Ebook: Creativity -- A Sociological Approach [recurso electrónico]

What is creativity? This book reviews ten domains which have explained creativity from philosophy to psychology, and finds them wanting with respect to a broader interpretation of the elusive concept. Except for research on art, and propositions of action theory, Sociology has rarely discussed creativity. This is the first macro-sociological theory on creativity in the field. The book presents a model, and the results of a six year on-going research project that seeks to understand how students define creativity, and how employers and industry professionals see the need for creativity in the workplace. Comparing students to employers and industry professionals is astonishing as they are completely at odds in terms of how important creativity is in their jobs. Students want freedom to express themselves, believing that creativity is an individual talent, while employers and industry professionals stress professional behavior, and report that work in their business is done by teams. This difference in understanding demonstrates the importance of exploring creativity further.