Index#: 07590
Will Count Towards Psychology MAJOR
Will NOT Count Towards Psychology MINOR
Throughout history, and certainly during the history of the United States and Rutgers University, progress has been synonymous with leadership. The contemporary understanding of leadership is evolutionary—that it emerged the first time a group of humans or pre-humans came together in response to a problem or concern and, after sitting around for a bit, someone decided to start taking action. Those who have been recognized as leaders have a lot to share with us about leadership and how it is everywhere and in everyone's capacity. It's not something one waits for. Yet, both great good and tremendous harm have been fueled by leadership. To understands this, we will look at the developmental ecology of leadership and its connection to followership and context.
Because of the extraordinary influence of the Bible, and of biblical personalities, we will begin with a look at the concept of leadership that emerged in that document, particularly its connections to service. Other topics include leadership in academic, corporate, and nonprofit career contexts and gender and leadership perception and style. These will be illustrated through case examples, including Martin Luther King, Jr., Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Eleanor Roosevelt, Maya Angelou, R. Sargent Shriver, and Cesar Chavez. We also will draw from the leadership writing and research of Michael Fullan, Daniel Goleman, Howard Gardner, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, Jill Lepore, and Vincent Harding.
The ultimate goal of the course is to guide students in developing their own theory of leadership. We also will explore students’ capacities to be leaders in all aspects of life, including college, career, and community. The course includes readings and discussion, debate, role-play scenarios, and real-world exposure to leadership with distinguished guest speakers from a variety of leadership contexts, within and outside of the university.
About Professor Elias
MAURICE ELIAS is a professor of Psychology at Rutgers; Director, Rutgers Social-Emotional and Character Development Lab; Co-Director, Collaborative Center for Community-Based Research and Service; Co-Director, Academy for SEL in Schools
He is Past President of the Society for Community Research and Action/Division of Community Psychology (27) of APA and has received the SCRA Distinguished Contribution to Practice and Ethnic Minority Mentoring Awards, as well as APA’s National Psychological Consultants to Management Award, the Joseph E. Zins Memorial Senior Scholar Award for Social-Emotional Learning from the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), the John P. McGovern Medal from the American School Health Association, and the Sanford McDonnell Award for Lifetime Achievement in Character Education.
Dr. Elias lectures nationally and internationally to educators and parents about students’ emotional intelligence, school success, and social-emotional and character development. Dr. Elias writes a blog for the George Lucas Educational Foundation’s Edutopia Website. For a list of selected publications, please click here.
Outside the lab you can find me: Watching the Yankees, the Rangers and the Knicks and teaching my grandchildren to do the same.