This course provides an opportunity for in-depth study of the way creativity and innovation were practiced in earlier periods, in order to explore creativity as a historically and culturally contingent category and provide a comparative grounding for contemporary concepts of creativity. Historical case studies will range from Classical antiquity to the nineteenth century and may include topics such as how new forms and ideas emerge in the arts, architecture, and design; innovation in scientific knowledge and its representation; practices of improvisation in theatre and other artforms; the evolution of new genres and media.