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Chapter 13. Figuring it out

Old modes and new codes for multimodality, technology and creative performativity in 21st century India
  • Rukmini Bhaya Nair
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Performing Metaphoric Creativity across Modes and Contexts
This chapter is in the book Performing Metaphoric Creativity across Modes and Contexts

Abstract

Satya Nadella, Vikram Chandra and Manjul Bhargava, three public figures of Indian origin, have recently suggested that significant similarities exist between the creative processes involved in writing poetry and in producing computer codes. This paper explores some of the consequences of drawing on unfamiliar ‘non-western’ cultural traditions to augment current theories of creativity, coding and performativity. More specifically, it examines the premise that ‘creativity’ relies on an able grasp of rules, extends to a risk-taking capacity to break these very rules and, sometimes, to combine them with other embodied modes such as music and dance. The chapter argues that this premise is investigated in Indian treatises from Bharata to Nagojibhatta, who may have been early advocates of multimodality in the pre-modern world.

Abstract

Satya Nadella, Vikram Chandra and Manjul Bhargava, three public figures of Indian origin, have recently suggested that significant similarities exist between the creative processes involved in writing poetry and in producing computer codes. This paper explores some of the consequences of drawing on unfamiliar ‘non-western’ cultural traditions to augment current theories of creativity, coding and performativity. More specifically, it examines the premise that ‘creativity’ relies on an able grasp of rules, extends to a risk-taking capacity to break these very rules and, sometimes, to combine them with other embodied modes such as music and dance. The chapter argues that this premise is investigated in Indian treatises from Bharata to Nagojibhatta, who may have been early advocates of multimodality in the pre-modern world.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents vii
  3. Preface ix
  4. Chapter 1. Introduction 1
  5. Chapter 2. Metaphor in multimodal creativity 19
  6. Chapter 3. Music, metaphor, and creativity 43
  7. Chapter 4. Singing for peace 71
  8. Chapter 5. Metaphor emergence in cinematic discourse 97
  9. Chapter 6. What makes an advert go viral? 119
  10. Chapter 7. Metaphorical creativity in political cartoons 153
  11. Chapter 8. Disentangling metaphoric communication 175
  12. Chapter 9. Sensory landscapes 197
  13. Chapter 10. Creative journeys 221
  14. Chapter 11. Multimodal creativity in figurative use 249
  15. Chapter 12. “Born from the heart” 281
  16. Chapter 13. Figuring it out 311
  17. Index 343
https://doi.org/10.1075/ftl.7.13nai

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents vii
  3. Preface ix
  4. Chapter 1. Introduction 1
  5. Chapter 2. Metaphor in multimodal creativity 19
  6. Chapter 3. Music, metaphor, and creativity 43
  7. Chapter 4. Singing for peace 71
  8. Chapter 5. Metaphor emergence in cinematic discourse 97
  9. Chapter 6. What makes an advert go viral? 119
  10. Chapter 7. Metaphorical creativity in political cartoons 153
  11. Chapter 8. Disentangling metaphoric communication 175
  12. Chapter 9. Sensory landscapes 197
  13. Chapter 10. Creative journeys 221
  14. Chapter 11. Multimodal creativity in figurative use 249
  15. Chapter 12. “Born from the heart” 281
  16. Chapter 13. Figuring it out 311
  17. Index 343
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