Chapter 2 - Critical Perspectives as Interpretive Frameworks

Question 1

What does it mean to be a critical learner of leadership?

Answer 1

You are a leadership theorist. It’s up to you to examine and test out the theories presented to you.

Question 2

True or false: Theory is accurate idea that is put into action.

Answer 2

Theory is never “accurate” or “wrong” it is only more ore less illuminating, provocative and an incitement to thought.
let go of theoretical certainty

Question 3

What is critical social theory?

Answer 3

ask questions
challenge assumptions
be part of your own learning process
create a world that is more just

Question 4

Critical social theories are concerned with _______ the flow of power in society, how this ________ to social stratification, and ways in which we can ______ more democratic and just social arragements.

Answer 4

understanding, contributes, create

Question 5

Critical social theories are a direct \_\_\_\_\_ of positivism
presume structural \_\_\_\_\_\_\_
disrupt taken for granted assumptions
\_\_\_\_\_ agency within structure
\_\_\_\_\_\_ social change

Answer 5

rejection, inequality, envision, advance

Question 6

What are the 3 central themes of critical social theory?

Answer 6

stocks of knowledge
ideology and hegemony
social location

Question 7

common-sense rules or assumptions that govern how individuals view, interpret, and experience the world.

Answer 7

stocks of knowledge

Question 8

the 5 key features of stocks of knowledge are…

Answer 8

1. rarely scrutinized for accuracy
2. ease navigation of the world but are not necessarily accurate
3. shaped by lived experience but inherited through socialization
4. altered only through novel situations that bring them to consciousness and question their accuracy/validity
5. socially distributed and vary based on identity dimensions

Question 9

this is a result of individuals’ consent or silent acceptance of a dominant group.

Answer 9

Hegemony

Question 10

broadly accepted values, beliefs, myths, explanations, and justifications that appears self-evidently true, empirically accurate, personally relevant, and morally desirable to a majority of the populace.

Answer 10

Ideology

The function is to maintain an unjust social and political order

Question 11

the position one holds in society based on a variety of social identities that are considered important to and in turn frame how the world is experienced

Answer 11

social location

Question 12

what are examples of social identities?

Answer 12

race, socioeconomic status, gender identity, sexual orientation, geographic location, occupation

Question 13

what is deconstruction?

Answer 13

the surfacing and disruption of false dichotomies and how these seemingly oppositional concepts are actually relationally interwined with one another.
tool to challenge binaries and surface false assumptions

Question 14

give examples of dichotomies

Answer 14

born versus made, leader versus follower, leader versus leadership

Question 15

questions the underlying core beliefs of a theory attempting to identify what is positioned as normative

Answer 15

ideological critique

Question 16

questions how maximizing productivity of people and diminishing of knowledge

Answer 16

commodification

Question 17

questions the degree to which power is acknowledged, how it flows and the ways in which it shapes experiences and relationships

Answer 17

flow of power

Question 18

questions how and why people may remain purposefully unaware to avoid responsibilty and replicate hegemonic norms

Answer 18

willful blindness

Question 19

purposefully and explicitly attempts to identify name, and address hegemonic norms

Answer 19

disrupting normativity

Question 20

identifies and defines power, addresses its flow and impact and attempts to distribut it in equitable and just ways

Answer 20

attending to power

Question 21

disrupts utopian perspectives, recognizes the effects of oppression, meets people where they are and emphasizes the building of coalitions

Answer 21

building interest convergence

Question 22

positions the development of personal and collective agency as central to the purpose of leadership

Answer 22

cultivating agency

Question 23

Which are the tools of deconstruction

Answer 23

ideological critique, commodification, flow of power, willful blindess

Question 24

which are the tools of reconstruction?

Answer 24

disrupting normativity, attending to power, building interest convergence, cultivating agency

Question 25

define metacognition

Answer 25

thinking about how we think. exploring our awareness of the learning process itself

Question 26

_____ ____ pushes the boundaries of sensemaking to examine often unchallenged assumptions; requiring vulnerability, suspension of ego and increased comfort with personal fallibility.

Answer 26

critical self reflection

Question 27

What is essential for preparation for applying critical perspectives

Answer 27

metacognition, critical self-reflection, social perspective taking, dialectical thinking, critical hope

Question 28

_______ requires us to engage in the process of holding two seemingly contradictory concepts in unison.

Answer 28

dialectical thinking

Question 29

____ is derived from the realistic appraisal of conditions, a sense of personal and collective resilience and the ability to envision a better future.

Answer 29

critical hope