Theory+Practice Book Club: The Rise (Session 1)

Event Status
Scheduled
Books in bookshelves

Over the course of the 2021-22 academic year, the FIC will host two book clubs that explore the topic of creativity in teaching and learning contexts from the perspective of theory and praxis. In the fall semester, we will read "The Rise: Creativity, the Gift of Failure, and the Search for Mastery" (Sarah Lewis). In the spring semester, we will read "Assessment in Creative Disciplines: Quantifying and Qualifying the Aesthetic" (David Chase, J. Joseph Hoey IV and Jill L. Ferguson).

We can reasonably accommodate up to 10 attendees this fall and purchase books and/or ebooks. We will meet four times this fall semester to discuss the book: October 6, October 13, October 27, and November 3 (all meetings will take place in Zoom, 11:00am-12:30pm).

Please RSVP by October 4 to be included in the Fall 2021 book club.

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Theory+Practice Book Selection: The Rise: Creativity, the Gift of Failure, and the Search for Mastery

Cover of The Rise

From celebrated art historian, curator, and teacher Sarah Lewis, a fascinating examination of how our most iconic creative endeavors—from innovation to the arts—are not achievements but conversions, corrections after failed attempts.



The gift of failure is a riddle: it will always be both the void and the start of infinite possibility. The Rise—part investigation into a psychological mystery, part an argument about creativity and art, and part a soulful celebration of the determination and courage of the human spirit—makes the case that many of the world’s greatest achievements have come from understanding the central importance of failure.



Written over the course of four years, this exquisite biography of an idea is about the improbable foundations of a creative human endeavor. Each chapter focuses on the inestimable value of often ignored ideas—the power of surrender, how play is essential for innovation, the “near win” can help propel you on the road to mastery, the importance of grit and creative practice. The Rise shares narratives about figures past and present that range from choreographers, writers, painters, inventors, and entrepreneurs; Frederick Douglass, Samuel F.B. Morse, Diane Arbus, and J.K. Rowling, for example, feature alongside choreographer Paul Taylor, Nobel Prize–winning physicists Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov, and Arctic explorer Ben Saunders.



With valuable lessons for pedagogy and parenting, for innovation and discovery, and for self-direction and creativity, The Rise “gives the old chestnut ‘If at first you don’t succeed…’ a jolt of adrenaline” (Elle).

Date and Time
Oct. 6, 2021, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Location
Zoom
Event tags
Book discussion