NORS/PS 205
Course Outline for Leadership, Citizenship, and Choice
Instructor: Mary Ehrlander, Asst. Professor of History, Asst. Dir. of Northern Studies
and Assistant Professor of History
Meeting Time: Tuesday and Thursday 11:30 – 1:00
Location: TBA
Course Description:
This is the introductory course to the Minor in Leadership and Civic Engagement. It is designed for students who are interested in contributing to political and community life in America, and especially in Alaska. The course rests on the premise that civic engagement is the essence of leadership in America. We will examine the psychology of leadership – why people take on leadership roles, the rewards of leadership, and the qualities and skills necessary for leaders in American and Alaskan contexts.
We will examine the ethical dilemmas of leadership and the political and social issues that have long troubled both Alaskan and American society. We will examine the expectations, benefits and opportunities of citizenship in America and specifically in Alaska. We will examine fundamental American democratic ideals and principles and such questions as what it means to be an “American.”
While this is the foundational course for the Minor in Leadership and Civic Engagement; it is also a course for all students who want to reflect on what gives life purpose and meaning, how people get involved in social issues, how they maintain commitment or burn out from exhaustion, and how civic involvement creates connections and builds social capital.
Students will be encouraged to examine their own values and goals and to develop public-spirited life choices, whether they express their ideals in career choices, leadership roles, or active citizenship. Strong emphasis is placed on civility – developing the skills to discuss issues on which we oftentimes hold strong convictions in a respectful and courteous manner. Students will receive personal mentoring to assist them in making public-spirited choices and help them achieve their career goals. The mentors will be primarily Alaskans with the experience, judgment, and connections to help students find opportunities. The instructor will develop a roster of Alaskans who are willing to serve as mentors for college students, and the instructor will assist students in finding mentors who can offer them counsel and practical assistance in achieving their life goals.
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Requirements:
Participation: Students are expected to come to class prepared to discuss the readings and questions for each class.
Experiential Learning: Each student will be required to research a public interest group or public service organization and contribute 3-5 hours of volunteer work during the semester to the group or organization of his or her choice. Students will keep journals on their experiences. They will also submit a 4-5 page paper which links their experience with the curriculum by addressing specific theories regarding interest group activities and volunteerism, their impacts on the democratic process, and the benefits of participation for the members.
Mentor: Each student will, with guidance from the professor, choose a mentor with whom he or she will work to develop career and civic goals, knowledge of how to accomplish them, and a personal leadership style. Students will make contact with their mentors and secure a commitment to the relationship, write a 1-2 page essay on why they chose their particular mentors and how the initial meeting went, include reflections on the ongoing mentoring relationship in their journals, and write a final 2-page essay on the value of the mentor relationships, what the students have learned, and whether and how they expect the relationships to continue.
Essays: Students will write occasional short essays (1-2 pages) on assigned topics.
Exams: Students will take a mid-term and a final exam.
Requirements will carry the following weights:
Class participation 10%
Experiential learning 15%
Mentor assignments 15%
Essay/class assignments 20%
Mid-term 20%
Final exam 20%
Readings will be available on Electronic Reserve at the Rasmuson Library online. You may access the readings by going to www.uaf.edu and choosing Libraries, Rasmuson Library, and Electronic Reserve. Then you will find the readings, organized in folders by week.
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Lessons
Thursday, 1/20/05 Lesson 1
Topic: Overview of Course: What is a Leader? What is a Citizen?
Assignment: First mentor essay: student personal, career, and civic goals and what qualities the student would like to see in his or her mentor
UNIT I – CTIZENSHIP AND CIVIC PARTICIPATION
Tuesday, 1/25/05 Lesson 2
Topic: The Meaning of Citizenship in America
What assumptions did the Founders hold about human nature and people’s ability for self-government?
Are these assumptions valid and important today?
Readings:
Federalist #10 and Federalist #51 (excerpt)
Assignment due: First mentor essay
Thursday, 1/27/05 Lesson 3
Topic: Civic Engagement and Social Capital Today in America
How and why has civic participation changed, and what is social capital?
Readings:
Loeb, Paul R. “The Cynical Smirk.” Chap. in Soul of a Citizen: Living with Conviction in a Cynical Time. New York: St. Martin’s Griffin, 1999. (76-79)
Putnam, Robert D. “Thinking About Social Change in America,” and “Introduction.” Chaps. in Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2000.
Tocqueville, Alexis de. “On the Use Which the Americans Make of Associations in Civil Life.” Chap. in Democracy in America. New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 1969.
Tuesday, 2/1/05 Lesson 4
Topic: Interest Group Participation
Does interest group activity illustrate democracy at work in America?
Readings:
McBeath, Gerald. “Alaska’s Political Culture.” Chap. In Alaska State Government and Politics. (excerpts)
Mills, C. Wright. “The Higher Circles.
O’Connor, Karen and Larry Sabato. “Who Makes Decisions in America?”
Roskin, Michael, et al. “Interest Groups.” Chap. in Political Science: An Introduction.
Assignment: Each student will investigate an interest group or non-profit agency of his or her choice and write an essay explaining the organization, goals, and strategies of the group. Students will be making contact with the groups and doing at least 3-5 hours of work for the group. Initial report due February 24.
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Thursday, 2/3/05 Lesson 5
Topic: American Visions of a Good Society
Do Democrats and Republicans have different visions of a good society?
Readings:
Democratic and Republican Party Platforms (summaries)
Activity: Students will complete a questionnaire on their political attitudes to determine their partisan preferences.
Assignment: Students will write an essay about their partisan preferences.
Tuesday, 2/8/05 Lesson 6
Topic: Competing Visions of the Good Society
How do Conservatives’ and Liberals’ visions of the good society differ?
Readings:
Sowell, Thomas. “The Role of Visions” and “Constrained and Unconstrained Visions.” Chaps. In A Conflict of Visions: Ideological Origins of Political Struggles. New York: Basic Books, 2002.
Assignment due: Essay on your partisan preferences
Thursday, 2/10/05 Lesson 7
Topic: Civility in Public Discourse
What are courteous and effective methods of persuasion?
Readings:
Burgess, Guy and Heidi Burgess. “The Meaning of Civility.” Conflict Research Consortium, University of Colorado, 1997.
Rusk, Tom. “The Three Phases of Ethical Persuasion,” in The Power of Ethical Persuasion. New York: Viking, 1993.
Washington, George. “Rules of Civility & Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation.” (Selections from Washington’s schoolbook)
Assignment: Students will prepare rational responses to disagreeable (in their individual opinions) statements and they will offer those responses next week.
Tuesday, 2/15/05 Lesson 8
Topic: The Art of Persuasion
Can you follow the “rules of engagement” in discussing a controversial topic with someone with whom you disagree?
Activity/Assignment due: Students will pair up and, as the class observes, attempt to persuade their partners of their opinions.
Thursday, 2/17/05 Lesson 9
Topic: Civility in Public Discourse
Was it more difficult than you imagined to present your point of view? Why do you suppose this happened?
What tactics did you find most useful during Tuesday’s exercise?
Assignment: Bring to class next week one example each of responsible and irresponsible political dissent.
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Tuesday, 2/22/05 Lesson 10
Topic: Dissent
How can dissent strengthen or weaken a political system?
Readings:
Blackman, Margaret. Sadie Brower Neokok: An Inupiaq Woman. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1989 (excerpt)
King, Martin Luther. “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”
McCain, John. Faith of My Fathers. (excerpt)
Assignment due: Bring to class your examples of responsible and irresponsible dissent.
UNIT II – LEADERSHIP IN AMERICAN AND ALASKAN POLITICAL CULTURES
Thursday, 2/24/05 Lesson 11
Topic: Leadership Qualities and Expectations in the American Context
What qualities do Americans seek in their leaders?
Readings:
Ambrose, Stephen. “Flawed Founders.” Smithsonian, November 2002.
Gergen, David. “Seven Lessons of Leadership.” Chap. in Eyewitness to Power: The Essence of Leadership Nixon to Clinton. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2000.
Assignment Due: Initial interest group / non-profit assignment
Tuesday, 3/1/05 Lesson 12
Leadership Personalities
Is there a "leadership personality'?
Readings:
Barber, James David. “Presidential Character and How to Foresee It.” Chap. in The Presidential Character: Predicting Performance in the White House. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1992.
Goleman, Daniel. “Primal Leadership.”
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Thursday, 3/3/05 Lesson 13
The Impact of Media and Pop Culture on Leadership in America
How does the media impact campaigns and our concepts of leadership?
How do the world’s and America’s expectations of the US president/government differ? How do they coincide?
Readings:
University of Texas Austin. “The Influence of Media in Presidential Politics.”
Tuesday, 3/10/05 Lesson 14
Topic: Gender issues in leadership
Does gender affect leadership style? How so?
Readings:
Matusak, Larraine R. “Leadership: Gender Related, Not Gender Specific.” Chap. in Concepts, Challenges, and Realities of Leadership: An International Perspective. Selected Proceedings from the Salzburg Seminar on International Leadership. Ed. James MacGregor Burns, Georgia Sorenson, and Larraine Matusak.
Thursday, 3/12/05 Lesson 15
Mid-Term Examination
************************SPRING BREAK*******************************
UNIT III – AMERICAN IDEALS and THE IDEAL OF AMERICA
Tuesday, 3/22/05 Lesson 16
Topic: The American Creed
What is the "American creed" or the "American idea"?
Readings:
Berns, Walter. “Mystic Chords of Memory: Cultivating America’s Unique Form of Patriotism.” American Educator, Spring 2002, 26-38.
Huntington, Samuel P. “American Politics: The Promise of Disharmony.” (excerpts)
Thursday, 3/24/05 Lesson 17
Topic: Living up to the Creed
Has America lived up to the Creed?
Readings:
Lincoln, Abraham. “The Gettysburg Address”
Douglass, Frederick. Autobiography. (excerpt)
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Tuesday, 3/29/05 Lesson 18
Topic: Centrality of Freedom to America's Understanding of Itself
What is the meaning of freedom?
Are freedom and democracy the same thing?
Readings:
The Declaration of Independence
Zakaria, Fareed. “The Democratic Age.” Chap. in The Future of Freedom: Illiberal Democracy at Home and Abroad. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2003.
Assignment due: Second mentor essay
Thursday, 3/31/05 Lesson 19
Topic: The Centrality of Equality to America's Understanding of Itself
What do we mean by equality?
Readings:
Fairlie, Henry. “Why I Love America”
Sowell, Thomas. “Visions of Equality.” Chap. In A Conflict of Visions: Ideological Origins of Political Struggles.
Trollope, Fanny. Domestic Manners of the Americans. 1832. (excerpt)
Tuesday, 4/5/05 Lesson 20
Topic: Evolution in the Meaning of Equality in America
How does America measure up today in terms of equality?
Readings:
Griffin, John Howard. Black Like Me. New York: Penguin Books, 1976. (excerpt)
Thernstrom, Stephan and Abigail Thernstrom. America in Black and White: One Nation, Indivisible. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1997. (excerpt)
Thursday, 4/7/05 Lesson 21
Topic: Tolerance and Multiculturalism
Do these values support or conflict with other American values? How so?
Readings:
Asante, Molefe Kefe. ”Multiculturalism: An Exchange.”
Ravitch, Diane. “Multiculturalism.”
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Tuesday, 4/12/05 Lesson 22
Topic: Definition of American National Character
Are Americans different or exceptional in national character from the peoples of other industrialized nations?
Readings:
Huntington, Sidney and Jim Reardon. “Galena.” Chap. in Shadows on the Koyokuk. Anchorage: Alaska Northwest Books. (excerpt)
Inkeles, Alex. “The American National Character.” Chap. in Continuity and Change in the American Character. Ed. Seymour Martin Lipset. Stanford: Hoover Institution Press, 1979.
Turner, Frederick Jackson. “The Significance of the Frontier in American History.” (excerpt).
Thursday, 4/14/05 Lesson 23
Topic: The Charges Against America : Materialism, Lack of Community, Selfishness, Racism, Conquest, Violence.
Are these charges, so often leveled against Americans, justified?
Readings:
D’Souza, Dinesh. “Why They Hate Us.” Chap. in What’s So Great About America. Washington, D.C.: Regnery Publishing, Inc., 2002. (excerpt)
Kozol, Jonathan. Savage Inequalities: Children in America’s Schools. New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 1991. (excerpt)
Rorty, Richard. “American Pride, American Shame.” The Chronicle of Higher Education. 31 January 2003. B10.
Assignment: Prepare for debate next Tuesday!
Tuesday, 4/19/05 Lesson 24
Topic: The Charges Against America: Materialism, Lack of Community, Selfishness, Racism, Conquest, Violence.
Do you condemn or defend America against these charges?
Activity: Students will conduct a class debate, critiquing and defending American society and its values.
Thursday, 4/21/05 Lesson 25
Topic: Patriotism and Nationalism
What is patriotism or nationalism, and how is it instilled in people?
Are there mature and less mature forms of patriotism? What might they be?
Readings:
Nussbaum, Martha. “Patriotism and Cosmopolitanism.”
Remnick, David. Lenin’s Tomb: The Last Days of the Soviet Empire. New York: Random House, Inc., 1994. (excerpt)
Tocqueville, Alexis de. “Public Spirit in the United States.” Chap. in Democracy in America. New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 1992.
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Tuesday, 4/26/05 Lesson 26
Topic: Experiential Learning
What did you learn from your interest group activity?
Assignment Due: Papers and journals on experiential learning activity
UNIT IV – THE AMERICAN DREAM AND YOUR PERSONAL DREAMS
Thursday, 4/28/05 Lesson 27
Topic – The American Dream and its Influence on Alaska
What is the "American dream?" Is the “American dream” available to all or are some left out? Why?
Is Alaska a “frontier” with unusual opportunities?
Readings:
Ehrlander, Mary. Native Sovereignty in Alaska. (excerpt)
King, Martin Luther. “I Have a Dream.”
Kleinfeld, Judith. Go For It! Finding Your Own Frontier (excerpt)
Tuesday, 5/3/05 Lesson 28
Topic: Your Personal Dreams
What are your dreams?
Is the expectation of “having a dream” a way that America is exceptional?
Readings:
Bateson, Mary Catherine. “Emergent Visions.” Chap. in Composing a Life.
Assignment Due: Final mentor essay
Thursday, 5/5/05 Lesson 29
Topic: Final Reflection: Can Leadership be Learned?
Are leaders born or made?
What experiences help develop leadership abilities?
Readings: TBA
Thursday, 5/12/05
Final Exam Time: 10:15 a.m.– 12:15 p.m.
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