Mckenzie Tzeng, a third-year English student in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies (LA&PS), was one of the 2024 winners of the Dean’s Award for Research Excellence (DARE). Over the summer, Mckenzie worked alongside Professor Agnes Whitfield to see how scholars have defined creativity, looking to identify any cross-disciplinary consensus.
One of the project’s most striking findings was that creativity is no longer associated predominantly with the arts. Of 837 books on creativity published since 2000, six fields account for over 50 titles each: social sciences, arts, business, psychology, education and writing/literature. Social science research now tops the field, seeing creativity as a force for societal change.
Tzeng and Professor Whitfield found that most definitions of creativity acknowledge two factors,novelty and value, but how novelty is defined and value ascertained are still much debated. The project raised the question of whether standardizing or systematizing creativity may, in fact, be limiting our understanding of it. Future studies might address how scholars could think more creatively about the research process itself.
“The opportunity for one-on-one mentoring throughout a four-month long research project is unlike anything else in the undergraduate experience,” says Tzeng. “For eager students like myself, DARE can open up a future in academia and research.”
DARE provides LA&PS students with the unique opportunity to participate in research projects in their field of study alongside faculty members who provide one-on-one support.DARE is open to full-time undergraduate students enrolled in programs within the Faculty of LA&PS.
