Faculty of Fine Arts Exploring Creativity Drama 3040 Y – Spring 2015 Friday 6:00-8:50pm | Room: N634 INSTRUCTOR Jim Dobbin [email protected] 403-571-3360 Ext. 4687 OFFICE HOURS By appointment COURSE MATERIALS Required Textbook: Custom Coursepack (Order through bookstore.uleth.ca) PREREQUISITE 15 University-level courses (minimum 45.0 credit hours) COURSE DESCRIPTION Study of creativity in various areas of human endeavour. Use of drama exercises and projects to explore the creative process and develop creative thinking skills. COURSE LEARNING OBJECTIVES - To help students discover their own creative processes - Through reading and discussion, to become aware of the creative process of others - To experiment with a variety of games, activities and exercises - To develop the ability to solve problems creatively, in groups as well as individually - To develop students' intuitive abilities DRAM 3040Y Spring 2015 1 METHOD OF ASSESSMENT ASSIGNMENT VALUE Due Date Group Presentation 10% January 30 Test 20% February 27 Partner Presentation 20% March 13/March 20 Individual Presentation 20% April10/April 17 Arts Report 15% April 10 Participation 15% Ongoing Total 100% PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENTS This course is designed to encourage you to take risks in exploring the subject matter. The process with which you arrive at your presentations is just as important as the final product. In general, the projects will be based on the following: 1. There should be evidence of a process in the work. This includes generating lots of ideas and materials and using the material in new and insightful ways 2. All projects should be well planned and well executed. The presentation should show that you have thought through the exercise and that you have rehearsed it thoroughly. 3. Presentations should be energetic, focused, confident and precise. LATE ASSIGNMENTS: Late assignments will result in a 10% penalty unless otherwise arranged with the instructor and a missed performance will receive a mark of zero without medical proof. It is your responsibility to discuss any difficulties with the instructor in a timely and clear fashion. PARTICIPATION Attendance and promptness in class is required and will be noted. Unexcused absences will result in your grade being reduced. Participation includes: enthusiasm for and commitment to activities and exercises; willingness to engage in uninhibited play; openness to ideas; completing assigned readings and coming to class prepared to share observations with the class; persistence and hard work in the face of challenge and frustration. ASSIGNMENTS Group Presentation Time: 5 minutes Groups of 4-5 people, This project is designed to encourage you to generate as many ideas as possible and is to be a kind of "brainstorming in action." The object of the exercise is to create a presentation without telling a story or having a recognizable theme. You should include as many striking ideas and images as possible, but they should not relate to each other in any ordinary or logical fashion. Allow the ideas to flow without any concern for continuity or logic. Don't make sense! DRAM 3040Y Spring 2015 2 The group mark will be based on your commitment to the exercise, your courage in exploring and presenting new ideas as well as evidence of preparation. Have Fun! Partner Presentation Time: 4-6 minutes Groups of 2 people Either: Your challenge for this presentation is, within the given time, to explore a problem and solution. There should be an element of surprise and intrigue to keep us interested but both the problem and the solution should clearly make sense and be logical on some level. Do not use a technological invention to solve the problem as you may do for the final assignment. Avoid solving the problem in obvious and simple ways. The presentation should have some depth and subtlety and work on various levels. The point of the exercise is for you to discover fresh and novel ways to approach a problem that truly interests you and will reveal to us intriguing insights. You will hand in a 1-2 page report outlining your process and central themes of your discoveries. Or: You will research a topic of your choosing relating to the subject of creativity. You may find something in the readings or in class discussions that intrigue you and that you would like to investigate in more depth. You will prepare a 15 minute presentation for the class (including questions and a brief discussion) in which you share the results of your research. You should keep the presentation interesting but be as succinct and clear as possible. You will hand in a 1-2 page report in which you clearly describe the central idea of your research and the development of the main ideas. Be very careful that all sources are properly cited and that the material is presented in your own words. Test This will be a 2-hour test based on the readings and discussions in the course. Alternative arrangements for writing a missed exam may be made at the discretion of the instructor. Individual Project Time: 5 minutes Either: You will present to the class an innovative idea for a new product or service. You should identify a genuine and specific need in the real world and be able to show how your invention meets that need. Explain and demonstrate how the product or service works and be prepared to accept questions and comments from the class. You will describe your process in coming up with the design, creativity techniques and tools that you tried, as well as how they worked or didn't work for you. This should be accompanied by a visual representation of the idea. Also, you will hand in a 1-2 -page description of how the idea works and your process in coming up with and implementing the idea. Or: You will prepare a performance which reflects something of interest to you and either demonstrates your own creativity in a particular field or makes clear how a person, place or thing inspires your creativity and sparks your imagination in your life or within a discipline. You will be assessed by the originality of the idea, your innovation in presentation style, your sincerity and the personal insight and discoveries you bring to the subject. You will hand in an essay of approximately 500 words describing your process in developing this idea. DRAM 3040Y Spring 2015 3 Arts and Culture Report During the course of the term you must attend at least two contrasting cultural or artistic events. You will write an essay of 1600- 2000 words describing the events and discussing how the artistic elements you observe relate to the ideas on creativity in this course. GRADING SCHEME Percent Mark Letter Grade Percent Mark Letter Grade 95-100 A+ 90-94 A 86-89 A- 82-85 B+ 78-81 B 74-77 B- 70-73 C+ 66-69 C 62-65 C- 58-61 D+ 50-57 D 0-49 F COURSE POLICIES 1. Prerequisites. It is the responsibility of students to check the prerequisites for courses before registration. If students are found to be registered in a course for which they do not have the prerequisites and they have not received prior permission from the appropriate program chair, they can be de-registered. If this occurs after the drop/add date, tuition will not be refunded. 2. Examinations and Quizzes. Alternative arrangements for writing a missed midterm examination or quiz may be made at the discretion of the instructor. Deferrals may only be granted in extenuating circumstances beyond the student’s control. 3. Conduct of Examinations: The instructor may articulate regulations for late entry to and early exit from the examination room. Instructors may also prescribe or restrict materials that may be used during the exam. No material aids including such items as: mobile phones, computers, or other digital devices, may be brought into the examination site without prior approval from the instructor. Please see additional examination policies in the 2014/2015 University Calendar, page 85-86. 4. Academic Dishonesty and Plagiarism: Academic Dishonesty and Plagiarism will not be tolerated and will automatically result in a zero grade for the submission. Any student caught plagiarizing may also be subject to additional University sanctions. The University of Lethbridge subscribes to an electronic plagiarism detection service. Students may be required to submit their written work in electronic form for plagiarism checking. 5. Student Conduct: The University’s policies are described in the calendar and all students are expected to read, familiarize, and comply with them. Special care should be taken to understand the Student Discipline Policy for academic and non-academic offenses as listed in part 4, sections 4 through 8 of the 2014/2015 Academic Calendar. Students will respect the basic standards of intellectual integrity, including, but not limited to, refraining from plagiarism, cheating or duplicating someone else’s work. In addition, students are expected to take an active role in encouraging other members of the academic community to refrain from academic dishonesty, and are asked to DRAM 3040Y Spring 2015 4 advise the instructor if they are aware of any such violations. This provision applies to any work submitted as a group project. CLASS SCHEDULE Below is a tentative outline. Recognizing that teaching excellence requires a degree of flexibility and responsiveness to both students' needs and emergent circumstances, adjustments to the course outline may sometimes be necessary, provided that no student is disadvantaged by the change. DATE TOPIC PRE-CLASS READING January 16 Introduction and Overview Begin Group Project Exercises and Group Work January 23 Group Work January 30 Group Presentations February 06 Exercises/ Partner Work Zen in the Art of Writing Creative Individuals Misperceptions about Creativity February 13 Partner Work Characteristics of Flow Where is Creativity? February 20 No Class- Reading Week January 09 February 27 Intuition, Creativity, Positation Test March 06 Partner Work March 13 Partner Presentations March 20 Partner Presentations March 27 Exploration in the Visual Arts and Music April 03 Statutory Holiday April 10 The Creative Spirit Creativity: A Multifaceted Phenomenon Final Presentations Arts Report Due April 17 DRAM 3040Y Final Presentations Spring 2015 5