1 LDST 101-01 Leadership and the Humanities Dr. Wren Fall Term, 2011 Course location: Jepson Hall 107 Class meeting time: MW 10:30-11:45 Office location: Jepson 241 Office hours: MW 3:00-4:30 and by appointment E-mail: [email protected] Course Synopsis This course is intended to be a beginning point for the examination of the issues and concepts involved in the study of leadership. Note that this is a course addressing the foundations of leadership studies, and is not an introductory survey of existing literature on leadership studies. This means that our efforts this term will involve the careful reading of several classic texts that touch upon the problems and possibilities of leadership as a manifestation of – and response to – the problems and prospects of the human condition. The readings and class discussions will focus on a series of central questions designed to isolate the basic premises of leadership, which will in turn enable us to apply our new-found understanding to contemporary leadership issues and challenges. Completion of this course should also lay an appropriate ―foundation‖ for further work in the field of leadership studies. The “Spinning Your Web” Component This is a special section of LDST 101, in that it is devoted to being the academic component of the men’s living-learning community devoted to leadership, better known as ―Spinning Your Web.‖ As ―Webbers,‖ you will have many co-curricular and extra-curricular opportunities to develop a sense of community and to explore the notion of leadership. This course will seek to contribute to these objectives. As the semester rolls on, we will have several out-of-the-classroom opportunities to experience and think about leadership. One theme that will be unique to this particular section of LDST 101 will be an ongoing theme of applying our leadership insights to the historical case-study of the American Civil War. Although we will have no readings specifically devoted to this topic (the necessary facts and context will be supplied by the instructor), we can take advantage of living in the Capital of the Confederacy during the sesquicentennial of the Civil War to explore some of the leadership challenges faced by the participants. This2 will include a field trip to the Confederate [Virginia State] Capitol, where the Capitol historian will give us a special tour based on the leadership decisions made in that building during the War. Depending upon time and resources available (and student interest), we can also seek special tours of the Confederate White House, the American Civil War Center, or a special exhibit at the Virginia Historical Society. On campus, I will seek to get us a session with University of Richmond president Edward Ayers, a renowned historian of the Civil War. In class, we will periodically begin our sessions by assembling as the ―Confederate Cabinet‖ and read actual dispatches from 1861 and discussing them from a leadership perspective. In addition to the Civil war theme, we will seek to provide opportunities for you to interact with campus and community leaders, and may attend a lecture in the Jepson Forum series on leadership. All in all, the Spinning Your Web program should provide a richness to your experience at the University of Richmond unmatched by that of your fellow first-year students. Texts Plato, The Republic, trans. and intro. by Desmond Lee, 2d ed. (London: Penguin Books, c. 375 B.C.E./2003) Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince, trans. and intro. by David Wooton (Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, 1513/1995) John Locke, Second Treatise of Government, ed. and intro. by C. B. Macpherson (Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, 1690/1980) Jean-Jacques Rousseau, On the Social Contract, trans. by Donald A. Cress, intro. by Peter Gay (Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, c. 1756/1987) J. Thomas Wren, et al., eds., Traditional Classics on Leadership (Cheltenham, U.K.: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2004) In addition, on occasion there will be supplemental readings assigned, which will be placed on electronic reserve. Course Requirements (1) Student response papers. Our class discussions will benefit from the fact that a few students in each class period will have engaged the readings in a more formal manner in the form of a response paper. These papers—each student will do three over the course of the semester—are to be just that: your response to the issues posed and the responses provided by the assigned author(s). It will be your3 responsibility to (a) identify an issue that you think is central [this can be accomplished in most cases in a brief paragraph]; (b) summarize quite briefly the author(s) response(s) to your chosen issue; and (c) assess the strengths and weaknesses of that response. These papers will be brief—three to four pages, double-spaced—and require no outside research. They are intended to serve the dual purpose of giving you practice at such analysis and helping to guide our class discussions. THESE PAPERS MUST BE SUBMITTED TO ME ELECTRONICALLY BY 5:00 P.M. ON THE DAY PRECEDING CLASS. (10% each; total of 30%) (2) application exercise. One of our tasks this term is to make the effort to apply the theoretical content of our readings to actual leadership challenges and issues of the present. This will be accomplished by student ―teaching teams‖ who will be responsible for conducting class exercises and discussion. At the conclusion of our class discussions of each major text, we will set aside a class day for application. The class will read some supplemental materials on reserve pertaining to a contemporary leadership issue. It will be the responsibility of the teaching team to plan and conduct a class session that examines and reflects upon the insights of the text for our understanding of the chosen issue. (5%) (3) midterm examination. The purpose of the midterm examination is to allow you to pause and pull together the various strands of thought we have been pursuing. The process of review and, hopefully, the act of responding to the examination itself are intended to help you to consolidate your learning in the course. (25%) (4) final examination. The purpose of the final exam is to cause you to reflect upon the larger issues of the course. It also is intended to help you refine your own individual conceptualization of leadership. It will be