Leading Rites: An Examination of Ritualization and Leadership in Faculty Professional Life

How does the faculty of a small liberal arts college make meaning of their professional careers and their personal lives? In this book, based on a particular study at one small college in the Midwest, author Shah Hasan explores the narrative contours of the lives of four faculty members—Francesca, Charles, Paula, and Rebecca. Utilizing the qualitative research approaches of extended interviews, narrative analysis, and narrative inquiry, the stories of their service at the college are excavated for patterns of ritualization and leadership.