Universitat Internacional de Catalunya
Creativity and Innovation
Teaching staff
Office hours (online or face-to-face) must be arranged with the teacher by e-mail: rdelaprida@uic.es.
Introduction
The course is oriented towards learning creative tools and approaches; in particular, given the idiosyncrasies of the participants, special emphasis will be placed on creative writing strategies. In some topics, the case study method will be used to explore creative and innovative solutions in business or team environments. By the end of the course, students are expected to have been able to connect with their creativity in a more direct way, as well as to have the tools to continue developing and applying it in their immediate professional environment.
Pre-course requirements
No pre-course requirements are needed to enrol in this subject.
Objectives
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To develop the students’ creative capacity
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To become familiar with the mechanisms of creativity
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To acquire knowledge of the main narrative tools and understand their relevance
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To experiment with different formats and exercises that make the students more flexible and increase their abilities and aptitudes
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To improve their style of writing and help them understand the effects of certain stylistic and narrative decisions
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To understand the risks and virtues of the line that separates fiction from reality
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To be able to share own texts
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To learn to listen to criticism and learn from it
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To learn to analyse texts in a constructive and well-argued manner
Competences/Learning outcomes of the degree programme
- 03 CG - The ability to work in a group
- 04 CG - The ability to organise time and workspace
- 09 CG - The ability to innovate
- 41 CE - The ability and capacity to interact in the environment
- 42 CE - The ability to integrate the contributions of the environment
- 45 CE - The ability and capacity to give a creative form to a journalistic message
- 48 CE - The ability of insight, ingenuity and creativity
- 49 CE - The ability to assume risks
- 51 CE - The ability to have foresight and move forward
Learning outcomes of the subject
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To learn to look at reality from a broader and more perceptive journalistic perspective
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To acquire knowledge of the mechanisms of creativity and the main narrative tools
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The ability to understand the influence of storytelling and the risks and virtues of its application
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To experiment with other useful journalistic and narrative formats to increase job prospects and understand the reality of the journalistic world
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To develop their creativity and ability to innovate
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To improve their own style of writing and understand the effects of certain stylistic and narrative decisions
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To be able to share their texts, listen to criticism and learn from it
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To analyse a narrative text in a well-argued and solid manner
Syllabus
2. In praise of uselessness.
3. In praise of error.
4. Saints.
5. Heretics.
6. Playing.
7. Stealing.
8. Order.
9. Audacity.
10. The creative space.
11. The creative time.
12. Apology for human freedom.
Teaching and learning activities
In person
| TRAINING ACTIVITY | ECTS CREDITS |
| Peer learning. The aim of this activity is to ensure that students gain the ability to analyse and be critical. One way of achieving this is by correcting their peers' exercises and results, etc. Each student will be evaluated twice: as both a recipient and a transmitter of critical knowledge. | 0.2 |
| Lectures. In lectures, lecturers/professors not only transmit content or knowledge, but also, and above all else, attitudes, motivation, skills and values, etc. They also ensure that participants can express their opinions and arguments to the other students. | 2.0 |
| Focused Praxis. Handing in occasional exercises to learn theory through practice. | 1.0 |
| Meeting Point. Meetings will be organised with notable people from the professional and scientific fields or the international field, and students. These sessions will take the form of conferences, work sessions, discussions, or interviews, etc. | 0.4 |
| Coaching. Monitoring how students learn the content of the subject, either individually or in groups. In the coaching sessions, mistakes will be corrected, queries answered, and exercises and activities to achieve the established objectives will be suggested. | 0.4 |
Evaluation systems and criteria
In person
The ordinary method of evaluation of the course is the continuous evaluation. Each lecture unit has an associated assignment, which the students must complete until the following lecture. Among the twelve deliveries provided, students may choose eight; additional deliveries are allowed, and will serve in any case to improve the grade. The final grade is composed of the grade of the deliverables (80%) plus the grade of the final exam (20%).
The extraordinary evaluation consists of the writing of a chapter on a given topic (80%), and with a specific focus, plus an extraordinary call exam (20%).
Bibliography and resources
- Catmull, Ed. (2024). Creatividad, S. A. Cómo llevar la inspiración hasta el ifninito y más allá. 1ª ed. ampliada. Barcelona: Conecta.
- Rubin, Rick (2023). The Creative Act: A Way of Being. Edimburgo: Canongate.
- Cameron, Julia (2020). The Artist's Way. Londres: Souvenir Press. (1º Ed.: 1994).
- Ordine, Nuccio (2018). La urilidad de lo inútil. Un manifiesto. Vigésimo primera reimpresión. Barcelona: Acantilado.
- Kleon, Austin (2012): Steal Like an Artist. 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative. Nueva York: Workman Publishing Group.
- Cualquier libro de Hervé Tullet.
- Moore, Alan y Gibbons, Dave (1986). Watchmen. Burbank, Ca.:DC Comics.
- McCloud, Scott (1993). Understanding Comics. Nueva York: William Morrow and Co.
- Real Academia Española (2018). Manual de estilo de la lengua española según la norma panhispánica. Madrid: RAE y ASALE.
- Paterson (2016). Directed by Jim Jarmusch.
- North by Northwest (1959). Directed by Alfred Hitchcock.
- The Phantom Thread (2017). Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson.
- Mean Strets (1973). Directed by Martin Scorsese.
- After Hours (1985). Directed by Martin Scorsese.
- Alice (1988). Directed by Jan Svankmajer.
- Citizen Kane (1941). Directed by Orson Welles.
- Función de noche (1981). Directed by Josefina Molina.
- The French Disptach of the Liberty, Kansas, Evening Sun (2021). Directed by Wes Anderson.