RSED 4900 Leadership Along the Way
“To give birth, to nourish, to bear and not to own, to act and not lay claim, to lead and not rule:this is mysterious power.”
~ Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching, Ch. 10
2018 August Intensive
SKSM Fireside Room
9am – 5pm
Monday, August 13th — Friday, August 17th, 2018
(draft syllabus subject to revisions)
Instructor: J. Tyson Casey tcasey@sksm.edu
Office Hours: by appointment only
Grading: 3 Units. Pass/Fail (unless letter grade is requested)
I. Rationale:
The world we now live in is rapidly changing – as a result of neoliberal globalization, climate
disruption, and the chaotic crumbling of governing institutions. These conditions are
interdependent and impermanent. They call for adaptive and embodied leadership rooted in
relationship – to the earth, to each other, and to collective power. The purpose of this course is
to cultivate an ecosystem for connecting to individual and collective power and leadership, as
well as opportunities to practice concrete skills for sustaining balance in an unpredictable life.
II. Intended Outcomes:
By the end of this course, students will:
● Be able to articulate their own understanding of regenerative leadership in an
unsustainable society.
● Have awareness of different sources of power that can shape society, as well as ways in
which individuals and groups can connect with and shape that power.
● Be familiar with ways of cultivating courage, consent, and agency amidst interlocking
systems of oppression.
● Be more aware of their habits and hxstories, so that they can be more adaptable and
embodied in their leadership.
● Have more tools for guiding individual and group energy in an intentional direction.
● Be able to provide leadership in a group direction setting process and presentation.
● Have contributed to the cultivation of beloved community.
III. Tentative Schedule:
Monday
Welcome
Container Setting
LUNCH BREAK
Opening Circle
Leadership, Authority, and the Long Arc
Tuesday
Leadership Altar
Leadership Stories: Ancestors & Descendants
LUNCH BREAK
Sources of Power and Wisdom
Wednesday
Power to Act: Agency and Consent
LUNCH BREAK
Space, Energy, and Time
Thursday
Beyond the Duality of Leaders and Followers
Collaboration: Present & Future
LUNCH BREAK
Meetings and Group Direction Setting
Friday
Group Presentations
LUNCH BREAK
Returning Forward (Moving Forward is to Return)
Closing
IV. Course Requirements:
A. Pre-work to be completed prior to start of course (10%):.
● Completion of pre-reading prior to start of course.
B. Participation (70%):
● On-time attendance at each session of each day.
● Full participation in all activities, conversations, and presentations.
● Compliance with group agreements and processes.
● Participation in a pod that contributes to the participant experience.
● Completion of readings in preparation for each day.
● Participation in a group direction setting process.
● Co-leading of presentation for whole class.
C. Prompt and full completion of post-intensive assessment following close of the course. (20%)
V. Course Readings:
Unless otherwise noted, all readings will be available in a course reader. A printed version of the
reader will be available on reserve at SKSM.
A. Required text not included in the reader:
Le Guin, Ursula K. Lao Tzu: Tao Te Ching: a book about the way and the power of the way. Boston, MA:
Shambhala Publications, 1997.
List Price: $14.95
ISBN: 9781570623950
B. Required reading prior to start of course:
Archuleta, Michelle. “Approaching Leadership through Culture, Story, and
Relationships.” In Living Indigenous Leadership: Native Narratives on Building
Strong Communities, edited by Carolyn Kenny and Tina Ngaroimata Fraser,
162-175. Vancouver: UBC Press, 2012.
Benyus, Janine M. “Where will we go from here?” In Biomimicry: Innovation
Inspired by Nature, 285-297. New York: William Morrow, HarperCollins
Publishers Inc, 1997.
Haines, Staci and Ng’ethe Maina. “The Transformative Power of Practice.” In
Framing Deep Change: essays on transformative social change, 26-32. Berkeley:
Center for Transformative Change, 2010.
hooks, bell. “Contemplation and Transformation.” In Buddhist Women on the
Edge: Contemporary Perspecties from the Western Frontier, edited by Marianne
Dresser, 287 – 292. Berkeley: North Atlantic Books, 1996.
Macy, Joanna. “The Co-Arising of Self and Society.” In Mutual Causality in
Buddhism and General Systems Theory, 183-191. Albany: State University of
New York Press, 1991.
Sista II Sista. “Sistas Makin’ Moves: Collective Leadership for Personal
Transformation and Social Justice.” In Color of Violence: the incite! anthology,
edited by Incite! Women of Color Against Violence, 196-207. Cambridge: South
End Press, 2006.
Suzuki, Shunryu. Branching Streams Flow in the Darkness: Zen Talks on the
Sandokai, edited by Mel Weitsman and Michael Wenger, 17-23, 190-191.
Berkeley: University of California Press, 1999.
C. Recommended reading:
Cohen, Jeffrey H. “Cooperation, the Politics of Leadership, and Civil Society.” In
Cooperation and Community: Economy and Society in Oaxaca, 134-158. Austin:
University of Texas Press, 1999.
Collins, Patricia Hill. “Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of
Empowerment.” In Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and the
Politics of Empowerment, 221-238. Boston: Unwin Hyman, 1990.
Cornell, Andrew. “Nonviolence, Consensus, and Leadership: An Interview.” In
Oppose and Propose, 63-76. Oakland: AK Press and IAS, 2011.
Crass, Chris. “We Can Do This: Key Lessons for More Effective and Healthy
Liberation Praxis.” In Towards Collective Liberation: Anti-Racist Organizing,
Feminist Praxis, and Movement Building Strategy, 273-284. Oakland: PM Press,
2013.
CrimethInc. Self as Other: Reflections on Self-Care. CrimeThinc.com, 2013.
https://crimethinc.com/zines/self-as-other
Devane, Tom. “Sustainability of Results.” In The Change Handbook, edited by
Peggy Holman, Tom Devan, and Steven Cady, 59 – 69. San Francisco, CA:
Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc., 2007.
Freeman, Jo. “The Tyranny of Structurelessness.” In Quiet Rumours: an
anarcha-feminist reader, 68-75. Oakland: AK Press/Dark Star, 2012.
Follett, Mary Parker. Dynamic Administration: the collected papers of Mary
Parker Follett, edited by Henry C. Metcalf and L. Urwick, 30-49, 247-269. New
York, NY: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1940.
Funk, R. W., Roy W. Hoover, and The Jesus Seminar. The Five Gospels: What
Did Jesus Really Say?, 135-159, 289-299. San Francisco, CA: HarperCollins,
1993.
Graeber, David. “How Change Happens.” In The Democracy Project, 208 – 232.
Spiegel & Grau. New York. 2013.
Hardt, Michael & Antonio Negri. “The Leadership Problem.” In Assembly, 1-14.
New York: University of Oxford Press, 2017.
hooks, bell. “Keepers of Hope: Teaching in Communities.” In Teaching
Community: A Pedagogy of Hope, 105-116. New York: Routledge, 2003.
Hanh, Thich Nhat. “Handling Power Skillfully.” In The Art of Power, 31-40. New
York: Harper One, 2007.
Indigenous Action Media. “Accomplices Not Allies: Abolishing the Ally
Industrial Complex.” In Taking Sides: Revolutionary Solidarity and the Poverty of
Liberalism, edited by Cindy Milstein, 85-96. Oakland: AK Press, 2015.
Jordan, June. “The Creative Spirit: Children’s Literature.” In Revolutionary
Mothering: Love on the Front Lines, edited by Alexis Pauline Gumbs, China
Martens, and Mai’a Williams, 11-18. Toronto: Between the Lines, 2016.
Kenny, Carolyn. “Liberating Leadership Theory.” In Living Indigenous
Leadership: Native Narratives on Building Strong Communities, edited by
Carolyn Kenny and Tina Ngaroimata Fraser, 1-12. Vancouver: UBC Press, 2012.
Levine, Cathy. “The Tyranny of Tyranny.” In Quiet Rumours: an
anarcha-feminist reader, 77-80. Oakland: AK Press/Dark Star, 2012.
Lushwala, Arkan. “The Change of Perception.” In The Time of the Black Jaguar,
87-96. New Mexico: Hernan Quinones, 2012.
Marcos, Subcomandante Insurgente. “Power as a Mirror and an Image,” and
“History of the One and the All.” In !Ya Basta! Ten Years of the Zapatista
Uprising, 153-160, 356-359. Oakland: AK Press, 2004.
Reinsborough, Patrick & Doyle Channing. “Winning the Battle of Story.” In
Re:Imagining Change, 43-65. Oakland: PM Press, 2010.
Sitrin, Marina. “Horizontalidad.” In Horizontalism: Voices of Popular Power in
Argentina, 37-66. Oakland: AK Press, 2006.
Starhawk. “The Practice of Direct Democracy.” In Webs of Power: Notes from the
Global Uprising, 169-178. British Columbia: New Society Publishers, 2002.
Storm, Cristien. “Learning Self-Care and Self-Acceptance.” In Living in
Liberation: Boundary Setting, Self-Care and Social Change, 129-140. Cristien
Storm, 2016.
Swaris, Nalin. “Karma: The Creative Life Force of Human Beings.” In Rethinking
Karma: The Dharma of Social Justice, edited by Jonathan S. Watts, 39-65.
Trudell, John. “The Power of Being a Human Being.” In Original Instructions:
Indigenous Teachings for a Sustainable Future, edited by Melissa K. Nelson,
318-323. Vermont: Bear & Company, 2008.
Walia, Harsha. “Moving Beyond a Politics of Solidarity toward a Practice of
Decolonization.” In Organize: building from the local for global justice, edited by
Aziz Choudry, Jill Hanley, and Eric Shragge, 240-253. Oakland: PM Press, 2012.
Ward, Colin. “The Dissolution of Leadership.” In Anarchy in Action, 38-43. New
York: Harper & Row, 1973.
williams, Rev. angel Kyodo & Lama Rod Owens, with Jasmine Syedullah. “Why
Your Liberation Is Bound Up with Mine.” In Radical Dharma: Talking Race,
Love, and Liberation, 179-204. Berkeley: North Atlantic Books, 2016.
