Changemaking for Planetary Impact

CGF 194 - Being the Change

This course explores what it means to "be the change" by helping you reflect on your identity, understand the forces shaping our world, and build skills for meaningful impact. Through interactive, collaborative learning, you'll practice key patterns of changemaking and develop a clear, actionable vision for your future.

Overview

What does it mean to be the change - not just to react to the world, but to actively create purpose in your life? In a time of rapid change - climate crisis, inequality, polarization, and technological disruption - learning to be the change is more important than ever. But change doesn't just happen to us - it begins with us. This course is designed to help you do just that. Together with a community of fellow changemakers, you'll reflect on who you are, face the challenges of today's world, and explore how to live with clarity and intention.

You won't just learn alone - you'll learn with and from each other. Through interactive media and tools, powerful stories, AI, and hands-on practice, you'll explore five timeless patterns of changemaking: Identity, Ignorance, Responsibility, Presence, and Service.

You'll finish by articulating a Future Vision that makes your purpose concrete and actionable. Along the way, you'll discover that creating purpose together is one of the best ways to future-proof your career. Employers today are looking for changemakers: people who can adapt, lead, and collaborate across differences. This course equips you to thrive - not just professionally, but personally and collectively.

Check out an article about this course: Being the change starts with who you think you are

Requirements

To be successful in this course, we recommend English language fluency and computer literacy. We also encourage you to make sure your laptop or desktop computer meets the technical requirements.

What you’ll learn

Explore self and identity: Define and reflect on the layers of personal identity - social, psychological, and existential - and explain how expanding one's sense of self deepens awareness, compassion, and capacity for changemaking
Recognize the forces that shape us: Analyze how culture, systems, and lived experiences (culture, trauma, belief systems, and collective narratives) shape human behavior, values, and worldviews
Examine the stories we live in: Identify dominant "stories of the world," such as separation and interbeing, and evaluate how these narratives influence human action, global systems, and the conservation of life and ecological well-being
Envision a more beautiful and sustainable future: Apply futures thinking to imagine preferred and regenerative futures that reflect universal well-being - integrating personal values, creativity, and responsibility for both people and the conservation of our shared planet
Embody the practice of BEing the change: Differentiate between "doing change" and "being the change," and articulate a personal understanding of how inner awareness, presence, and intention guide outer impact
Practice the five patterns of BEing the change: Demonstrate understanding and practical application of the five core patterns - identity, ignorance (openness), responsibility (responding), presence, and service - as guiding principles for personal, relational, and planetary transformation and conservation
Integrate changemaking into life and work: synthesize learning from across the course to construct a personal changemaker narrative, connecting purpose, values, and professional pathways to real-world action and ongoing contribution
Model effective interpersonal communication: Model and demonstrate effective interpersonal communication skills by applying strategies such as active listening, respectful discourse, clear messaging, and conflict resolution across diverse contexts

Transcript

This course appears on your transcript identically to how it appears on the transcript of an enrolled ASU student who has taken the course on one of ASU's campuses. Course attendance dates will be listed on your transcript. An on-demand course will appear on your transcript in the session you complete the course.

This course satisfies 3 credit hours at Arizona State University. It is strongly encouraged that you consult with your institution of choice to determine how these credits will be applied to their degree requirements prior to transferring your credit.