Politics involves making decisions and distributing power and resources in groups or between individuals. It refers to activities associated with governance, social movements aim to create political and social change. While some see activism and social movements as inherently political due to their aims to influence decision-making, others argue that not taking a stance is also a political act in itself. Discussing these concepts highlighted that politics permeates many aspects of society in both obvious and subtle ways.
1. Image description: Illustration entitled “Politics” by Zabou licensed under CC BY 3.0 shows a person wearing a suit with a
screaming gorilla head seated at a table next to a person wearing a suit with a braying elk head next to a person wearing a suit
with a shark’s head and dorsal fin, holding up their left index finger and opening their mouth, as if interjecting.
2. For your consideration:
What are politics?
6-minute freewrite/draw:
•What are politics? What does it mean to be
political?
•What is activism? Is activism political?
•What are social movements? Is social
movement political?
Discuss your answers with a partner.
4. Politics (from Greek: Πολιτικά,
politiká, 'affairs of the cities') is the
set of activities that are associated
with making decisions in groups, or
other forms of power relations
between individuals, such as the
distribution of resources or status.
8. List as many social movements
as you can think of, whether
beneficial, harmful, or
inconsequential.
Construct an alphabetic list in today’s class notes.
Brainstorm
