Moral Complexity in Leadership: An Exploration through Literature, Northwestern University (Kellogg)

In this course, literature serves as the entry point to analyze morally complex matters and then formulate and communicate cogent opinions about them in a group. Through literature, we will pull out common themes of classic moral quandaries that leaders face (e.g. pernicious issues such as greed or self-deceit, operating as an "agent of another" whom you disagree with, fractured professional and personal life, the troubles with "likability," etc). We will then examine how characters in the stories and real-world business leaders have grappled with such issues and analyze how individuals make choices congruent with their values, what actions convey care for the systems within which they operate (or are responsible for), and perhaps most importantly, what can get them off track. Students will not only read critically and carefully, but will also learn the arts of listening well, facilitating dialog amidst disagreement, and articulating sound arguments through weekly reflection papers and their conversations with one another. The course is built around weekly small group discussions in class and a plenary lecture on the week's themes in the business world. The emphasis is on deep, rigorous reflection and meaningful communication rather than sound bites or quick tips. The reading materials span centuries, continents and viewpoints, building respect for the complexity of those we interact with on a daily basis. This discussion-based course includes weekly homework assignments (reading and writing), a group project analyzing a film that conveys moral complexity, and a final, individual paper and brief presentation on a work of your choosing. This information has been collected for the Post-Discipline Online Syllabus Database. The database explores the use of literature by schools of professional education in North America. It forms part of a larger project titled Post-Discipline: Literature, Professionalism, and the Crisis of the Humanities, led by Dr Merve Emre with the assistance of Dr Hayley G. Toth. You can find more information about the project at https://postdiscipline.english.ox.ac.uk/. Data was collected and accurate in 2021/22.