Explaining Creativity: The Science of Human Innovation (Second Edition)
Published by Oxford University Press in 2012
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Explaining Creativity is a dramatic milestone in the history of creativity research: a book that reviews the full range of scientific knowledge about creativity. The first edition, published in 2006, was the first overview of creativity research. In this new edition, Sawyer added seven chapters, including chapters on the cognitive neuroscience of creativity, creativity testing, and education and creativity. He also added eight appendixes documenting the sixty-year history of modern creativity research — the books, scholars, and conferences that have advanced our understanding of human innovation. The book is written to be accessible to readers in a wide range of academic disciplines and creative fields. Explaining Creativity would also be appropriate as a textbook in undergraduate and graduate courses.
Explaining Creativity considers not only the arts, but also science, stage performance, the workplace, and creativity in everyday life. Dr. Sawyer's approach is interdisciplinary; in addition to psychological studies of creativity, he draws on research by anthropologists on creativity in non-Western cultures, and research by sociologists about the situations, contexts, and networks of creative activity. He moves beyond the individual to consider the social and cultural contexts of creativity, including the role of collaboration in the creative process.