DPLS 772fa08 Leadership and the Common Good
DPLS 772 - Leadership and the Common Good
Fall 2008 3 Credits
Instructor: Dr. Jerri Shepard
Location: Fuller 116
Office: 120 Rosauer
Phone: (509) 313-3471
E-mail: shepard@gonzaga.edu
Times: Fridays, 6-10 PM,
Dates: Sept. 5, 19, Oct. 3, 17, 24, Nov. 7, 21, Dec. 5
The Doctoral Program in Leadership Studies at Gonzaga University is premised on the belief that leadership is based on a deep understanding of the self and of the core values that drive one’s actions. Thus effective leadership requires the development of a compelling personal vision that engages others by offering meaning, dignity, and purpose. The ultimate aim of leadership is the building of more humane relationships, organizations, and societies. Effective leaders need to develop the critical imagination required to embrace individual, organizational, and global change from a stance of hope and courage. In the Jesuit tradition, the Doctoral Program attempts to provide a learning community in which students can develop the personal qualities of self-knowledge, self-acceptance, a restless curiosity, a desire for truth, a mature concern for others, respect for human individuality, and a thirst for justice. The Program promotes academic excellence and facilitates the strengthening of conceptual, scholarly, and professional competencies for use in leadership roles that serve others.
ACCOMMODATION STATEMENT
If you need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability, you should contact me to arrange an appointment as soon as possible. Disability Support Services (AD 324, ext. 4134) will help to verify the need for accommodations and develop accommodation strategies. If you have not previously contacted Disabilities Support Services, I encourage you to do so.
OVERVIEW
This course is designed to explore shared and widespread leadership required in a world where all cultures face multi-dimensional problems of sustained development. Development always involves the meeting of the old and the new; the common good may be seen by some as good, while others may see it as the worst thing that has ever happened. Civilization is often interpreted by the dominant or dominating culture. The defining of common good, in the contexts of personal, organizational, and global leadership, is an important goal of this course.
This course addresses the need for collaborative forms of leadership in a shared-power world. There is an increasing need for interdependent and interrelated solutions to the complex ecological, political, cultural, heath, and economic problems facing the people of our planet. These solutions must honor the voices of all stakeholders from individuals to small groups to global organizations.
Class participants will explore the United National Millennium Goals by examining the literature, participating in lively class discussions, and becoming involved in civic engagement.
The eight United Nations Millennium Development Goals were established in 2000 to improve global conditions by addressing pressing social, health, and environmental concerns. The goals form a “blueprint agreed to by all the world’s countries and all the world’s leading development institutions“ (http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals).
The UN Millennium Development goals include:
1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
2. Achieve universal primary education
3. Promote gender equality and empower women
4. Reduce child mortality
5. Improve maternal health
6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases
7. Ensure environmental sustainability
8. Develop a global partnership for development
Crosby and Bryson (2005) define Common Good as “widely beneficial outcomes that are never preordained but instead arrived at through mindful leadership and active followership”. These outcomes involve a “regime of mutual gain; a system of policies, programs, laws, rules, and norms that yield widespread benefits at reasonable costs and taps people’s deepest interest in their own well-being and that of others” (p. 361).
Sachs (2008) purports that “the defining challenge of the 21st century will be to face the reality that humanity shares a common fate on a crowded planet” (p.2). He continues to suggest that new forms of global cooperation must be developed; agreements need to be established at the global, as well as attitudinal, levels. Freire (2002) addresses the importance of meaningful dialogue in bringing forth the truth.
OBJECTIVES
1. Define “Common Good” from the personal, organizational, and global perspectives; contextualize these concepts in terms of your experiences in these three realms.
2. Develop strategies for just and effective leadership and decision-making in a shared-power world.
3. Analyze and apply the readings by Crosby and Bryson, Freire, and Sachs to the United Nations Development Millennium Goals.
4. Collaborate in meaningful dialogue and agree to disagree on sensitive topics.
5. Participate in civic engagement by identifying a community resource that aligns with one of the UN Millennium goals.
LEARNING ACTIVITIES
Readings – Aim:
To gather and explore the literature for analysis of current issues with regard to Leadership and the Common Good. These readings will be explored and applied to the United Nations Millennium Development Goals and the practice of civic engagement.
Date Due Reading
9/19 UN Millennium Development Goals
10/3 Bryson & Crosby10/17 Sachs
11/7 Freire
Civic Engagement – Aim:
Contextualize the content of Leadership and the Common Good by developing a plan for addressing one of the UN Millennium Development Goals.
Identify a community resource that aligns with one of the UN Millennium Development Goals. Review the organization’s web site, explore descriptive literature about this institution, visit the actual site, and analyze the leadership of the organization in terms of the assigned readings and class discussions. Learn about the type of leadership that is in place and determine the type of community-based service learning that GU could provide that would benefit the clientele and provide optimal service learning experiences for Gonzaga students. Develop a plan for intervention.
Scholarly Papers – Aim:
Articulate the concept of Leadership and the Common Good from the personal, organizational, and global perspectives.
(Guidelines for papers will be given to you at the first class)
1. Analyze and interpret readings through one of the UN Millennium Development Goals (5 pages).
2. Reflect on the Civic Engagement Assignment as it applies to the concept of Leadership and the Common Good. Refer to assigned readings to place this assignment in the context of Leadership and the Common Good (see previous guideline) (3 pages).
3. Critique the concept of Leadership and the Common Good through three lenses:
(15 pages and references)
a. The assigned readings and related literature
b. At least two of the UN Millennium Development Goals
c. Civic engagement experience
Presentations – Aim:
To collaborate with a class participant in presenting on the current status and hopes for the future of the UN Millennium Development Goals.
(Guidelines for presentations will be given to you in class)
Co-present on TWO of the UN Millennium Development Goals addressing Leadership and the Common Good from the perspective of personal, organizational, and global leadership (presentations 30 minutes).
Required Reading
Bryson, J. & Crosby, B. (1992) Leadership for the common good: Tackling public problems in a shared-power world. San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass
ISBN 1-55542-480-5
Freire, P. (2004) Pedagogy of hope. New York: Continuum International Publishing.
ISBN 0-82647-790-9
Sachs, J. (2008) Common wealth: Economics for a crowded planet. New York: Penguin Press.
ISBN 1-59420-127-1
United Nations Millennium Development Goals
8-25-08 – The final version of this syllabus will be distributed at the first class.
