Creative Expression and Society Courses

CRE201H1F
Introduction to Creativity and Society
Professor Adam Sol
M 2-4

Can a one or two-paragraph course description give an engaging and informative explanation of what a course on creativity is? How would you do that? What is Creativity, anyway? Is it an attribute that we all have and can cultivate? Or is it a gift granted to a chosen few, like perfect pitch? Can it be taught, nurtured, stifled, studied? Is there a relationship between creativity and mental illness? How can creativity – whatever it is – contribute to artistic, political, economic, and social worlds? These are the types of questions this course will investigate, though whether we come up with any definitive answers will depend on whether we can catch a tiger in red weather.  

Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)

CRE209H1F
How Stories Work
Professor Mona LaFosse
W 10-12

We find stories everywhere—in our educational journeys, in our families, amongst our friends, at social gatherings, at work, in entertainment, in rituals, and even in our dreams. How do stories work—work on us, work between us, work for us? To consider this question, we will follow a story of ultimate betrayal. In the earliest stories of Jesus, as written by early Christians, we search for the trajectory and motivation behind one of the most famous betrayals in Western literature. Judas Iscariot, one of Jesus’ closest followers, handed him over—with a kiss—to be publicly tortured and killed by the political authorities. We follow this story of betrayal from ancient Judaism, through centuries of Christian thought, to modern film (and, yes, even to Lady Gaga) as we consider what makes this story work.

Distribution Requirement Status: Humanities
Breadth Requirement: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)

CRE210H1S
Holography for 3D Visualization
Prof Emanuel Istrate
T 10-12

An introduction to the theory and practice of holography. Human perception & 3D visualization; fundamentals of 3D modeling; ray and wave optics; interference, diffraction, coherence; transmission and reflection holograms; colour perception; stereograms. Applications of holography in art, medicine, and technology. Computer simulation, design, and construction of holograms. This course does not require specific background or preparation in the sciences or arts. This course has a mandatory Materials Fee of $80 to cover non-reusable materials. The fee will be included on students' ACORN invoice.

Exclusion: JOP210H1, IVP210H1
Distribution Requirements: Science
Breadth Requirements: The Physical and Mathematical Universes (5)

CRE235H1F
Innovation in Society
Professor Sunil Johal
R 6-8

This course investigates innovation as it relates to emerging social, scientific, and environmental trends. Students will acquire key frameworks for understanding the evolution of innovation, the place of creativity, and the social impacts of disruption. Through case studies of innovation (such as the sharing economy and cryptocurrencies) and considering related issues (such as ethics and inclusion) students will develop approaches to understanding the societal impacts of creative disruption.

Exclusion: VIC235H1, MUN101H1, MUN102H1
Distribution Requirement Status: Social Science
Breadth Requirement: Society and its Institutions (3)

CRE247H1F
Creativity in the Sciences
Professor Emanuel Istrate
T 10-12

This seminar course explores various aspects of creativity in the sciences. We will discuss how to define the term “creativity” and will use the definition to compare creativity in the sciences to creativity in the arts, business and engineering. Using as examples major developments in the history of science, we will consider factors that enable creativity in scientists. We will also contrast the kinds of creative work scientists do in different areas of science, and at various stages of a project. To better understand creativity, we will use results from psychological and neuroscience studies of creativity. We will discuss various ways in which the creativity of a scientist can be evaluated, and will use this as a starting point to evaluate the importance of scientific discoveries more generally, in both fundamental and applied science areas. We will consider the timing of scientific discoveries, looking at “ideas whose time has come,” to discuss whether creative discoveries happen at random, or if they occur at predictable times. Students will perform research on the major developments in an area of science, analyzing the types of creative work that were done, along with factors that enabled the developments. They will be encouraged to “represent” that area of science in class discussions during the term.

Prerequisite: Any 1.0 credit combination of courses carrying a breadth requirement (BR) category of 4 or 5.
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Thought, Belief and Behaviour (2)

CRE270H1F
Listening: A Critical History
Professor Sherry Lee
T 10-12

CRE271H1S
Reading the Wild
Professor Andrea Most
W3-5

What stories does Western culture tell about “the wild”? What stories does “the wild” tell about itself? How might magical, spirit-filled, and sacred stories open pathways for human beings to engage in conversation with the wild earth? This experiential course focuses on the kinds of stories traditionally told aloud in the winter darkness around a fire: ancient myths, dramatic romances, folk and fairy tales, ghost stories, tales that often contain unmistakable warnings about the dangers of suppressing the spirits of the earth. Each week we will tell a well-known story, think together about the place of the wild in the tale, and then re-tell it from a new perspective. In the first half of the course, special guests will help us to engage with wild storytelling through various senses and genres – oral, culinary, dramatic, visual. In the second half, students will work in groups to inhabit the wild themselves, creating embodied, multi-sensory versions of these well-known tales.

Please note: This course may require a modest ancillary fee to cover the cost of possible experiential learning opportunities.

CRE273H1S
The Body: An Exercise
Professor Joanna Papayiannis
M 10-12

CRE275H1F
Creative Writing: Short Fiction
TBA
R 10-12

This course is for aspiring fiction writers who wish to deepen their craft. Each seminar will feature a lecture on technical issues such as plot and characterization, as well as an analysis of a short story by a classic writer. Students will write their own stories, with editorial input from the instructor. 

CRE275H1S
Creative Writing: Short Fiction
Professor Maria Cichosz
T 10-12

This course is for aspiring fiction writers who wish to deepen their craft. Each seminar will feature a lecture on technical issues such as plot and characterization, as well as an analysis of a short story by a published writer. Students will engage in weekly reading and writing exercises and produce their own stories through continuous drafting and revision in a workshop-style seminar with regular editorial feedback from the instructor and their peers.

CRE276H1S
Writing for the Stage and Screen
Professor Daniel Tysdal
W 10-12

CRE279H1F
Creative Non-Fiction
Professor Maria Cichosz
M 6-8

CRE279H1S
Creative Non-Fiction
TBA
R 10-12

CRE280H1F
Creative Writing: Poetry
Professor Al Moritz
R 6-8

A workshop course (with a literature component) in writing poetry. Designed for those with a serious ambition to be writers as evinced in work they are already doing. The literature component emphasizes multicultural dimensions of contemporary writing in English. 

Exclusion: VIC280H1
Distribution Requirement: Humanities
Breadth Requirement: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)

CRE282H1F
Emerging Genres in Creative Writing
Professor Maria Cichosz
M 12-2

This course explores speculative fiction, a genre that has gained widespread literary and mainstream popularity in recent years. Eschewing the obsessive technical focus of “hard” science fiction and the strict realism of literary fiction, speculative fiction is an in-between genre that has proven to be a uniquely effective vehicle for responding to the complex realities of our time: climate change, social justice, and the cultural effects of technology. Students will read and watch some of the most powerful works of contemporary speculative fiction from authors including Margaret Atwood, Charlie Brooker, and Bong Joon-ho while conceptualizing and writing their own speculative short stories in a workshop-style seminar with regular editorial feedback from the instructor and their peers.

Prerequisite: Completion of 4.0 credits
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)

CRE280H1S
Creative Writing: Poetry
Professor George Elliot Clarke
T 1-3

A workshop course (with a literature component) in writing poetry. Designed for those with a serious ambition to be writers as evinced in work they are already doing. The literature component emphasizes multicultural dimensions of contemporary writing in English. 

Exclusion: VIC280H1
Distribution Requirement: Humanities
Breadth Requirement: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)

CRE281H1S
Popular Music, Technology, and the Human
Professor Gregory Lee Newsome
W 1-3

In this course we explore the intersection of popular music and technology. We consider how we curate personal experiences via mobile device, how we create with technology to reflect our identities, and how we interpret concepts such as authenticity and liveness. Concurrent with this exploration we develop a practice in music production using a digital audio workstation (DAW), surveying MIDI, sound & digital audio, sequencing, synthesis, recording & sampling, signal processing, and mixing & mastering. Previous experience as a musician is not necessary.

CRE282H1S
Emerging Genres in Creative Writing: Documentary Poetry
Professor Adam Sol
T 3-5

This iteration of the Emerging Genres course will focus on Documentary Poetry, a subgenre that incorporates non-fictional sources (images, documents, interviews, and other forms of reportage) into poetic endeavours. We’ll look at some examples from the Modernists all the way up to contemporary work, from Muriel Rukeyser to M. NourbeSe Philip, and will experiment with creating our own documentary poems. Some of the examples we’ll look at are book-length projects, and we’ll talk about the potential for larger endeavours. But we’ll start small, thinking about how bringing “outside sources” into our poetics might enable us to generate perspective, complexity, and meaning.

CRE335H1S
Creativity and Collaboration in Social Enterprise
Professor Sunil Johal
R 6-8

CRE371H1F
Documenting Reality
Professor Adrien Zakar
R 12-1

CRE372H1F
Reviewing, Reception, and Reading Communities
TBA
T 10-3

While readers and audiences often are considered to be cultural "consumers," this course will consider reception as an active, creative, and often collaborative activity, by examining formal and informal practices of reviewing and response that may include fan/fanfic cultures, book clubs, community and nation-wide reading programs, and award competitions. Such contexts of reception will be considered along with their social, economic, and ethical implications.

Prerequisite: Completion of 4.0 credits
Exclusion: VIC372H1
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)

CRE374H1S
Cultural Encounters: Identity and Transformation in the Arts
Professor Adam Sol
M 2-4

This course focuses on specific scenes of cultural cross-pollination and on how these encounters are reflected in the arts. Areas of investigation might include the Harlem Renaissance, French Surrealism in the Caribbean, Bollywood / Hollywood, Indigenous Hip-Hop, or contemporary Toronto as a convergence of creative energy. How have artists from marginalized communities taken up and adapted modes of expression for their own creative purposes? How can new forms of artistic representation contest and undermine systemic social and political inequalities? This course focuses on liberating aesthetic innovations that respond to historically embedded cultural encounters.

For this year’s iteration of the course, we are going to focus on the dynamic, fraught, and productive encounters between Jews and Blacks in the early decades of the 20th century (mostly in New York City). These two groups were part of a massive influx of migrants who would carry their trauma and their creativity to New York. In turn, artists and entrepreneurs from both communities would combine forces to develop art forms as foundational to American culture as film, vaudeville, and jazz.

Prerequisite: Completion of 9.0 credits
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)

MCS223H1S
Signs, Meanings, and Culture
Professor Ivan Kalmar
T 2-4

This course will introduce the principles of semiotic thought, applying them to the study of language, social organization, myth, and material culture. Examples may be drawn from everyday life as well as from classical and popular art and music, and from screen culture.

Exclusion: VIC223Y1
Distribution Requirements: Social Science
Breadth Requirements: Thought, Belief and Behaviour (2)

MCS373H1S
Materialities of Music
Professor Ellen Lockhart
W 11-1

Music is often understood as the most ephemeral and transcendent of the fine arts, even if that means overlooking the physical realities of music's production and dissemination. We will examine these materialities here, from paper and technologies of print, through to instruments for making and studying sound, and architectural spaces for its market circulation; we will see how music and its instruments provided the raw material for the emergence of a nineteenth-century science of acoustics.

Prerequisite: Completion of 9.0 credits
Recommended Preparation: 0.5 credit in Creative Expression and Society, Material Culture, or Music.
Exclusion: VIC373H1
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)

CRE449H1S
Special Topics Seminar: Creative Citizenship
Rawi Hage
F 11-1

Visual Culture and the Written Word: Exploring the Aesthetics of Creativity

This course will explore multiple perspectives and ways of seeing by positioning participants at the crossroads of literary and visual forms. Focusing primarily on novels, photographic work, and film, we will aim to think as artists and writers for whom creativity and experimentation are a means of thinking, refusing, blending, reconstructing and conversing. The seminar will emphasise the exploration aesthetics and creativity, particularly creativity’s syncretic relationship to social and historical events. We will welcome practising artists into our classroom in order to further expand our capacities for seeing.

Applications Link: https://courseapps.vicu.utoronto.ca/secure/StudentHome
Application Deadline: August 15, 2023

Prerequisite: Completion of 9.0 credits
Distribution Requirements: Humanities
Breadth Requirements: Creative and Cultural Representations (1)

CRE479H1S
Fiction: A Master Class
TBA
R 2-4

Application Link: https://courseapps.vicu.utoronto.ca/secure/StudentHome
Application Deadline: August 1, 2023

CRE480H1S
Poetry: A Master Class
Professor Al Moritz
T 6-8

A workshop course in writing poetry. Designed for those with a serious ambition to be writers as evinced in work they are already doing. Does not offer instruction for beginning writers. Presupposes perfect and sophisticated written language skills. Admission by application.

Application Link: https://courseapps.vicu.utoronto.ca/secure/StudentHome
Application Deadline: August 1, 2023