By: Geoff Lee on November 3, 2016
An introduction to contemporary social theory by Anthony Elliott In their book, Untamed, Alan and Debra Hirsch ask the question: “In our day, one is left wondering if it us who are actually being “evangelised” by the prevailing mass culture rather than the other way around.” Their argument is that “the church has…
By: Kevin Norwood on November 3, 2016
Are you open to change? Isn’t that always the question when there is a decision to become better? To become different? To get more education? Or you take a new job. Change is something that is difficult for most people but this books is a great guide or a…
By: Marc Andresen on November 3, 2016
I’m sure United Airlines wishes Dave had chosen Exit over Voice. He certainly wasn’t demonstrating Loyalty. At the beginning of Open Leadership: How Social Technology Can Transform the Way You Lead Charlene Li tells the story of Dave Carroll, and the non-response from Untied Airlines after he complained because they manhandled and broke his guitar.…
By: Stu Cocanougher on November 3, 2016
The Faces of 2016 Contemporary Social Theory, In Introduction, Anthony Elliott (2009) This book began by telling a story of a young, ethnically Chinese woman who was an American citizen, yet lived in England, worked and France, and had a boyfriend in Finland. This story set the tone for the rest of the…
By: Jennifer Dean-Hill on November 2, 2016
Frankly, I thought pursuing a Doctor of Ministry degree meant I never had to read about social theories and theorists, or Freud’s weird fascination with sex and the male anatomy again. But amazingly, Freud continued to pop up like a bad dream throughout many of the theories in this book. Despite my previous studies, I…
By: Lynda Gittens on November 2, 2016
Elliott, the author and sociology professor, confessed in the beginning that this book represents his argument supporting a contemporary social theory. He proposed social theory was “a resourceful, high-powered and interdisciplinary project of the social sciences and humanities, on the one hand, and an urgent critique of ideological thought and the discourses of reason, freedom,…
By: Katy Drage Lines on November 2, 2016
As an undergrad anthropology student many moons ago, I was introduced to Durkheim, Weber, and Marx. And while scholars such as Durkheim and Levi-Strauss straddle the disciplines of anthropology and sociology, I find more affinity with the anthropology field. Whereas anthropology seeks to understand and describe contexts, social theory inclines more towards projecting, predicting, and…
By: Rose Anding on November 2, 2016
“God created black people and black people created style,” George C. Wolfe once wrote. “African-Americans heavily influence everything, entertainment to political discourse to the culture and conversations that fuel the Internet. And yet black users on social platforms are largely ignored by the companies who build them. In an effort to drive growth, many social…
By: Mary Walker on November 2, 2016
Contemporary Social Theory: An Introduction, by Anthony Elliott “… our capacity to imagine social things competently is an essential part of our practical sociologies. To see the world sociologically is to see it in the light of its organizing structures and orderings of power. This means seeing it also in the shadow of its own…
By: Garfield Harvey on November 2, 2016
When I started this program at George Fox, I knew it would play a critical role in both my personal ministry and leadership. Not only did it play a role, but it helped shaped my global perspective. This semester I had to privilege to attend a John Maxwell conference, live webinars with Michael Hyatt and…
By: Christal Jenkins Tanks on November 1, 2016
“Why do I care?” When The Theoretical Meets The Practical Anthony Elliot discusses various social theories in his book Contemporary Social Theory. When thinking about social theories one could ask the question”Why do I care?”. Elliott provides a simple answer “The present for us is always filtered through certain social-theoretical assumptions, precepts and ideas—however basic…
By: Pablo Morales on October 28, 2016
Summary Reading The Leadership Mystique is like drinking from a fire hose. Every chapter is full of insights, interesting stories and good quotes. The approach to the topic of leadership is rich, because it describes the complex dynamics that take place not only within the leader but also within the organization. Thus, the book was…
By: Garfield Harvey on October 28, 2016
As we continue our doctoral studies at George Fox, we learn many theories and definitions about leadership. What it is the leadership perspective? “As far as leadership studies go, it seems that more and more has been studied about less and less, to end up ironically with a group of researchers studying everything about nothing.”…
By: Kevin Norwood on October 28, 2016
Summary In his book The Leadership Mystique, Manfred Kets de Vries , professor in human resource management, INSEAD writes that “Organizations are like automobiles. They don’t run themselves, except downhill. They need people to make them work. And not just any people, but the right people.” Organizations are quite intricate organisms and have to…
By: Phil Goldsberry on October 27, 2016
Introduction What is the “shelf life” of a leader? Is he/she the determinant to how long they stay in office or is it contingent on other factors that are less tangible? Vision, perceived success, viability, and organizational health are factors to longevity but the character and skill set of a leader are more likely the…
By: Kristin Hamilton on October 27, 2016
“I’ve got some good news and some not so good news.” This is way my director approached me as a young manager many years ago. “I’m going to increase your staff,” she said. “You get an additional person to help with the workload.” That seemed like good news, so what could be bad. “The staff…
By: Aaron Cole on October 27, 2016
Summary: The Leadership Mystique, Leading Behavior in the Human Enterprise by Manfred Kets De Vries is a workbook collection of academic lectures with real world application. De Vires writing is not a simple “how to” but rather a real insight and reflection into the ever evolving subject of leadership. He begins with defining what leadership…
By: Christal Jenkins Tanks on October 27, 2016
I have worked in Corporate America for almost 15 years. Throughout my time, I have been advised and encouraged to read many books on leadership-from The Bible to Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg. Some of them provided sustainable and actionable practices while others provided motivation and inspiration. This week’s book Heroic Leadership: Best Practices from a…
By: Marc Andresen on October 27, 2016
Every Wednesday at noon I walk into a kind of liminal space and seek to be a global leader. I leave the familiarity of Corvallis, enter a room filled with international students eating soup, and look for an open chair in order to sit down and talk with perfect strangers who are nationally, culturally, linguistically…
By: Jason Kennedy on October 27, 2016
Theories are good things. They help us dream about the possibilities. I had theories of what parenting would be like before I had my first child. Let me give you an example of one. Before we were parents, we actually said that our kids would eat healthy and we will not stop at McDonalds. That…
