Power: Interpersonal, Organizational and Global Dimensions
This MIT OpenCourseWare course examines how power operates at every scale, from a marriage to a nation-state. Drawing on anthropology, sociology, and classical and contemporary social theory, it looks at what makes authority legitimate, how subordinates resist domination, and how influence spreads through everyday social pressure. Topics include who controls decisions inside families, what actually helps people advance at work, and whether democratic institutions genuinely translate popular will into policy or merely dress up elite control in democratic language. The course materials include a full syllabus, weekly readings drawn from major social theorists, and assignments that ask students to apply theoretical frameworks to real cases of authority and resistance. As with other MIT OCW offerings, all course materials are free to access online under a Creative Commons license, with no certificate offered.