User:Allthegoodghosts/Evaluate an Article

Which article are you evaluating?
Ang Tharkay

Why you have chosen this article to evaluate?
My graduate thesis focuses on mountaineering in the early twentieth century as an outgrowth of imperialism and colonialism. For my project for this course, I'm hoping to shed more light on some of the figures that have been marginalized by the Eurocentric and Western-centric discourse that dominates the history of mountaineering; in particular, important Sherpa individuals. Ang Tharkay fits the bill, as he was crucial to the success of a number of important expeditions from the 1930s through the 1960s, including the Maurice Herzog-led French Expedition to Annapurna in 1950. The article is rated as "Start Class" on both WikiProject Nepal and WikiProject Climbing (both also rate the article as "low importance", with which I disagree).

Evaluate the article
Lead section

The lead is clear and concise, though perhaps too concise, as it only consists of two sentences. Moreover, it includes a direct quote, which, though attributed, is contrary to the Wikipedia ethos. It also ends with an uncited assertion about Ang Tharkay's personal relationship to Tenzing Norgay (see "Sources and References" below)

Content

The content is up to date (it's possible more recent articles and books on Himalayan mountaineering have come out, in which case, I'll aim to bring any new information I might find). Suffice it to say, it could use more bulk.

Tone and Balance

The article is generally well balanced, though the "Appreciation" section does read as a little patronizing (see "Organization and Writing Quality" below).

Sources and References

The article does use a number of reliable sources: the Ortner, Perrin, Isserman and Weaver, and Shipton books are good sources of information. With that said, the article draws a little bit heavily from blogs (including reference #19 that appears to just be a short recap of a book by Major John Dias... would it not be better to cite the book itself, rather than the recap?) Additionally, one of the citations is broken (reference #16), and it is the sole citation in the article that supports the statement that Ang Tharkay secured Tenzing Norgay's first assignment with a climbing expedition. That said, I've also read that information elsewhere (possibly in a work of Shipton's?), so it should be easy enough to swap in another source. It might be worth including more Shipton, considering the extent to which Shipton and Ang Tharkay collaborated?

Organization and writing quality

The writing quality is alright, though it could definitely use some work. There are some awkwardly constructed sentences, and some spelling mistakes (for instance, "memoirs" should only be "memoir," as Ang Tharkay only wrote the one, a mistake that likely stems from the title of his autobiography Mémoires d'un Sherpa, meaning in this case "memories of a Sherpa"). The structure is a bit strange, as there is an entire section that is dedicated to "Appreciation" by Western figures (seems a bit patronizing?) that could probably be renamed and reworked into a "Legacy" section instead, and the "Personal Life" section might be better situated after the "Major Expeditions" section, to bring it in line with other climbers' articles (see for instance Tenzing Norgay or Edmund Hillary).

Images and Media

There is a single image of Ang Tharkay, taken in 1935 by Dan Bryant, which is qualified as falling under "fair use".

Talk page discussion

There is very little discussion on this article. One user mentions the problematic conflation of the Sherpa people with "sherpa" as a profession (indicating something between a mountain porter and guide), and another who points to the Tintin character "Tharkey" being named after Ang Tharkay. The article has a "Start Class" rating, and is of "low importance" in both WikiProject Nepal and WikiProject Climbing.

Overall impression

It's a good start, but it could definitely use some cleaning up, some citation repairs, and a bit more content. I'm always a bit dismayed when I compare the Wikipedia articles of Western Climbers with even the most renowned Sherpa; compare Tenzing Norgay with Edmund Hillary, for instance, or say, Kami Rita Sherpa, who has climbed Everest twenty-five times, compared to George Leigh Mallory, who is famous for dying trying to climb the mountain.