Genius-level achievement is a natural draw for undergraduate students, both as a cultural phenomenon and as a topic domain within the science of psychology. Yet within the teaching of psychology literature, the psychology of genius has been largely ignored. I designed a course that combines primary source material drawn from existing empirical findings in the genius and creativity literature with a novel method of inquiry for undergraduates, psychobiography. As an intellectually provocative area of study, the psychology of genius offers teachers a unique way to teach about theory and research in contemporary psychology through a case-based approach. This article describes course readings and assignments, topical areas of discussion, evidence of student learning, and student perceptions of knowledge gains.
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