1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 161 10 Teaching Creativity and Building Community in the Undergraduate Classroom Self-Awareness, Empathy, and Character through Relational and Contemplative Practice SEAN PARK Interdisciplinary Expressive Arts I had the opportunity in 2013 to teach a few undergraduate courses in the Interdisciplinary Expressive Arts (IDEA) program at Kwantlen Polytechnic University in Surrey, British Columbia. Founded and devel- oped by Dr. Ross Laird—a creative writing instructor with a background in counseling psychology, Eastern contemplative practices, addictions, technology, and mythology—IDEA courses offer undergraduate students unique and transformative learning experiences. One of the courses I taught as a sessional was IDEA 1100—Inter- disciplinary Foundations. The course, capped at 35 and open to all undergraduate students, asks: What’s the point of university? Why are we here? What should we do? These questions are explored through the lens of interdisciplinary inquiry and creativity. Led by the initiatives and interests of students, the course included a diverse number of current interdisciplinary approaches to help students ask—and answer, in their own ways—questions about purpose, meaning, and direction. Dr. Laird encouraged me to design and offer these courses in my own way within a framework of student-designed projects, individualized curriculum, pur- poseful play, and other innovative approaches that would make possible SP_GUNN_CH10_161-184.indd 161 6/13/18 3:19 PM