Moving Toward a Literature Review Outline

My professor, mentor, dissertation director
and very good friend,
Dr. Michael Langston, Brigadier General Deputy
Commander South Carolina  State Guard

Major themes identified in bibliographic sources show that this project is strong with background material necessary to explore Emperor Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations, the centerpiece of this project. Bibliographic material also reveals a weakness in terms of sources that make application of the Emperor’s journal for Christian leaders, specifically. This is where the gaps may lie so this researcher will need the freedom to create a plan of one’s own, noting most importantly “but that plan must make sense to your readers.” (Turabian 2018, 67). As Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations lie at the heart of the project, major themes such as biography and literary analysis become obvious and, with help of the outline, the reader should be guided through the content. Other themes then become evident such as Stoic philosophy and Christian practice, personal development and leadership principles. The outline provides the framework on which the review will be built.

The biographic section will explore Marcus Aurelius as Emperor, Philosopher, and man. Some consideration will be given to the question regarding the state, influence, and reception of Christianity during his rule. The works section will delve into his personal journal considering its intention, style, themes, subthemes, legacy, and impact. The leadership section will consider compatible concepts of Stoic Philosophy and Christianity as well as the nature of leadership in the context of congruent themes.

Through personal study, it has been observed how the personal journal of Roman Emperor and Stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius has been a curious attraction for leaders across the ages and around the world. A renewed interest in Meditations indicates the presence of timeless principles to be explored and extrapolated by Christian leaders. This research project intends to explore Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations for a model of using philosophy as a daily-practice for Christian leaders.

The most challenging aspect related to this project so far is how each assignment is an exercise and is by no means final; that is, everything is a draft. One recognizes that every step along the way is simply that: a step along the way. One must be accustomed to “living in revision-land” for a while. This project toes the line of Ph.D. work by moving a piece of ancient literature off the shelf and into the awareness and hands of practicing leaders because of the value it brings as a leader writing to himself with the goal to simply be a better person, so it deserves the time to be carefully examined and applied.

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Turabian, Kate L. 2018. A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, Ninth Edition: Chicago Style for Students and Researchers. Edited by Wayne C. Booth, Gregory G. Colomb, Joseph M. Williams, Joseph Bizup, William T. FitzGerald, and The University of Chicago Press Editorial Staff. Ninth edition. Chicago; London: University of Chicago Press.