Cross disciplinary course delves into the patterns of creative production

As a student of art history, third-year Ainsley Sutherland is learning how to interpret the accomplishments of painters and sculptors from the perspective of their aesthetic contributions, but she also is intrigued by the social structures that encourage creativity. To satisfy that curiosity, she took a seminar titled "Creativity,” co-taught by an economist and a lecturer in English. Offered in Economics and in English Language and Literature, the seminar crosses the boundaries of those quite different disciplines. The basis of the course is the work of David Galenson, Professor in Economics, who looks at artists' routes to creative breakthroughs and how the market for artistic innovation has emerged. In August, Galenson will teach a version of the class at the Universidad de CEMA in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he will help launch the Center for Creativity Economics, for which he will be the first academic director. "I don't think that this course is so much about appreciation of art as it is about understanding types of innovation, and looking at patterns in creative production,” Sutherland said. "Looking at art making as an innovative practice is helpful for me in understanding possible explanations for the prevalence of young artists who work in a wide variety of media, in contemporary art and art of the last century.