When Bryant University’s Jocelyn Bell, Ph.D., teaches “The Human Spark” course, she aims to equip students with an understanding of creativity outside the traditional sense.
“There are students coming into the class who may go into the arts after graduation, but others may choose to go into business or the sciences, so I want them to be able to go into multiple spaces in the world and see the impacts of creativity and innovation on a larger scale,” says the assistant professor of Sociology who teaches within the College of Arts and Sciences’ Politics, Law, and Society department.
Creativity is an innate part of humanity, says Bell, and can be found just about anywhere if you look closely; while it could refer to a piece of artwork, it could also apply to assembling a piece of legislation or developing systems within an organization that were previously nonexistent.
“Creativity is making something that is new to you. It is born and inspired by the interactions you have within the world, including things you've observed, people you've been in contact with, and systems or structures that have shaped you,” says Bell, who has her students engage with practitioners across industries and create episodes for the class’s “From Ideas to Impact” podcast, where undergrads discuss professionals’ pursuits of creativity and innovation within each of their fields.
Below, Bell provides tips for how people can leverage creativity and innovation — no matter the industry — to bring forth personal accomplishment and change in the world:
1. Find a need to fulfill
Individuals should first try to get to know those around them, build empathy for others, and develop their own “love ethic,” a way of engaging in any interaction with other people that supports them living a holistically good life. Understanding someone else can be beneficial for inspiring your own ideas to drive change. Through conversation, it can also lead to uncovering a broader need that could be fulfilled.
“For instance, maybe you see that people aren't getting to know each other within their apartment building or residence halls. A creative way to create change is to host a potluck,” Bell suggests, adding that it’s easier to produce change within your immediate sphere of influence since that’s where you have the most control.
She adds that people who practice their love ethic in their daily lives outside of work will practice it within their industry as well.
2: Remember, creativity is communal
“The idea that there's an individual genius that brings about creativity is a myth,” Bell says, emphasizing that creativity is truly a communal act.
While being alone is an important aspect of the creative process, interacting with other people and adding them into the work you’re doing is essential for developing a product or outcome that is more functional and impactful. She adds that even if you're not the person who created something, you still play a vital role in creating an ecosystem that supports that work.
3. Key elements bring creativity, innovation to life
For creativity and innovation to occur, certain social structures, relationships, contexts, and levels of agency must be present. Bell notes that it’s important to think of the broader context of bringing creativity and innovation to life and considering what is in place to help sustain what one hopes to achieve.
She explains that jazz is an example of how societal conditions and relationships came together to create a successful genre of music. Jazz relied on the Great Migration, when Black people moved out of the South and into other areas within the United States. They brought their music into new spaces where they interacted with other kinds of musicians. But interactions with other musicians were not sufficient; they needed spaces that fostered creativity. With the onset of Prohibition, speakeasies opened as one set of venues where the genre could develop, and jazz flourished within these ecosystems. Additionally, individuals had a sense of agency where they had the desire to share jazz with others.
4. Be intentional about being uncomfortable
Creativity and innovation would be impossible without discomfort, notes Bell.
“Set yourself in a place out of the ordinary, because we need multiple inputs in order to make something creative,” Bell says. “That's why we hear about the work of great writers who had to go away from their usual pace of things and go to a new place.”
Whether your discomfort means trying a new activity you’ve never done before or interacting with new people, these experiences could help unlock new ideas that will only drive creativity and innovation forward.