Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/Arizona State University/Media, Community and Identity Politics (Spring 2017)
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- Course name
- Media, Community and Identity Politics
- Institution
- Arizona State University
- Instructor
- Aviva Dove-Viebahn
- Wikipedia Expert
- Adam (Wiki Ed)
- Subject
- Honors Interdisciplinary
- Course dates
- 2017-01-09 00:00:00 UTC – 2017-04-26 23:59:59 UTC
- Approximate number of student editors
- 20
In this course, we will interrogate the role of media in the formation of identities and of communities, actual and imagined. Adopting an intersectional and temporally dynamic approach to media analysis, we will explore the juxtaposition of identity and its various markers (race, class, language, gender, sexual orientation, etc.) vis-à-vis media in the past, present, and future—from photography, film, and popular music to social media, activism, and video games. This course asks and will attempt to answer the following questions: How are communities formed? How do ideological investments and socio-political loyalties shape communities? And how do media represent, misrepresent, stereotype, inform, and/or critique issues of gender, race, ethnicity, and sexuality in popular culture?
Timeline
Week 1
- Course meetings
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- Monday, 9 January 2017 | Wednesday, 11 January 2017
- In class - Introduction to the Wikipedia project
Welcome to your Wikipedia project's course timeline. This page will guide you through the Wikipedia project for your course. Be sure to check with your instructor to see if there are other pages you should be following as well.
This page breaks down writing a Wikipedia article into a series of steps, or milestones. These steps include online trainings to help you get started on Wikipedia.
Your course has also been assigned a Wikipedia Content Expert. Check your Talk page for notes from them. You can also reach them through the "Get Help" button on this page.
To get started, please review the following handouts:
- Editing Wikipedia pages 1–5
- Evaluating Wikipedia
- Assignment - Practicing the basics
- Create an account and join this course page, using the enrollment link your instructor sent you.
- It's time to dive into Wikipedia. Below, you'll find the first set of online trainings you'll need to take. New modules will appear on this timeline as you get to new milestones. Be sure to check back and complete them! Incomplete trainings will be reflected in your grade.
- When you finish the trainings, practice by introducing yourself to a classmate on that classmate’s Talk page.
- Milestones
This week, everyone should have a Wikipedia account.
Week 2
- Course meetings
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- Wednesday, 18 January 2017
- Assignment - Critique an article
It's time to think critically about Wikipedia articles. You'll evaluate a Wikipedia article, and leave suggestions for improving it on the article's Talk page.
- Complete the "Evaluating Articles and Sources" training (linked below).
- Read the article about Identity Politics, and think about the following questions (but don't feel limited to these):
- Is each fact referenced with an appropriate, reliable reference?
- Is everything in the article relevant to the article topic? Is there anything that distracted you?
- Is the article neutral? Are there any claims, or frames, that appear heavily biased toward a particular position?
- Where does the information come from? Are these neutral sources? If biased, is that bias noted?
- Are there viewpoints that are overrepresented, or underrepresented?
- Check a few citations. Do the links work? Is there any close paraphrasing or plagiarism in the article?
- Is any information out of date? Is anything missing that could be added?
- Create a section in your sandbox space where you leave your article critique.
- Choose at least 1 question relevant to the article & leave your evaluation on the article's Talk page. Be sure to sign your feedback with four tildes — Adovevie (talk) 06:10, 1 March 2017 (UTC).
- In class - Discussion
- What's a content gap?
Now that you're thinking about what makes a "good" Wikipedia article, consider some additional questions.
- Wikipedians often talk about "content gaps." What do you think a content gap is, and what are some possible ways to identify them?
- What are some reasons a content gap might arise? What are some ways to remedy them?
- Does it matter who writes Wikipedia?
- What does it mean to be "unbiased" on Wikipedia? How is that different, or similar, to your own definition of "bias"?
Week 3
- Course meetings
-
- Monday, 23 January 2017 | Wednesday, 25 January 2017
- Assignment - Add to an article
Familiarize yourself with editing Wikipedia by adding a citation to an article. There are two ways you can do this:
- Find an article in the Category:Identity politics list.
- Add 1-2 sentences to a course-related article, and cite that statement to a reliable source, as you learned in the online training ; OR
- Copyedit the article, or re-write a paragraph that is particularly poorly written.
- Create a space in your sandbox where you summarize your contribution.
Week 4
- Course meetings
-
- Monday, 30 January 2017 | Wednesday, 1 February 2017
- In class - Discussion
- Thinking about sources and plagiarism
- Blog posts and press releases are considered poor sources of reliable information. Why?
- What are some reasons you might not want to use a company's website as the main source of information about that company?
- What is the difference between a copyright violation and plagiarism?
- What are some good techniques to avoid close paraphrasing and plagiarism?
- Assignment - Choose possible topics
- Review page 6 of your Editing Wikipedia guidebook.
- Browse Wikipedia for an article that you want to work to improve this term. You can use the same article you selected last week or pick a new one. Consider browsing the following article lists for inspiration:
- Category:Community
- Category:Identity politics
- Category:Feminism stubs
- Category:Culture stubs (or any of the sub-categories within)
- Category:Mass media stubs (or any of the sub-categories within)
- Don't see a topic that you want listed? Search Wikipedia for your topic and double check that no article already exists. Creating new articles is encouraged as long as the topic meets Wikipedia's notability guidelines.
- Choose 2-3 potential articles that you can tackle, and post links to them on your Wikipedia user page. Think about the skills you learned last week in the article critique. For each of the topics you selected, what might you be able to add? Where can you have the biggest impact? Do you think you'll be able to find sources to back up your work?
- For articles that already exist, check the Talk page to see what other Wikipedians might be doing. Finally, present your choices to your instructor for feedback.
Week 5
- Course meetings
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- Monday, 6 February 2017 | Wednesday, 8 February 2017
- Assignment - Finalize your topic / Find your sources
- Finalize your topic and start working!
- On the Students tab above, assign your chosen topic to yourself. (If you are choosing to create a new article, just type in the title of the article as it will look once you're done.)
- In your sandbox, write a few sentences about what you plan to contribute to the selected article.
- Think back to when you did the article critique a couple weeks ago. What can you add to this topic? Do a quick critique of your article and post some of your ideas to your sandbox and to the article's talk page.
- Start compiling a list of relevant, reliable books, journal articles, or other sources. Post that bibliography to the talk page of the article you'll be working on, and in your sandbox. Make sure to check in on the Talk page to see if anyone has advice on your bibliography.
- Assignment - Draft your article
You've picked a topic and found your sources. Now it's time to start writing.
Creating a new article?
- Write an outline of that topic in the form of a standard Wikipedia article's "lead section." Write it in your sandbox.
- A "lead" section is not a traditional introduction. It should summarize, very briefly, what the rest of the article will say in detail. The first paragraph should include important, broad facts about the subject. A good example is Ada Lovelace. See Editing Wikipedia page 9 for more ideas.
Improving an existing article?
- Identify what's missing from the current form of the article. Think back to the skills you learned while critiquing an article. Make notes for improvement in your sandbox.
Keep reading your sources, too, as you prepare to write the body of the article.
Resources: Editing Wikipedia pages 7–9
- Milestones
Everyone has begun writing their article drafts.
Week 6
- Course meetings
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- Monday, 13 February 2017 | Wednesday, 15 February 2017
- In class - Discussion
- Thinking about Wikipedia
- What do you think of Wikipedia's definition of "neutrality"?
- What are the impacts and limits of Wikipedia as a source of information?
- On Wikipedia, all material must be attributable to reliable, published sources. What kinds of sources does this exclude? Can you think of any problems that might create?
- If Wikipedia was written 100 years ago, how might its content (and contributors) be different? What about 100 years from now?
- Assignment - Expand your draft
- Keep working on transforming your article into a complete first draft. Get draft ready for peer-review.
- If you'd like a Content Expert to review your draft, now is the time! Click the "Get Help" button in your sandbox to request notes.
- Assignment - Peer review and copy edit
- First, take the "Peer Review" online training.
- You'll be assigned a classmate's article. Check the Articles tab to see whose article you're assigned to (or see Blackboard).
- Peer review your classmate's draft. Leave suggestions on the Talk page of the article, or sandbox, that your fellow student is working on. Other editors may be reviewing your work, so look for their comments! Be sure to acknowledge feedback from other Wikipedians.
- As you review, make spelling, grammar, and other adjustments. Pay attention to the tone of the article. Is it encyclopedic?
- Milestones
Every student has finished reviewing their assigned articles, making sure that every article has been reviewed.
Week 7
- Course meetings
-
- Monday, 20 February 2017 | Wednesday, 22 February 2017
- Assignment - Respond to your peer review
You probably have some feedback from other students and possibly other Wikipedians. It's time to work with that feedback to improve your article!
- Read Editing Wikipedia pages 12 and 14.
- Return to your draft or article and think about the suggestions. Decide which ones to start implementing. Reach out to your instructor or your Content Expert if you have any questions.
Week 8
- Course meetings
-
- Monday, 27 February 2017 | Wednesday, 1 March 2017
- Assignment - Begin moving your work to Wikipedia
Once you've made improvements to your article based on peer review feedback, it's time to move your work to Wikipedia proper - the "mainspace."
Editing an existing article?
- NEVER copy and paste your draft of an article over the entire article. Instead, edit small sections at a time.
- Copy your edits into the article. Make many small edits, saving each time, and leaving an edit summary. Never replace more than one to two sentences without saving!
Creating a new article?
- Read Editing Wikipedia page 13, and follow those steps to move your article from your Sandbox to Mainspace.
- You can also review the [[../../../training/students/sandboxes|Sandboxes and Mainspace]] online training.
Week 9
- Course meetings
-
- Monday, 13 March 2017 | Wednesday, 15 March 2017
- Assignment - Illustrate your article
You'll want to find or create an appropriate photo, illustration, or piece of video/audio to add to your article.
- Before you start, review the Illustrating Wikipedia handbook, or see Editing Wikipedia pages 10–11.
- When you've reviewed those pages, take the training linked below.
- When you're ready to start finding images, remember: Never grab images you find through an image search, or those found on Instagram, Tumblr, Reddit, Imgur, or even so-called "Free image" or "free stock photo" websites. Instead, you'll want to find images with clear proof that the creator has given permission to use their work. Many of these images can be found on search.creativecommons.org.
- Don't just upload an image to Wikipedia. Instead, upload it to Wikipedia's sister site for images, Wikimedia Commons. For instructions, read through the Illustrating Wikipedia handbook.
- If you do not feel an image will help improve your article or cannot find an appropriate image, please let me know via email with an explanation as to why you would rather not include an image.
- Assignment - Continue improving your article
Do additional research and writing to make further improvements to your article, based on suggestions and your own critique.
- Read Editing Wikipedia page 12 to see how to create links from your article to others, and from other articles to your own. Try to link to 3–5 articles, and link to your article from 2–3 other articles.
- If you haven't moved your article live yet, consider doing so this week.
Week 10
- Course meetings
-
- Monday, 20 March 2017
- Assignment - Polish your work
Continue to expand and improve your work, and format your article to match Wikipedia's tone and standards. Remember to contact your Content Expert at any time if you need further help!
- Assignment - Prepare for in-class presentation
- Prepare for an in-class presentation about your Wikipedia editing experience.
Week 11
- Course meetings
-
- Monday, 27 March 2017 | Wednesday, 29 March 2017
- In class - In-class presentation
Present about your Wikipedia editing experience.
Consider the following questions as you reflect on your Wikipedia assignment:
- Critiquing articles: What did you learn about Wikipedia during the article evaluation? How did you approach critiquing the article you selected for this assignment? How did you decide what to add to your chosen article?
- Summarizing your contributions: include a summary of your edits and why you felt they were a valuable addition to the article. How does your article compare to earlier versions?
- Peer Review: If your class did peer review, include information about the peer review process. What did you contribute in your review of your peers article? What did your peers recommend you change on your article?
- Feedback: Did you receive feedback from other Wikipedia editors, and if so, how did you respond to and handle that feedback?
- Wikipedia generally: What did you learn from contributing to Wikipedia? How does a Wikipedia assignment compare to other assignments you've done in the past? How can Wikipedia be used to improve public understanding of our field/your topic? Why is this important?
- Assignment - Final article
It's the final week to develop your article.
- Read Editing Wikipedia page 15 to review a final check-list before completing your assignment.
- Don't forget that you can ask for help from your Content Expert at any time!
- Assignment - Reflective essay
Write a reflective essay (1-3 pages) on your Wikipedia contributions.
Consider the following questions as you reflect on your Wikipedia assignment:
- Critiquing articles: What did you learn about Wikipedia during the article evaluation? How did you approach critiquing the article you selected for this assignment? How did you decide what to add to your chosen article?
- Summarizing your contributions: include a summary of your edits and why you felt they were a valuable addition to the article. How does your article compare to earlier versions?
- Peer Review: If your class did peer review, include information about the peer review process. What did you contribute in your review of your peers article? What did your peers recommend you change on your article?
- Feedback: Did you receive feedback from other Wikipedia editors, and if so, how did you respond to and handle that feedback?
- Wikipedia generally: What did you learn from contributing to Wikipedia? How does a Wikipedia assignment compare to other assignments you've done in the past? How can Wikipedia be used to improve public understanding of our field/your topic? Why is this important?
Week 12
- Course meetings
-
- Monday, 3 April 2017 | Wednesday, 5 April 2017
- Milestones
Everyone should have finished all of the work they'll do on Wikipedia, and be ready for grading.