The first three assignments build on each other scaffolding academic skills from the bottom up, from specific to more complex, that will serve you in future political science courses or courses in virtually any subject. This first assignment will focus on the Canvas readings about power and the specific sources and forms of power. The second assignment will focus on power and human rights, and the third will include power, human rights, and justice. This first assignment is about power, a concept that is important in understanding every part of political science, real-life politics and your life. The skills for this assignment include the importance of defining terms and clearly describing the relationships between these terms and politics and your life experience. 1: Using our course material and any additional credible internet research you find helpful come up with a working general definition of power. It doesn't have to be perfect. As you learn more, you can always revise it. Start with the two examples in our readings in the video by Eric Liu and the one in our readings from Prof. Jerry Jacks. 2: Choose any two of the sources and forms of power from our readings. Define the source/form and describe its relationship to your life experience. Here are some questions below to stimulate your thinking. You don't have to answer all these questions. Which of the sources and forms of power do you see on campus, in your workplace, place of worship (if applicable) and in political issues of interest to you? Is power used in these settings in legitimate or illegitimate ways (or both)? What sources and forms of power do you personally have access to? Are any denied? What power do you have to affect politics at any level (school, work, community, state or national) ? Have you been involved in political campaigns or community activism of any kind. It's fine if you have not, but if you have share your experience. Consider Prof. Dacher Keltner's "power paradox" reading (inline link here)- the problem that empathy declines as people rise up the chain of command. What is a personal example you have seen of excellent and not so excellent leadership (abuse of power)? Give examples of the sources and forms of power used by these leaders. This assignment is part of our first learning objective: Learning and applying political science core concepts such as power, freedom and justice to your own life and the world around you. To demonstrate competency for this objective in your short reflection assignment, show that you understand the course building block power by clearly defining terms, as well as applicable sources and forms of power and clearly explain how they apply to examples you draw from your life.