Cult Leadership

Cult Leadership

Cult leaders have the charisma and ability to exert power over their followers, even to the point of manipulating them into suicide or murder. In your Final Presentation, you will examine the leadership styles and influence tactics of cult leaders. You will be challenged to take the role of a community activist attempting to break the cult leader’s influence, which will require you to demonstrate your understanding of the concepts covered throughout the course.

Select one of the following cult leaders to research for your Final Presentation:

• Jim Jones
• David Koresh
• Sung Myung Moon
• Charles Manson
• Marshall Applewhite

Imagine that you are a community activist and have been given the opportunity to speak to the cult leader’s followers as if they existed today. In preparation for your speech, consider the components of the lifestyle or belief system you would specifically address as false or dangerous, any tactics that might compel their followers to think critically about the propaganda they have encountered, and any ethical violations occurring within the group.

Presentation Outline

Create an outline for a four- to six-minute video presentation that includes the main arguments you will make in your presentation. This does not need to be a word-for-word script but should provide your key points in bulleted format with citations and references as needed. Please click HERE to submit your presentation outline.

Video Presentation (I will be doing the video but need the information for it on a separate paper.)

Below, please record a 4- to 6-minute video in YouSeeU that includes the following components:

• Evaluate the ethical violations that were the most problematic or evident.
• Describe the leadership traits your chosen cult leader displays to persuade their audience.
• Determine the leadership skills you would need to undermine their influence.
  • Support your rationale with theories, concepts, and issues associated with leadership.
• Devise a plan for how you would prevent another cult leader from seizing power over a large group of people.

Read the “Recording a Video in YouSeeU” section of the Individual Video Activity (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. webpage for additional guidance.

The Cult Leadership presentation

• Must be four to six minutes in length (not including discussion of your references).
• Must include an outline of the presentation with the following:
  • Title of presentation
  • Student’s name
  • Course name and number
  • Instructor’s name
  • Date submitted
• Must use at least three scholarly sources in addition to the required course materials.
  • The Scholarly, Peer Reviewed, and Other Credible Sources (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. table offers additional guidance on appropriate source types. If you have questions about whether a specific source is appropriate for this assignment, please contact your instructor. Your instructor has the final say about the appropriateness of a specific source for a particular assignment.
• Must document all sources in APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site..
• Must include a separate references page that is formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.