This class tracks the development of the concept of the artistic genius and evaluates how it continues to pervade contemporary thinking in art and performance. Working historically, the class traces the overlapping forces that have shaped this enduring concept. By reading theoretical texts and looking at artworks and performances, we question how the figure of the “artist” has become inextricably bound to these ideas of “genius.” Feminist, critical race, decolonial, and queer methods guide us in approaching these ideas as together we consider the stakes involved for ourselves and each other in our contemporary world. In addition to questioning where the concept “genius” comes from, we explore how it has been perpetuated by capitalism, art history, and various institutions. Considering how the concept falls into criticism and crisis, and how it endures, we finally ask whether we can create things without being “geniuses,” or, even, without being artists.