Many parts of the world can feel fixed: political systems, economic inequality, climate policy, the power of large institutions. It’s easy to assume that meaningful change only happens at scales far beyond anything an individual or small group can influence.

And yet history repeatedly tells a different story. Small networks—sometimes just a handful of people—have shifted what entire societies considered normal or possible. Religious minorities helped end the slave trade. Workers’ movements reshaped political systems. Small circles of thinkers and organizers have influenced how governments approach markets, welfare, and technology.

This course looks at how change like this actually happens—and why it often fails.
Through a series of concrete historical and contemporary examples, we’ll examine how groups grow, build alliances, survive setbacks, and find leverage within larger systems. Instead of treating these movements as heroic stories, we’ll look at them as living systems shaped by strategy, organization, timing, and internal tensions.

Sessions combine discussion, case analysis, and interactive exercises where we step into real dilemmas movements face: how to attract allies, how to respond to opposition, and how to turn attention into lasting change.

In the final part of the course, you’ll apply these insights to issues you personally care about, mapping where decisions are actually made and where small, realistic interventions might shift outcomes.

The aim is not simply inspiration, but clarity: understanding why change is difficult, how it sometimes succeeds, and where individuals and small groups can genuinely make a difference.