Understanding and Awakening your Creativity

Throughout history, creativity has always been considered a mysterious and elusive phenomenon. The ancient Greeks believed that creativity arose from the divine inspiration and guidance of the muses. The Romans believed that each individual was born with a guardian entity, or genius, who would assist them in their lives and creative work. Come the Enlightenment, the popular explanation for creativity in the Western world shifted from divine sources to madness and chemically altered states. While much has changed in society, nowadays we still often see creativity as a mysterious and elusive special talent that?s only present in certain individuals. However, the historical connection between creativity and craft as well as growing research in the psychological and physiological characteristics of creativity tell us differently. In this course, we?ll seek to better understand creativity in order to awaken your own creative potential. We?ll start by briefly exploring humankind?s relationship to creativity throughout history, the myths and realities surrounding the creative process and creative individuals, and provide a basic understanding of what creativity is and how it works from a psychological and neuroscientific perspective. Throughout the entire course, we will draw upon a variety of interdisciplinary activities designed to allow you to readily access your creativity and help you to develop your own creative process.