This course examines the teacher as a social agent in society, using theories of social change to frame an analysis of teachers in American history and around the world today. Teachers play critical roles in mediating broad social forces, such as nationalism, modernization, and neoliberal economics; in some contexts, teachers take on explicitly activist roles, engaged in individual or collective acts of resistance against the state, while in others they play important roles as nation-builders, promoters of peace and democracy, and mediators of conflict. Teachers' own identities, biographies and histories may also provide impetus or means for affecting social change. Case studies in this course demonstrate the kinds of agency teachers can exercise in classrooms, at school sites, and across societies.