Art forms and inspiration

Howard Rambsy II and Rae’Jean Spears

We began one phase of our “Creativity @ SIUE” project recently by surveying dozens of first-year students about their views on art forms, writing, and other topics. We still have a long way to go, but we’ve been excited to get started. Responses to a question we posed about the art forms that students identified as their greatest sources of creative inspiration did, however, catch our attention.

We noticed that students, specifically first year students, come to SIUE with quite different views on how creativity can be defined. These different definitions then influence what they think about their own creativity.

Those responses from students who have just begun their college careers had us thinking about how high school and previous experiences shape views of creativity. Although we are primarily taking a look at creativity among college students, these initial findings were a reminder that 18-year-olds are far from being blank slates. They arrive with a range of deeply embedded ideas about what creativity is and is not.

Those initial responses to the surveys had us thinking about how high school heavily shapes how a student will think of creativity for years to come.

Related:
• Creativity @ SIUE