Student Creativity

Student depiction of Nina Simone for the Multi-Media Project

What does student creativity look like and how can we change our assignments to include students' creative work?

In a recent conversation with my colleague, Dr. Brenda Bryant, we shared different assignments from past classes that incorporated ways to encourage students to think outside of the typical box for English courses.  She mentioned taking her classes to view the artistic productions of students, faculty, staff, and professional artists in our Fine Arts Building and Gallery.  What an idea!  Not only is she getting students out of the classroom environment and moving around campus, but Professor Bryant is encouraging her scholars to consider the ways that images and artwork can tell a story or excite our minds.

Another colleague, Dr. Gemini Wahaj, is the force behind the Cat 5 Review, an online and print publication that includes art work, photography, essays, and poems by students.  It is meaningful for student artists to see their work published and for folks around campus to know that there is an important, creative outlet for our community.

I ask students to complete Multi-Media Projects in my literature classes.  Instead of ending the course with a paper, I ask that they venture into a creative assignment that connects something we have learned and discussed throughout the semester - examining a character, an author, a thematic element, identities, anything - and produce some form of 'text' (artwork, poem, video, song, clothing, anything) that connects to their topic.  The image at the top was for an Introduction to African American Literature course and the student connected Black poetry to the music and life of Nina Simone. Below is a student's portrayal of a monster from an ancient Anglo Saxon text.

What kind of amazing work could students produce if we did more to offer them creative options?