ITGS 400 Explorations in Leadership
Required Texts:
Mandela, Nelson. (1995) Long Walk to Freedom. New York: Little Brown and Company Paperback. ISBN: 0-31654818-9. (Make sure that you have the full version, not an abridged version, otherwise you’ll not be able to complete assignments).
Module 1
Instructions:
- Do not delete the questions – simply indent your answers to retain the numbering system.
- Use a formal writing style and proofread for correct use of language.
- Write a short paragraph for each question, addressing each of the points mentioned.
The aim is generally threefold:
- to demonstrate your familiarity with the course materials. Provide as much information you consider necessary to achieve this end. Cite the page number in the text where you found the information using this format: “(Mandela, 2012, p. 5)” and for films, cite the director and date e.g., “(Attenborough, 1982)” or in the case of my own instructor videos, “(Woodward, 2007)”. For the book, check what date your edition is on the front inside cover, it might be the original from 1995, or a later publication. If you have an audio book, it likely states the publication date somewhere.
- to think critically about issues and comment on them
- to self-reflect on your own development of leadership to date and potential for the future. This is considered in a much broader sense than leadership within any official position and includes day-to-day lifestyle.
Mandela: Part I
- A. Why was Mandela’s father considered important in the community?
B. Comment on the role you think this may have played in developing Mandela’s future leadership.
C. Comment on any family member or other role model you have had in your life, describing how they have been a “leader” to you and impacted your life.
- A. Describe two early indications that Mandela would become a troublemaker.
B. Comment on how “making trouble” might indicate qualities in a leader as it relates to the saying “no one who made history was ever well-behaved.”
- A. Explain the issue underlying Mandela’s impending marriage.
B. Comment on any dilemma you have experienced between respecting family/cultural traditions and making independent life choices.
- A. What ceremony marked the end of Mandela’s youth?
B. Comment on any milestone(s) in your own culture that indicates becoming an adult and what that signifies to you.
Mandela: Part 2
- A. When Mandela and Justice first entered the mines, what did they notice about how the hostels were segregated?
B. Even though racial segregation is not legal in the USA, discuss anything you notice about levels of various cultural or racial groups mixing or keeping to themselves in US society and comment on that.
- A. When Mandela moved from the mines to the Johannesburg city center, at what type of firm did he find employment?
B. What did he consider significant about the culture/religion of the partners of the firm in how they treated black employees in their firm?
C. Comment on how the experience of discrimination (individual or group) can lead one to be more sensitive to the needs of others, including if you have any personal experience of this.
- A. Having not completed his degree at Fort Hare University, Mandela then enrolled in a correspondence university to complete his courses. What was the first degree that Mandela obtained?
B. Comment on the practical conditions you face in achieving your degree compared with what Mandela faced during his undergraduate program?
- A. What was Mandela’s economic situation during this early period of employment and study?
B. Comment on how you’ve faced your own challenges in getting an education.
- A. What was the pertinent cultural issue Mandela faced in having a possible future with Ellen, the woman he loved?
B. Comment on any way in which you’ve needed to pioneer your own path that may not have fallen in line with expectations of others.
Instructor Interview Video (15 minutes) (attached)
- As you can see above, you are being challenged to self-reflect on your own experiences and potential as a leader and to articulate this reflection in your assignments submitted your professor. This week view a 15-minute interview with the course instructor on her experience of racial issues growing up in South Africa. The short video this week is NOT intended as a model of leadership in ANY way – it simply allows you to get to know your professor a little better as she also does some personal sharing with you, and as you are sharing about yourself in your reflections to her. In this video, she shares about her background having been born in South Africa and growing up there.
A. In a short paragraph, describe your immediate thoughts and responses to any specific experiences of the instructor, as recounted in this video interview.
B. Explain very briefly your retrospective view on any circumstances in which you grew up (I grew up in Europe) and how those impact you in any way today.
DIME Documentary (25 minutes) https://hml.ewu.edu/player?autostart=n&fullscreen=y&width=720&height=480&videoId=3699&quality=hi&captions=n&chapterId=0
- As you can see above, you are (as last week) being challenged to not only reflect on the materials read, but to self-reflect on your own experiences and potential as a leader and to articulate this reflection in your assignments submitted to your professor. The short video is NOT intended as a model of leadership in ANY way – it simply allows you to get to know your professor a little better as she also does some personal sharing with you, as you are sharing your thoughts with her. In this video, she shares about one of her personal projects that she initiated in addressing a social issue. It is hoped that you might then consider any kind of project you might initiate someday.
Write a short paragraph with:
(A.) a brief comment on the program, including any value you think it might have had, followed by
(B.) a brief description of an idea for a possible project that you personally could initiate someday to impact society in line with your own field of professional or other interest.