Ugo Corte begins his tenured associate professorship in sociology at the University of Stavanger, Department of Media and Social Sciences, after having spent the academic year 2017–2018 at the Helsinki Collegium as an Erik Allardt Fellow. While at the Collegium, he focused on an ethnographic project exploring the social world of big wave surfing and addressing ideas on risk taking, fun, and creativity. In Stavanger, he plans to finish a book on the topic and teach a new course he is designing on the sociology of creativity.
Corte describes his time at the Collegium as one of the most significant and best years of his career.
“I value the highly inspiring environment, the brilliant and hard working colleagues, and the effective and joyous supporting staff,” Corte praises. “The Collegium is a scholar’s oasis, a setting where we can focus on reading, thinking, and writing while exchanging highly different academic perspectives,” he adds.
His stay at the Collegium was not only productive in terms of his research project, but also led to the conception of a symposium with three other Collegium fellows Professor of Education Kirsi Tirri, Postdoctoral Art Fellow Matthias De Groof, and Core Fellow, philosopher Susanna Lindberg. The symposium “Creativity in Art and Science: Genius, Collaborative Processes and Networks” will take place at the Collegium on December 10–11, 2018.
The symposium brings together scholars from different fields to discuss ways to conceptualize and analyze the major social antecedents of creative work. The speakers will address questions such as effective ways to nourish the creativity of students and researchers at universities, the conditions of creative work in interdisciplinary settings, and group processes and interaction in highly creative groups that produce innovations in a field.
More information on the Symposium will be posted on the Collegium website later this fall.
Contact:
Project Planner Kaisa Kaakinen, kaisa.kaakinen@helsinki.fi, 0294122493