Introduction : the dialogue of disciplines / Ronald E. Riggio -- Is leadership studies a discipline? / Ronald E. Riggio -- The Jepson school : liberal arts as leadership studies / Joanne B. Ciulla -- Leadership and the classics / Michael A. Genovese and Lawrence A. Tritle -- Handmaiden and queen : what philosophers find in the question : "what is a leader?" / Joanne B. Ciulla -- Of history and leadership : the discipline of history and the understanding of leadership / J. Thomas Wren -- Classic sociology : Weber as an analyst of charisma / Stephen P. Turner -- Thinking sociologically about leadership / Sonia M. Ospina and Margo Hittleman -- What makes leadership necessary, possible and effective : the psychological dimensions / George R. Goethals and Crystal L. Hoyt -- The management perspective : engineering effective leadership in organizations / Ronald E. Riggio -- Leadership research and education : how business schools approach the concept of leadership / Susan Elaine Murphy and Stefanie K. Johnson -- Political science and the study of leadership : where have you gone, homo politicus? / Norman W. Provizer -- Leadership and education : leadership stories / Robert J. Sternberg -- Leadership in literary perspective / Nicolas O. Warner -- Learning how to look : the art of observation and leadership development / Anu M. Mitra -- Questioning leadership : an integrative model / Michael Harvey.

This unique, cross-disciplinary volume encourages a new synthesis in the vibrant field of leadership studies. Comprising reflective conversations among scholars from different disciplines, the contributors explore common ground for new research and ideas.
Beginning with chapters by noted experts in fields such as psychology, education and philosophy, the contributors present the key contributions from their disciplines. Through sustained critical interrogation and discussion, the goal is to discover to what extent 'leadership studies' exists, or can exist, as a meaningful discipline. Taken as a whole, the book presents a vigorous and timely picture of the diversity of contemporary leadership studies.

A must-read for serious scholars and students of leadership, this accessible and insightful book will be an exemplary foundational text for understanding the breadth and reach of interdisciplinary leadership studies