Creativity: A new vocabulary

The creativity ‘vocabulary’ is an innovative short book that includes a collection of essay about creativity understood through the prism of (new) words. These words are meant to form a new vocabulary of creativity and are introduced in the volume in alphabetical order. The premise of this book is that a new vocabulary of creativity is required if we are to think in original and productive ways about creative phenomena. In both scientific research and lay discourses about creativity we often come across a variety of terms such as innovation, invention, improvisation, discovery, giftedness, talent, intuition, transformation, emergence, reconstruction, combination, genius, eminence, divergent thinking, exploration, openness, etc. These terms are not ‘innocent’ but carry with them a way of understanding (and indeed, constructing) the phenomenon we are interested in. It has been repeatedly pointed out in the creativity literature (Glaveanu, 2010; Tanggaard, 2013; Saywer, 2012; Amabile, 1996) that the vocabulary of creativity is mostly oriented towards describing the individual, its attributes and internal processes. And even when we convey ‘elements’ outside of the individual creator (e.g., related to the material and social environment) there is often a disconnection between person and context supported, among other things, by the very terms we use to refer to one or the other. Indeed, the field is often ridden by dichotomies (Glaveanu, 2012) and, among them, the distinctions made between person, product, process, and environment (Rhodes, 1961) need to be questioned. The person and the environment are interdependent in creative work, the process can be a product and products themselves can contribute to their own making (Glaveanu, 2014). Unfortunately, however, the language of creativity we commonly use reifies such distinctions and doesn’t help us develop more relational and innovative ways of looking at (and talking about) creativity. In this context, the main contribution of this volume is that each chapter will use one concept – which is not often mentioned in connection to creativity – and consider the implications of commonly using it as part of our creativity vocabulary. The resulting small ‘vocabulary’ will have each entry written by an expert in the area of creativity, organisations and culture from Aalborg University, in Denmark, where a cultural conception of creativity is being developed by the three editors and their colleagues. The authors will also experiment with creative ways of writing without compromising scientific rigour but in ways that make this book accessible and thought-provoking. It is our hope that this short and original ‘vocabulary of creativity’ will inspire new theoretical developments by questioning the rigidity of thinking about creativity in a more or less normative, well-established manner (e.g., the traditional definition of creativity as novelty plus value often found in the literature). The concepts highlighted by each essay have the potential to help us cut across dichotomies and can inspire new ways of not only thinking about but also engaging in creative action in our everyday life. Concepts are never neutral descriptions of reality but have both a history and a certain ‘intentionality’ inscribed into them. By reshaping the language of creativity (see also Glaveanu, 2013) this book goes beyond a simple change of terms. It is an invitation to consider our assumptions about creativity and, literally, think outside the box of an old vocabulary.