Connecting Disciplines
CCS faculty member Steve Smith to present on CCS at Creativity Conference
by Emma Shapiro
Biology, Psychology, and Art: three distinct disciplines that do not always seemingly share a clear common thread between them. According to College of Creative Studies (CCS) faculty member Steve Smith, however, sleep can relate to all three. Smith’s Winter 2018 course, Sleep: Biological, Psychological, and Artistic Perspectives, explored this topic extensively. Smith, who splits his time between CCS and UC Santa Barbara’s Department of Counseling, Clinical and School Psychology, will present the CCS educational model at the Creativity Conference in Ashland, Oregon, in early August.
The Creativity Conference will feature presentations and workshops on creativity research in a range of academic fields, including psychology, cognitive science, education, and medicine. “Research and thinking about creativity has grown substantially in recent years,” said Smith, and the conference will be an opportunity for educators from around the world to share their work.
Smith will present the CCS educational model and the 50-year history of the College, and will showcase a paper co-authored by CCS students Kailyn Kausen (Third-year Writer), Carly Larsson (Fourth-year Computer Scientist), and Charlie Moffat (Fourth-year Biologist), as well as recent alumnus Ted Tinker (Mathematics ‘18). Smith is also hoping the conference will inspire new ideas and material to bring back to CCS. “I’m honored to represent CCS at the conference, and I hope to bring back information to inform my classes or even the work of the College,” Smith said.
Smith is a Lecturer with Security of Employment in the Department of Counseling, Clinical and School Psychology at UCSB. For the first 12 years Smith was at UCSB, he didn’t reach out to CCS because the College does not offer any Social Science majors. “I figured I wouldn’t fit in,” Smith remembered. “However, after returning to UCSB after a couple of years away from campus, I dug a little deeper and began to wonder if CCS might be a place for me to teach some […] courses that weren’t directly tied to psychology and wouldn’t be a fit for the curriculum in my home department.” From the moment he met with Interim Dean Kathy Foltz, Smith was “hooked.” He said: “[Professor Foltz] and the rest of the faculty have been really supportive about having me around.” Foltz was pleased to have Smith teach in the College. “I was excited to have Professor Smith join CCS,” said Foltz. “His transdisciplinary courses and approach to education have been well received by students and faculty alike.”
Since joining the CCS faculty, Smith has taught three different CCS courses: Adventures in Epistemology: Science, Mythology, and Intuition, Creativity Studies, and Sleep: Biological, Psychological, and Artistic Perspectives. Due to the interdisciplinary nature of Smith’s CCS courses, they are not constrained by the often rigid requirements of a particular major or subject. “I’m not bound to a specific curricular need, so that frees me up to do fun stuff,” explained Smith. His interests include a broad array of subjects, specifically biology, literature, mythology, and art.
Although Smith enjoys developing new courses and exploring a variety of subjects, the students are the real highlight of teaching at CCS. “The students are brilliant and passionate scholars who have been an absolute joy to spend time with,” Smith commented. “They’re creative, smart, a little goofy, and willing to take risks.” Additionally, Smith enjoys the atmosphere that the College offers. “The whole ethos of CCS carries that same feeling: serious scholarship with a feeling of playfulness about learning.”
Smith hopes to continue teaching CCS courses that connect dissimilar disciplines and encourage students to examine the world from different perspectives for the rest of his career. “My involvement with CCS has been a huge breath of fresh air in my career,” Smith remarked. “I hope that my involvement will continue for the rest of my time at UCSB.”
____________
Contact
(805) 893-2035
will.proctor@ccs.ucsb.edu