A Critical Theory of Creativity Utopia, Aesthetics, Atheism and Design

by Howells, Richard

• ISBN13: 9781137446169
• ISBN10: 1137446161
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2015-06-26
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

A Critical Theory of Creativity argues that a Utopian drive is aesthetically encoded within the language of form. Combining multidisciplinary theory with case studies ranging from planned communities to the relationship between Navajo theology and design, this book demonstrates how humankind is striving to fashion a better world from the raw materials we inherit. Building upon the work of Ernst Bloch, Howells sees the 'fall' as a liberation and Prometheus as a hero. He takes religion seriously as a cultural narrative, but replaces divine creation with human creativity. Coupled with this liberation from Eden comes a very human obligation that cannot be delegated to God, to nature or to market forces. A Critical Theory of Creativity's intellectual compass ranges from Roger Fry to Philip Pullman and Slavoj Žižek, returning always to an empowering, human-centred universe. As Bloch declared in The Spirit of Utopia, 'Life has been put into our hands.'

Author Biography

Richard Howells is Reader in Culture, Media and Creative Industries at King's College London, where he specialises in cultural sociology, especially visual and popular culture, together with cultural and critical theory. He studied at Harvard and Cambridge Universities and lives in London and West Sussex with his wife, the designer Sarah Howson.

Table of Contents

Introduction
1. Visions -and Derisions- of Utopia
2. Ernst Bloch and Utopian Critical Theory
3. Homo Aestheticus
4. Case Study: Navajo Design, Culture and Theology
5. Archetypes, the Unconscious and Psychoanalysis
6. Roger Fry and the Language of Form
7. From Genesis to Job
8. Homo Absconditus
9. Conclusion: The Republic of Heaven