Appreciating Creativity in Art History Instruction
Creativity is an essential feature of making art by producing novel iterations of established forms of art. At a time when the field of art history is trying to determine what it wants students to gain from classes, creativity should be key. This session seeks to bring together examples of teaching Creativity Integrated Art History (Cr-IAH). In Cri-IAH design thinking activities “students are taught about creativity and are given opportunities to foster everyday creative skills and practices” (Meloche & Katz-Buonincontro, 2018). Proposals are sought that feature examples of teaching creativity and design thinking in an art history classroom through activities. Proposed lesson examples may also use principles of Cr-IAH as a framework for understanding how a particular artwork was created. For example, lessons can explain how eminently famous creative individuals became part of art history, or lessons may challenge how that primacy has typically favored Western perspectives or neglected female artists and/or artists of color. Additionally, proposed lessons may shift the discussion of eminent Big-C creativity to one that explains pragmatically how an artwork was created. Everyday, Little-C approaches to creativity include skills such as collaboration and complex problem solving skills like those found in design thinking, such as empathy, ideation, prototyping, and iteration. The session will help advance dialogue on how to amplify creativity in art history instruction and allow for the sharing of examples.
Field of Study:
United States of America
Survey
Design Thinking
Material Culture
Visual Culture
Chairs:
Alysha Friesen Meloche,Drexel University - albrfrie@yahoo.com
and
Jen Katz, - jlk333@drexel.edu
