Course Details

EDP 880 Overview

This course is designed to help students construct a literature review that reflects the ability to: organize large quantities of scholarly information, perform critical analysis of scholarly literature, and use literature in the development and understanding of theoretical frameworks. An understanding of frameworks within literature allows readers to explain what it means and articulate an interpretation which shows how the theory may be used to create meaning, guide research, and inform practice. There are several main reasons for analyzing leadership, learning, or service theory: 1. The ultimate end of analysis is, first and foremost, a deeper understanding and a fuller appreciation of the concept of leadership, learning, or service -- students learn to see more, to uncover or create richer, denser, more interesting meanings. 2. Secondly, theory uses language, images, and meaning-making as the basis for a more astute and powerful use of the theory as it informs practice. 3. Thirdly, analysis should also teach us to be aware of the cultural and contextual background of a particular theory situated historically, socially, intellectually, developed at particular times, with particular intents, under particular historical conditions, across particular cultural, personal, gender, racial, class and other perspectives. Leadership, learning, or service theory is ideology in operation. This can be of particular use in understanding our own culture and time, but has historical applications as well. 4. A fourth function of analysis is to help us, through study and through reflection, to understand the way ideas and feelings are talked about in our culture or in other times and cultures -- to have a sense both of communities of meaning, and of the different kinds of understanding there can be about matters of importance to human life.