3E — Building Power

Introduction

Chapter 1 — Overview

A — Social Action's Role in U.S. Experiment in Democracy B — US College Social Action C — Benefits of Social Action for Students Campuses, and Society D — The Vision: Bringing Social Action into the Classroom E — Overcoming Challenges of Teaching Social Action

Chapter 2 — Developing a Social Action Class

A — Academic Course vs Co-Curricular / B — Prerequisites  C — Creating a Social Action Syllabus D — Teaching Style / E — Classroom Norms F — The Students G — Building Campus Allies and Community Partners H —The Role of Place / I —Each Semester vs Every Year (or Other Year) J — Maintaining Momentum

Chapter 3 — Launching Student Campaigns

A — On Your Mark: Preparing Students for the Road Ahead B — Students Choose Their Issue - GO! C — Group Dynamics, part 1-Setting the Tone (Get Set) D — Change Theory E — Building Power F — Social Action Campus Tour G — Research: Historical Overview, Power Mapping, & Target Analysis H — Group Dynamics, part 2 I — Strategy & Tactics J — Campaign Kickoff

Chapter 4 — Campaign Planning, Implementation, and Evaluation

A — Timeline & Campaign Plan B — Campaign Implementation: "Series of Actions" Begins C — Campaign Execution & Case Studies D — Campaign Evaluation E — Day of the Final: Campaign Notebook & Group Presentation

Chapter 5 — Where to Go From Here

A — Next Semester B — Mainstreaming Social Action C — Social Action Internship Program D — Pipeline to Jobs & Graduate School E — Status of Current Campaigns F — Impact of Social Action on Former Social Action Students

CHANGE! A Guide to Teaching Social Action

• Chapter 3E: Building Power: Student Recruitment and Alliances Theory: (p. 79-84)

Sociology 164: Social Action Assignments

Discussion

There are 3 types of power (i.e., power over, power with, power for, p. 44-45) and they manifest in 3 ways (organized people, organized money, and organized violence, p. 47).

Once the students understand what is power, it is important to explore with them how to get power. If they don't like the world as it is, it is because their ideas do not have enough power behind them, and that they will have to gain power in order to change the world.

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Building Power: Recruit

Tabling

Make signs.

 http://www.bonner.org/socialaction-tabling

Fliers

Good fliers are colorful include the following information:

1. Demand
2. Target ?

See Student Campaigns for more examples.

Sign Up Sheet

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Build Knowledge--> Build Power

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Class Mural Board Can Manage Building Power Activities

As part of the discussion on building power in class, I show them on Mural Board the various campaign activities that compose this section. These include:

In addition, I send an email to the students after class and state: “Please get to work immediately on these campaign activities. Let me know if I can be of assistance, and make all your additions on the Mural board so I can see them. Start tabling!”

Campaign Case Study

The Students for Filipino Farmworkers campaign developed the following plan for building power (as posted on the class Mural Board):

Here are the above campaign activities of the Students for Filipino Farmworkers:

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1. Organizational Rap

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2A. Sign-up Sheet

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2B. Interest Form via Google Forms

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3. Fliers

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4. Tabling

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5. Social Media

Course Development Questions

1. What part of how students “build power” did you find the most interesting?
2. What might you use from this book and CHANGE! A Student Guide to Social Action, as well as other sources, to explain power?
3. What other ways might you teach building power?