What do we speak of when we speak about creativity?

Abstract

In this article, we develop an understanding of creativity as an everyday phenomenon. Our argument is two-sided: On the one hand, we argue that creativity grows out of routines and habitual practices, and that such routines are often threatened in modern society with its emphasis on novelty and the superficial. On the other hand, we argue that routines and habitual practices can favorably be studied from the perspective of qualitative inquiry in everyday life, using the researcher’s own life and experiences as the starting point of research. We end by drawing a contrast between research as a craft and a MacDonaldization of research, and we point out that the latter is a significant threat to creative scholarly work.