Creativity is a key concept in media education and the media industries, but it tends to be defined inconsistently; it is referred to variously as a character trait, a type of activity or a quality of certain kinds of work. Despite this confusion it is enshrined in government policy and, increasingly, in the curriculum. The Centre seeks to contribute to a conversation about how sense might be made of creativity: is it anything more than a rhetorical construct? How do we maintain a critical relationship with the concept, whilst encouraging work that is challenging and innovative? For whom, and in what contexts, does this matter?

Recent work by Dr Mark Readman explores these questions. Mark has presented at conferences in the UK, Europe and the USA and written about the problems with creativity in the journals Networks and MERJ. He is now developing his PhD thesis – What’s in a Word? The Discursive Construction of Creativity – into a book.