MGT 518 Leadership and the Social Sciences
What does it mean to be a leader? What are the characteristics of a good leader? These questions are central to our contemporary societies where (effective) leadership is essential to the success of groups, organizations, and companies. This course introduces students to the study of leadership from a social scientific perspective. Using readings from across the social sciences (psychology, sociology, business, political science, and others), we will examine topics that are central to leadership. For example, we will discuss what individual and contextual characteristics make people likely to emerge as leaders. We will also consider issues of power, politics, digital transformation, and cross-cultural differences through the lens of leadership. Throughout the course, we will place a special emphasis on empirical studies of leadership. Students will be asked to choose a few figures of leaders on whom they will conduct targeted in-depth studies to be presented to the rest of the class. This course is important for future leaders, those interested in careers in business, sociology, psychology, economics as it will provide a more holistic understanding of leadership.