Case Studies in Leadership Through Literature and Film

Today's business leaders must possess so many qualities and deal with such challenging situations that no group of academic studies can account for them all. This course is based on the premise that case studies using the creative vehicles of literature and film can help managers understand the modern complexities of leadership. It focuses on the qualities, subtleties, ambiguities, and dilemmas of leadership as they appear in in the eyes of some of the keenest observers of human nature, namely, creative artists. Students are asked to share their personal management experiences as they relate to the readings. When appropriate, references to academic studies and theories of leadership are also made. Included are films dealing with Howard Hughes (The Aviator) and Gandhi (Gandhi), and the following works of literature: Antigone (Sophocles), Julius Caesar (Shakespeare), Billy Budd (Melville), In the Penal Colony (Kafka), The Guest (Camus), A Doll's House (Ibsen), Things Fall Apart (Achebe), and The Age of Innocence (Wharton).