Public Narrative in Action: Navigating Leadership Challenges

Catalog description

Questions of what I am called to do, what is my community called to do, and what we are called to do now are at least as old as the three questions posed by the first century Jerusalem sage, Rabi Hillel: If I am not for myself, who will be for me? When I am for myself alone, what am I? If not now, when? This weekend intensive course offers students an opportunity to build upon their answers to these questions and further develop their capacity to lead. Public narrative is a leadership practice. To lead is to accept responsibility for enabling others to achieve shared purpose in the face of uncertainty. Through narrative we can learn to access the moral - or emotional- resources to respond to the challenges of an uncertain world - as individuals, as communities, as nations. Responding to urgent challenges mindfully - with agency - requires courage rooted in our ability to draw on hope over fear; empathy over alienation; and self-worth over self-doubt. It is these moments of challenge and uncertainty that require a leader to use their narrative skills to support their community in responding to challenges with agency rather than fear. In previous course offerings, you have learned the basics of public narrative to link your own calling to that of your community and a call to action. Through learning to tell a story of self, us, and now, you learned the narrative skills to reflect your values to others, enable your community to experience their shared values, and enable others to respond effectively to challenges of those values. This course now expands on those skills to focus on how you can enable your "us" - your community, your constituency, your audience - to respond to major challenges across four domains: loss, difference, power, and change. Previous participation in one of the following: LEAD 114, LEAD/ URBANST 127A or 127D, LEAD/ URBANST/ CSRE/ EtHICSOC 127B, a…