Process Beyond content—the facts, theo-ries, and findings—we will also examine the process of leadership study: how social scientists gener-ate theories and do research. We will not only learn things like "Theory Y predicts this will hap-pen" or "Such and such study sup-ported this hypothesis," but also the assumptions that guide the research. Skills I hope you will participate actively in this course, and so develop a number of academic and scholarly skills, including gains in critical thinking, ethical thought, writing and communication, information search and retrieval, technological skills, scientific skills, and study skills. You may also develop lead-ership skills, but this course is not a “how to” course. Content Scholars and sages have long puz-zled over the nature of leadership. Philosophers raised questions about the nature of leadership itself: its rationality, its utility, and its moral implications; political theorists examined the ideas about political processes and their underpinnings; historians exam-ined the life course of those indi-viduals who were able to change the outcomes of events both large and small. As the social sciences emerged during the 1900s, these scholars were joined by research-ers who took a more empirical approach to leadership. One of the primary aims of this course is to review, comprehen-sively, the results of their work, as well as examine the methods they use to extend our understanding of leadership. We will consider such questions as: - What is leadership, and how do different societies conceptual-ized leadership? - What is power, and how does “power” different from “leadership?” - Do leaders have distinctive personalities? - How do leaders communicate with, and persuade, others? - Why do leaders emerge within bands, tribes, chiefdoms, and states? - Are women and men equally suited to lead? - Does leadership have genetic and/or evolutionary roots? - How does leadership differ depending on domain? - How do psychological factors shape followers’ perceptions of their leaders? Course Goals Course “Mission” The course is a key component of the overall University of Rich-mond curriculum. Hence, it sus-tains “a collaborative learning and research community that supports the personal development of its members and the creation of new knowledge. A Richmond education prepares students to live lives of purpose, thoughtful inquiry, and responsible leadership in a global and pluralistic society.” As a course in the Jepson School of Leadership Studies, this course strives to educate people “for and about leadership”. The key word in the name is studies. Don Forsyth, Instructor LDST102 Syllabus Spring 2010 Leadership and the Social Sciences Course Description Introduction to the study of leadership through theoretical and empirical explorations of social in-teraction. Readings se-lected from anthropology, economics, political sci-ence, psychology, and soci-ology. Emphasis on advanc-ing the understanding of leadership through an in-creased appreciation of the rich complexities of human behavior. This course may be taken before or after LDST 101. Contents Goals and Mission 1 Topics, Methods, and Text 2 Activities, Exams, Grades... 3 Disability Informa-tion 3 Responsibilities 4 Policies 4 Calendar 4 The grand aim of all science is to cover the greatest number of empirical facts by logical deduction from the smallest number of hypotheses or axioms. Albert EinsteinLDST101 examines the philoso-phy, history, and political side of leadership. LDST102 (this course!) examines leadership from the perspective of the social sciences, so we will be searching through all the social sciences (anthropology, economics, sociology, history, political science, geography, psy-chology, and others) for theory and research pertaining to leader-ship in all its many and varied forms. Examples of topics we’ll be considering follow. - Authority, Obedience, and Leadership - Dark Side of Leadership Per-sonality - Do Leaders Make a Difference? - Do People Need Leaders? - Empirical Procedures in Study-ing Leadership - Endorsing Leaders - Ethics of Leadership - Evolutionary Perspectives - Followership - How Effective Are Leaders? - Inequities and Leadership - Influence and Persuasion - Intelligence and Leadership - Leadership across Cultures - Leadership and Elites - Leadership as Collective Ritual - Leadership Emergence and So-cial Dominance - Men, Women, and Leadership - Neuropsychology of Leadership - Origins of Leadership - Perceiving & Evaluating Leaders - Personality, Situations, and Ex-periences - Power and Leadership - Self-presentational Processes - Shared and Democratic Leader-ship - Social Identity and Leadership - Status and Hierarchy - Strengthening the Relational Side of Leadership - The Psychodynamics of Leader-ship We will supplement these books with specific readings. Only “real” readings will be assigned: if we aren’t going to examine the reading, then I identify the reading as “optional” and you won’t be required to know its content. The readings are original source papers and chapters and selected to give you an “inside look” at how social science is done. You will acquire much of your infor-mation about leadership, both in this class and for the rest of your life, by reading and studying texts. This course uses books, articles, and online sources. The two required books are: Outliers, by Malcolm Gladwell. New York: Little Brown (978-0-316-01792-3) How to Win Friends and Influence People. New York: Pocket Books (978-0-671-02703-2) Topics Text and Readings Teaching and Learning Methods in the readings, raise questions about the scientific method, stimulate you to think critically about leadership, and provide you with the opportunity to express your understanding of leadership in your own words. If you need addition information about a topic just ask. This class also uses World Wide Web-based instruction exten-sively. In some cases I will email additional materials to you, and office hours will often be held on line. Many of the activities, papers, quiz-zes, and supplemental read-ings will also take advantage of the WWW, primarily Black-board. If you do not already have decent Blackboard skills, you will have the chance to polish them in this class. We will use a variety of structured learning experi-ences to achieve course goals, including