"When you have decided what you believe, what you feel must be done, have the courage to stand up and be counted." -- Eleanor Roosevelt

Courses are offered in partnership with the Department of Anthropology at the University of Hawaii, Manoa.

Service Learning & Leadership, I & II

 “The best way to find yourself,” Gandhi once wrote, “is to lose yourself in the service of others.” The purpose of these classes is to expose students to the new field of service learning and leadership, which combines community service with the study of servant leadership and civic engagement. This two-semester course will provide students with the unique opportunity to apply their studies in the classroom to their volunteer work in the community.

As a class, we will take part in field trips and group service projects with local nonprofits. During the second semester, students will do internships at a particular agency, culminating in a written paper and presentation to the class. These projects will count toward the 45 hours of outside community service that EWC fellows need to complete as part of their fellowship.

The Hawaii International Film Festival originated at the East-West Center more than 20 years ago in an effort to strengthen relations and understanding among the nations of the Asia Pacific community. Continuing that goal, the purpose of this course is to expose students to a wide range of films and readings that deal with themes of leadership. The course will feature cutting-edge movies and documentaries from Japan, China, Korea, New Zealand, America and other cultures in the Asia Pacific region.

The readings will include classic theories of leadership from Sun Tzu to Machiavelli to Martin Luther King, Jr. Students will study universal themes of leadership that transcend time, place and culture, while also examining unique indigenous models. By analyzing the dynamics of leadership through film and literature, students will then develop their own ideas and beliefs about what it means to be an effective leader.

The economist John Kenneth Galbraith once wrote that all great leaders have one thing in common: “The willingness to confront unequivocally the major anxiety of their people in their time.” Balancing the more historical approach of Film & Leadership, this course will examine modern leadership theories and how contemporary leaders “confront” the challenges of their time and fulfill the needs of their particular followers. Students will have the opportunity to research, interview and profile contemporary leaders, including EWC alumni in Asia Pacific, and develop leadership case studies. These profiles and case studies will eventually be published on an internet site and form a databank to be utilized by all leadership education students at the EWC.