We live in a moment both besieged by abuse of power and teeming with creative forms of resistance and change. Indeed, power is everywhere in the popular imagination—Game of Thrones, the Arab Spring, Wikileaks, 'ISIS,' the list could go on. But what do we really know about it—what is it, how does it work, who has it, and where does it reside? This course explores the exciting and daunting terrain of power—investigating its components, systems and products, surveying its foundational thinkers, concepts and theories, and examining its practice/presence in the media as well as through case studies and simulations. Guided by a critical and rhetorical approach, this course will examine power through the lens of resistance and revolt, studying the specific ways in which the seemingly powerless have wielded symbols in remarkably powerful and productive ways. The first section of the course, ‘power inventories,’ introduces students to the various, interdisciplinary approaches to power—structural, material, relational, network and discursive. The second unit, ‘power literacies,’ uses real world examples and case studies to help students understand, navigate and manipulate power relations.

The course is guided by the following learning objectives:

• Observe and articulate power  on a local/personal level through regular meditations
• Identify and utilize power vocabularies through media analyses (tv drama and letter to editor)
• Experience, embody and apply power/relations through practices
• Describe and present theories and concepts in power through chapter presentations and Q &A
• Analyze and apply theories of power through a narrative from the future of your home