course one seminar screencature2.png — How to Change the World—Theories and Practices

This six session online seminar, co-taught by the co-creator of Occupy Wall Street, was filmed at Bard College’s Hannah Arendt Center and includes a symposium on “**Why do protests fail?**” featuring **Alicia Garza**, the co-founder of Black Lives Matter.

$50/month. Cancel Anytime.
Five Hours of Course Videos
Free Downloads of Course Readings
Live Teaching Assistant to Support You
Lifetime Access to Student and Alumni Community for Discussion
Study at Your Own Pace

This seven session course is entirely online. Each session will take between three to four hours to complete. You do not need a college degree to enroll at Activist Graduate School. Our courses are open to activists of all ages and educational backgrounds. Tuition is $50/month for access to the course videos. This is a special Mother’s Day pricing. You do not need to be a mother to claim this discount. Work through the course at your own pace. Start today for unlimited access.

alicia garza.png — Course Information

**LENGTH:**
6 sessions + symposium (5 hours of video)
**EFFORT:**
Each session will take between 3 - 4 hours to complete: one hour to watch the video and 2 hours to do the assigned reading. The course is entirely online.
**TAUGHT AND FILMED AT**:
Hannah Arendt Center at Bard College
**PRICE:**
$50/month (Special Discount)

Course Description

Whether we are campaigning on civil rights, environmental justice, refugee rights or LGBTQIA and women’s rights, the first prerequisite to success is a theory of social change that guides our methods. The range of potential protest tactics is so plentiful—from direct action in the streets to silent prayerful vigils, self-organized worker cooperatives to electoral ballot initiatives—that every activist, whether consciously or not, relies on a theory of change to decide their actions. If the theory of change underlying our activism is false, then our protests are bound to fail.

At the same time, social change is constant and complex, involving factors both within and beyond human control. Often, an unexamined set of assumptions govern—and limit—our attempts to make change. This course intends to refresh and expand our thinking about activism by studying theories of change.

Course includes a revolutionary discussion with Alicia Garza, the co-founder of Black Lives Matter, Dr. Lenora Fulani, the first woman to run for President and get on the ballot in all 50 states, and Souta Calling Last, the founder of Indigenous Vision on the question, “Why do protests fail?”

Online students will develop campaign proposals on an issue of their choice.