) the icing on the cake. Human creativity is the cake." (Jerry Hirschberg)

Creativity - "the mastery of information and skills in the service of dreams" (Hirschberg) - is much prized in the arts, science, business and the classroom. What does the creative process look like? Under what conditions does it flourish - what ignites the creative spark? Attempting to answer these questions, this class explores ways creativity has been understood in Western culture: what we prize and fear about creativity and its wellsprings; how writers, artists, scientists and inventors have described their own creative processes; how psychologists and philosophers have theorized it; ways in which creativity has been represented in Western culture, particularly in 20th century films; and creativity in everyday life, including our own lives. Readings include portions of psychologist Rollo May's The Courage To Create, and essays by Joan Didion, John Updike, Alice Walker, Oliver Sacks, and others. In addition, we'll watch video profiles of choreographer Paul Taylor, architect Maya Lin, and jazz musician Dave Brubeck. We'll keep journals in which we note our own observations and reflections on creative process. We will also watch a film together as a class one evening early in the term.