Jackson Institute for Global Affairs

Courage in Theory & Practice

Roz Savage

Why Courage Matters

❖ Future leadership❖ Skills in critical thinking❖ Resilience to fear-based campaigning❖ Life purpose -> wellbeing and fulfilment❖ Commitment to long-term common good❖ Smart decision-making

Courageous Life vs Average Life

Lifetime

Achi

e vem

ent

Courageous life

Average life

–Anaïs Nin“Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage.”

Week 2: The Hero’s Tale

Structure

❖ Phase 1: Separation or departure❖ Phase 2: Trials and victories of initiation❖ Phase 3: Return to society with the boon

Merriam-Webster❖ Definition of hero:

❖ a : a mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability

❖ b : an illustrious warrior❖ c : a person admired for achievements and

noble qualities❖ d : one who shows great courage

Wikipedia❖ A hero (masculine) or heroine (feminine) is a

person or main character of a literary work who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through impressive feats of ingenuity, bravery or strength, often sacrificing his or her own personal concerns for some greater good.

Examples of Heroes?

❖ Why are they considered heroes?❖ What values of our society do they represent?❖ Can you imagine a culture in which they would

not be considered heroic?

What values does the hero embody?

Heroes as a Product of their Era

Time

Defi

nitio

n of

her

ois m Divine/Mythical

Historical “Great Man”

Working class hero

Celebrities?

Oral traditions Books Movies Internet

Recent Heroes in the News

❖ Everyday Hero: Wheelchair of Hope Founder (lost arm and leg in rail yard accident while saving colleagues, has climbed Kilimanjaro and set up foundation)

❖ Hero teacher jumps down 75ft mine to save boy, 3, by keeping his head above water for TWO HOURS (and nearly dies herself)

❖ Off-Duty Firefighter Saves Restaurant Full Of People From Carbon Monoxide

❖ Terrified Man Who Fled New York Blast Immediately Returned To Help Victims

Action “Heroes”

Celebrity “Heroes”?

Actor refrains from running over pedestrian in her SUV

Actor manages to call 911, waits

Even if we don’t call them “heroes”, who do we pay

most attention to?

“You’re the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with.” —- Jim Rohn

“The people we admire can have an ongoing and often unrecognized impact on our thinking, our decisions, and the way we live our lives.”

— Barbara Bernard

What was the impact on you of reading about the winners of the Nobel Peace Prize?

(Gallup, 28th Dec 2016)

(Gallup, 28th Dec 2016)

Flawed “Heroes”

Exercise❖ Who are the five people you spend the most time

with (in real life, online, in the media etc)?❖ What would the average of those five people

look like?❖ Is that the person you want to be?

Feminine Heroism

❖ Kimmel (1996): Gender must be made visible to men since “we continue to treat our male military, political, scientific or literary figures as if their gender, their masculinity, had nothing to do with their military exploits, policy decisions, scientific experiments, or writing styles and subject”.

Women in Wartime❖ Halonen (1999): Images of women in situations

of catastrophe are usually portrayed as:❖ crying woman (usually mourning for a man)❖ earth mother❖ women crying together (sisterhood)❖ mother and child as victims of war❖ damsel in distress waiting to be rescued by a

man

Disney Princesses – Suitable Role Models?

The Heroic Inner Narrative

Homework (optional)❖ Think of a story from your past when you were at your

most “heroic”. ❖ In 100-200 words, write the story as you normally

would.❖ In 100-200 words, write it as a heroic tale, focusing

on the emotions, qualities, and strengths that elevate it from the everyday to the heroic.

❖ Now write about something audacious you want to do in the future, using the heroic style.

❖ What are your monsters/Kryptonite?