Remaking Critical Theory: A Creative Humanities Process and Intervention
Abstract
Popular conceptions of creativity advance a neoliberal world view that reduces creativity to spontaneous ideation or so-called “right-brain thinking.” Such formulations, now commonly upheld in popular and educational discourse, blinker the essential role of criticality and sensitivity to socio-cultural context in the creative process. To challenge the neoliberalization of creativity, we designed the Remaking Critical Theory (RCT) process, which synthesizes recent cognitive science and creative humanities research to reconstitute creativity as criticality and vice versa – what we label critical creativity. The process reframes humanistic interpretation as a critical-creative activity and adapts methods from art, design, and innovation management to facilitate the production of humanities insights. Drawing upon dual-process models of creative cognition, we theorize how the RCT process activates the right type of thinking at the right time in the creative process. We also evidence efficacy by delineating and reflecting upon a pilot application at Sheridan College, which culminated in the student researchers making critical theory zines. More than simply reaffirming the value of critical theory in neoliberal societies, we delineate a radically new approach to humanities research and pedagogy.
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Published In
University of Toronto Quarterly
Volume 92 • Number 2 • May 2023
Pages: 147 - 181
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© University of Toronto Press. This is an open access article licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, reproduction and adaptation in any medium and for any purpose provided that it is properly attributed.
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Published in print: May 2023
Published online: 30 May 2023
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Funding Statement
Remaking Critical Theory was funded by a Scholarship, Research, and Creative Activities Grant from Sheridan College and an Explore Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. We are thankful for the funding that made this pertinent research possible.
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University of Toronto Quarterly 2023 92:2, 147-181
University of Toronto Quarterly 2023 92:2, 147-181