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Wikipedia:GLAM/Wellcome/Events and Workshops/Beyond the Asylum

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About the event

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This event was followed by another Beyond the Asylum Wikithon
A black and white engraving print of an outdoor scene. On the left, a man is gardening beside a wheelbarrow. In the centre, a woman and child stroll along a path. On the right, just in front of an arched building, a man plays with a small dog.
The "pleasure grounds and aviary" of Ticehurst Asylum - one of the various places/organisations/people from the history of psychiatry and mental health which doesn't yet have a Wikipedia Page.

Beyond the Asylum will showcase some of the fascinating research on the history of psychiatry and mental health, and then give participants the opportunity to make some of that history available to an even wider audience by improving Wikipedia content.

We'll begin with a morning of talks on various aspects of the history of psychiatry and mental health, to provide some inspiration for the editing to come! Topics will include the displacement of asylum patients during World War I, the deinstitutionalisation process whereby asylums were replaced by community care, and the uses of psychiatry in colonial rule (amongst others!). We'll also feature a talk from one of the team who created Bedlam: The Asylum and Beyond about the process of creating the exhibition and the content that did not make it into the final version.

After a break for lunch, we'll dive into some wiki-training from Alice White, Wikimedian in Residence at the Wellcome Library, which will cover everything from the Five Pillars of Wikipedia to creating an account and how to edit. After learning your way around and getting comfortable with editing, you will have the opportunity to develop articles on the history of psychiatry: there are lots of pages on institutions, groups and individuals (particularly women) that are missing or very brief, so there’s lots of scope for making some exciting improvements!

Full training will be provided, and no previous experience is necessary, though a little digital skill is needed – but if you can use Microsoft Word, you can edit Wikipedia. Participants should bring a laptop or tablet – editing is much easier with a keyboard. If you’ve spotted an article that needs improving, bring along your queries and we’ll see what we can do to help!

How do I prepare?
  • Sign up for the event!
  • Bring a laptop (wifi will be provided), some laptops may be available - let me know in advance via email if you'll need to borrow one.
  • Learn about editing if you like: see Visual Editor user guide for more information.
  • Think about what you would like to edit about - you can even prepare some materials to bring with you on the day (to help with verifiability).
  • Check out the notability guidelines and what topics can be written about on Wikipedia.
  • Think about whether you have any conflicts of interest.

Programme

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The day will start at 10am, with a chance to check out the exhibition and warm up with a cup of tea or coffee.

We'll then move on to hearing some inspirational history of psychiatry & mental health (there'll be a break between the talks for lunch). Talks will include:

  • Mike Jay & Julia Nurse - Behind the Scenes at Bedlam
  • Jennifer Farquharson - 'Move out!': the marginalisation of soldiers and civilians in Great War Scotland
  • Russell Moul - Healing or Breaking Minds? Psychiatry in British Kenya & French Algeria, 1950-64
  • Sonu Shamdasani - Psychotherapy in Society: Historical Notes
  • Matthew Smith - Deinstitutionalisation and After: The Mad Back Among Us?

Then we'll move on to some wiki-editing! Experienced and new editors are very welcome - there'll be training for new editors and tips for experienced editors - to improve some history of psychiatry and mental health pages.

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Category:History of mental health in the United Kingdom useful category to add to new articles

Participants

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Wiki-editors can add their names here during the event...

Content to Improve/Create

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Here are some suggestions (along with links to more information to get you started) - feel free to add your own too!

Male Lunatic Asylum at Kissy in Sierra Leone, photo from Wellcome Images

Content Improved / Created

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Add pages you've created or worked on to this list!

Inspiration for even more improvements

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If you'd like to join us remotely or continue to edit after the event, there are plenty of improvements to make - we'll suggest some here soon!