Journal Week 5
9/14: This week in class we studied leadership development from the fictional play Lysistrata. Lysistrata is a comedy written by Aristophanes from the 5th Century B.C.E. and is set during the historical Peloponnesian war between Athens and Sparta. It was first performed in 411 B.C.E. The strategy which Lysistrata, the main character of the play, uses to end the war raises important questions about war, power, politics, and gender. In the play, Lysistrata persuades her fellow female Athenians to withhold sexual privileges from their husbands and lovers. Then, Lysistrata and the women seize control of the Acropolis, and the treasury — controlling the funding for the war against Sparta — giving them real economic and political power. I enjoyed reading the play and saw many similarities Lysistrata and Athena from the Odyssey. This isn’t just because both plays take place during the Classical Greece era, but because of the similarities in mentorship roles between Lysistrata and the women of Athens and Athena and Telemachus. They both evoke menos in their mentee(s) to bring out the best in them during their missions.
Notes:
Vocabulary:
denial of agency: the practice of treating someone as though they cannot plan or carry out a plan and area assumed, without evidence, they would have trouble focusing on a task, living up to an agreement, or taking responsibility.
denial of experience: the practice of treating someone as thought their emotional and psychological experience of the world is closer to that of an animal or inanimate object such as a robot
9/15:
Assignment
This may seem unbelievable, but I personally cannot think of a time when I or anyone I’ve witnessed has had our leadership hindered because of a negative stereotype about some aspect of my or their identity. I fully understand the situations where a marginalized person would be doubted in their ability to lead due to their identity whether it be because they’re a woman, a young person, a Black person, someone with a foreign accent or that doesn’t speak English as a first language, a person that is part of the LGBTQ community, an economically disadvantaged person, or someone who is visibly Muslim or Sikh based on their religious attire. This may be due to the fact that I live in the Bay Area which is know to be one of, if not the most, tolerant places in the country. Marginalized people are often doubted in their leadership capabilities due to the fact that we live in a society that champions white, Judeo-Christian, heterosexual men of high socioeconomic status.
In my family we have a division of responsibilities, not based on age, but on chores or task that we each have preference for. Support for one another, mutually, to stay focused on the mission of being a successful family unit is key to what brings us together. Other features that are ideal in a group for meeting the needs of others are: accepting responsibility for shortcomings, planning objectives thoroughly that benefit the group in its entirety, and recruiting others with similar characteristic traits and goals to join the group. I wouldn’t replace anyone in my group because its my family, but an improvement I would make would be with my brother and sister being mindful of making positive critique rather than negative criticism. To improve myself I would be more open to other’s opinions and ideas in my family even if they differ from those of mine.
9/16: Today we had the class quiz on the play Lysistrata. I thought I did really well on the quiz and assume I got a high grade, if not an A than a B. Most of the quiz was on vocabulary including ancient Greek terms, but also with important events from the play. I enjoyed reading and studying the leadership development this chapter because it focuses on Ancient Greece, a time period that I studied in middle school but don’t remember too well but am interested in because of how long it lasted.
