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Kimberly S. Yost is a 2012 graduate of the PhD Program in Leadership and Change at Antioch University

Keywords

crisis leadership, charismatic leadership, religious leadership, emergent leadership, shared leadership, science fiction, television, Battlestar Gallactica, love, forgiveness, redemption, otherness, home, interpretive hermeneutics, popular culture

Document Type

Dissertation

Publication Date

2012

Abstract

This dissertation explores the various ways in which the multiple leaders portrayed in the science fiction television series Battlestar Galactica (2003-2009) navigate extreme conditions of continual change. In addition, the dissertation contains a discussion of the larger narrative themes of love, forgiveness, redemption, and embracing the Other as principles effective leaders must cultivate. Through an interpretation of this specific popular media text, a deeper emotional sensitivity to and understanding of leadership, positive and negative, during extreme crises is gained. Furthermore, the series serves as a vehicle through which viewers can reflect on and engage in their own self-awareness about issues surrounding leadership and reconsider personal paradigms based on the depiction presented in the narrative. The choice for using an interpretive hermeneutic method for this dissertation comes from the specific desire to understand the visual text of Battlestar Galactica in relation to leadership studies. The goal is neither to predict behaviors nor to examine an individual case against theory. My intent is to develop our further and deeper understanding of leadership in extremis, while questioning how the visual text may influence our perceptions of leadership theory and practice. The electronic version of this dissertation is at OhioLink ETD Center, www.ohiolink.edu/etd

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