Possibility Studies
Given possibility studies is the ‘newer’ paradigm compared to new mobilities, it deserves a separate chapter. This paradigm has, in fact, equally old if not older roots, bringing together fields as diverse as futures studies, creativity research, the psyc
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Possibility Studies
Abstract Given possibility studies is the ‘newer’ paradigm compared to new mobilities, it deserves a separate chapter. This paradigm has, in fact, equally old if not older roots, bringing together fields as diverse as futures studies, creativity research, the psychology and philosophy of imagination, utopian thinking, wonder and wondering, etc. The sociocultural theory of the possible that places movement between positions and perspectives at its core is presented here as a key bridge to mobilities. Keywords Possible · Imagination · Creativity · Innovation · Wonder · Sociocultural psychology
As a doctoral student in London I exercised my own mobility and spent three months at a laboratory in Paris.1 This might not sound like the longest of journeys, but it certainly offered me a new position from which to develop fresh perspectives on my topic of research—creativity. The social science approach taken at the LSE made me acutely aware of the role of society and culture in creative work. But it is colleagues from the Sorbonne, investigating individual differences, who opened up the possibility of focusing on personal profiles and domains of activity. 1 For which I am grateful to Todd Lubart and his colleagues.
© The Author(s) 2020 V. P. Gl˘aveanu, Mobilities and Human Possibility, Palgrave Studies in Creativity and Culture, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-52082-3_2
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˘ V. P. GLAVEANU
In Paris, I became part of the team for a project called CREAPRO.2 It examined creative expression in five domains—art, design, science, film scriptwriting and music composition—and studied, with the help of a variety of methods (including interviews, questionnaires and diaries), the processes of both eminent creators and students in each area. The goal was to notice similarities and dissimilarities in creative activity depending on individual differences and professional context. All the creators in the study, one way or another, explored new possibilities and tried to make the most out of them in a creative manner. In achieving this, they developed new perspectives on their area of study or expression and placed these perspectives in dialogue with each other. For scientists, these dialogues took the shape of comparing formulas, for designers, they became embodied in prototypes and objects, artists played with different artistic visions and musicians had to choose between various scores, rhythms and instruments. The main difficulty of the project was how to capture patterns within this incredible diversity. I proposed at the time to take inspiration from John Dewey’s seminal work on art as experience.3 He usefully postulated a process that articulates doing and undergoing, in other words, action on the world and perceiving the outcomes of our action. With my current vocabulary, I would translate these into two positions: that of the actor and the observer. Indeed, Dewey himself noted that creators constantly move between these positions and, in doing so, gain original perspectives and valuable insights.
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