Creativity: Brief Books about Big Ideas

A short but engaging exploration of our changing perception of creativity.

Creativity was once seen as the mark of mad geniuses, troubled souls, and avant-garde eccentrics. Today, however, we expect to find the trait thriving in and around us. Why? In Creativity, Jan Løhmann Stephensen provides a historical and contemporary view of creativity and explains why it is not always the answer to every problem. From van Gogh to Springsteen, Løhmann Stephensen explores the creative process of artists in order to craft a new theory of creativity―marking it as a collective and dynamic process in flux, rather than a finished product with a set endpoint and sole creator. Finally, he warns, in the twenty-first century, the importance that employers place on creativity has warped the concept into a ubiquitous economic commodity.

Reflections

In Reflections, a series copublished with Denmark's Aarhus University Press, scholars deliver 60-page reflections on a key concept that encapsulates their years of study and research. These books present unique insights on a wide range of topics and concepts―everything from love, trust, and play to corruption, welfare, and sleep―that entertain and enlighten readers with exciting discoveries and new perspectives.

Jan Løhmann Stephensen (AARHUS, DK) is an associate professor in the Department of Communication and Culture at Aarhus University.