This book critiques creativity as a 'keyword' in contemporary society. This is illustrated through an analysis of the uses of creativity within cultural, urban and educational policy. While there have been critiques and debates of the uses of creativity within these fields, the author innovatively bridges these disciplines by providing both an overview of the philosophical and ideological underpinnings of these debates and illustration of how they manifest in these distinct, yet interrelated policy spheres. Drawing on Raymond Williams' theory of culture as social communication and keyword approach, the book illustrates how the creative turn in contemporary policy can divert attention from structural analysis and provide a rhetorical gloss for inequitable social policies. It will appeal to academics, students and practitioners involved in education, cultural and urban studies.

Mark Connolly is Reader in the School of Social Sciences at Cardiff University, UK.