MLD-329: Power and Glory in Turbulent Times: The History of Leadership from Henry V to Mark Zuckerberg

Semester: Spring

Credit: 1.0

Syllabus: Click here for syllabus

Faculty: Nancy Koehn

Schedule

Day Time Location
First Day 1/29
Meet Day T 4:10 PM - 6:10 PM STARR
Review

Description

Educational Objectives: This course examines the effectiveness of individual leaders who lived and worked in moments of great turbulence. The course aims to understand the choices they made, including the strategies they used, the values they lived by, and the tradeoffs they made as they created widespread power in companies, nations and communities. “Power and Glory” also focuses on the impact, immediate and long-term, that each of these individuals had, and how this impact was related to their animating missions. Particular attention is paid to what it means to lead forcefully in times of ongoing turmoil, and to the relevant lessons that these leaders offer for our own moment, in the early 21stcentury. Finally, the course strives to draw credible inspiration from these individuals and the contexts in which they acted.

 

Content and Organization: This course offers students the opportunity to explore the lives and impact of a range of men and women—from business, government, and other realms—during widespread disruption.  The course covers the individual journeys of these people, changes in the nature of the organizations they led, and the dynamic environments in which they each lived and worked.  Throughout the course, students are encouraged to examine the choices each leader made, the path he or she traveled, the values and objectives he or she nurtured,andthe larger stage on which that person acted. This perspective provides a broad understanding of the long-term impact of leadership and innovation on business, government, and society. In looking closely at the agency of other individuals who have exerted lasting influence, students are challenged to consider their own agency, along with their ambitions and ideas about leadership.

 

Supporting Materials and Individual Leaders: The course will draw on a range of readings from the humanities and social sciences, including case studies, articles, book chapters, plays, and several classic works. Some of the individuals studied include: Shakespeare’s Henry V, Josiah Wedgwood, Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, John D. Rockefeller, Madam C.J. Walker, Ernest Shackleton, Estée Lauder, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Martin Luther King, Oprah Winfrey, Bono, Steve Jobs, and Mark Zuckerberg.

 

There is a significant writing component to the course. Students are required to write five short critical essays during the term and one longer integrative essay due right before exam period. Regular