Creativity and contemporary value
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Abstract
This paper is part of a larger project that investigates the cultural construction of creativity in the context of the history of ideas. It understands creativity not as a given human attribute or ability, but as an idea that emerges out of specific historical moments, shaped by the discourses of politics, science, commerce, and nation. It shifts the ground of analysis away from the naturalised models that have traditionally dominated the field of creative practice research, in order to highlight the historicity of a concept that is more commonly deemed to be without history. In this sense, it addresses a key theme of the conference—by asking what literary historical studies can say about one of creative writing’s most deeply cherished beliefs.