thoughts on leadership
ASSIGNMENT
Students are required to attend at least one of the four talks listed below (however, you are strongly encouraged to attend more than one). After the talk, please write a one-page reaction paper. The one-page paper (do not go over the page limit) is due within one week from the date of the talk you attended.
As the name suggests, the reaction paper is for you to record your reaction to the speaker(s). You do not need to answer a specific question, or to compose an organized mini-thesis. The requirement of the paper, rather, is to demonstrate your ability to critically think about the talk you attended.
For example, when you write your paper in response to a talk…
You can comment on the method by which the speaker garnered her/his information,
Question the speaker’s assumptions,
Discuss additional implications of the topic at hand for leadership,
Present counterarguments to the speaker’s argument,
If some parts of the speaker’s reasoning do not make sense to you, write about it and explain why.
If you agree with the speaker, you could choose to think about what other questions arise from this discussion.
You can also try to relate the talk to material discussed in class or in the textbook.
If you know something relevant from another class, then discuss that.
There are numerous possibilities!
DO NOT just say "it was interesting," or "I disagree/agree with the author" and stop there. Explain why it is you think the talk was interesting, why you agree/disagree. Also, DO NOT just restate to me what the speaker talked about; you may assume I am familiar with the talk.
SPEAKER SERIES
Sept. 23, 7 p.m.; Jepson Alumni Center; Presidents and the Presidency: The Challenges of Leadership Today: Kenneth Ruscio, dean of the Jepson School of Leadership Studies and author of a new book on trust and government, will lead a panel discussion of the qualities of successful presidents and duties of citizens in choosing their leaders. Marc K. Landy, co-author of "Presidential Greatness," and Charles O. Jones, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, also will be on the program.
Sept. 28, 7 p.m.; Alice Haynes Room, THC; Closing the Leadership Gap: Why Women Can and Must Help Run the World: Marie Wilson is the president of the Ms. Foundation for Women and the creator of “National Take our Daughters to Work Day.” In her new book, Closing the Leadership Gap: Why Women Can and Must Help Run the World, Wilson argues for “changing society from a system built on the labor of women to one led equally by their vision.”
Oct. 20, 7:30 p.m.; JepsonAlumniCenter; Critical Choices for the Next Administration: Public Education: Abigail and Stephan Thernstrom, authors of "No Excuses: Closing the Racial Gap in Learning" and "America in Black and White," will argue that schools fail minorities on every level.
Oct. 28, 7:30 p.m.;JepsonAlumniCenter;Critical Choices for the Next Administration: Human Rights: William F. Schulz, executive director of Amnesty International, will suggest what the next president must do to address human rights and carry out foreign policy.
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