User:Matthewvetter/English 3060j, Women and Writing: Women Writing in Digital Spaces

Women Writing in Digital Spaces: This course will explore the ways in which new media and digital geographies both open up new possibilities and create new challenges for women writing in public spaces. We will examine the ways in which women have used digital media to create new kinds of writing, and also the backlash against women speaking in digital spaces through movements such as ‪#‎gamergate‬. We will also look at, and work to remediate, the under-representation of women and LGBTQA persons in online forums such as Wikipedia. To successfully complete this course, students will need ready access to both a computer and the Internet.

Our Wikipedia Assignment in this course will ask students to create and expand content in Wikipedia articles related to gender, women's studies, women's representation, lgbtq issues. We will work from existing Wikiprojects to identify content needs.

Resources
This Course Page will serve as Project Management space for a Wikipedia Assignment taught by Sarah Einstein and by Matthewvetter. In this assignment, students will edit and create articles as needed in the following WikiProjects and Taskforces:


 * WikiProject_Countering_systemic_bias
 * WikiProject_Countering_systemic_bias/Gender_gap_task_force
 * Wikiproject LGBT/WikiProject LGBT studies,
 * WikiProject Gender Studies,
 * WikiProject_Women%27s_History,
 * WikiProject_Women_artists
 * WikiProject_Women%27s_sport,
 * WikiProject_Women_writers,
 * WikiProject_Women_scientists
 * WikiProject_Feminism

Open Task Lists

 * WikiProject_Feminism/Open_tasks
 * WikiProject_Women_scientists/Worklist
 * WikiProject_Countering_systemic_bias/open_tasks
 * WikiProject_LGBT_studies/Core_topics
 * Wikipedia_talk:WikiProject_Gender_Studies/to_do
 * Wikipedia_talk:WikiProject_Gender_Studies/to_do

You might also check out the Wikiprojects Directory.

Style Guides

 * Biographies Manual of Style
 * Biographies_of_living_persons} Biographies of Living Persons

Week 1: Wikipedia essentials
Tuesday


 * Introduction to how Wikipedia will be used in the course
 * Wikipedia is a community: a brief overview of its rules, expectations, and etiquette
 * Handout: Editing Wikipedia (available in print or online from the Wiki Education Foundation)
 * Discuss and Review Purdy, "Wikipedia Is Good For You?!"

Homework: Read Cohen's "Define Gender Gap? Look Up Wikipedia’s Contributor List"

Thursday


 * Assign Wikipedia Edit Project.
 * Discuss Cohen "Define Gender Gap? Look up Wikipedia's Contributor List"
 * and Wikimedia article on Gender Gap: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Gender_gap

Homework: Create WP Account; Complete Modules 1 and 2 of Wikipedia Student Training; Read "The Encyclopedia Must Fail! Notes on Queering Wikipedia"

Week 2: Wikipedia Culture and Exploring Topic Area
Tuesday
 * Review Modules 1 and 2.
 * Review Assignment.
 * Explore Wikiprojects, looking for gaps/opportunities to edit.
 * Discuss Raval.
 * Tips on finding the best articles to work on for class assignments
 * Explore topics related to your topic area to get a feel for how Wikipedia is organized. What areas seem to be missing? As you explore, make a note of articles that seem like good candidates for improvement. Use the "choosing an article" handout for guidance.
 * Handouts: Choosing an article and How to get help
 * Handouts: Using Talk Pages handout and Evaluating Wikipedia brochure

Homework: Read Wadewitz’ "Wikipedia's Gender Gap and the Complicated Reality of Systemic Gender Bias." Read Gardner’s "9 Reasons Women Don’t Edit Wikipedia."

Thursday


 * Discuss Wadewitz and Gardner. Introduce Proposal Assignment. Explore Wikiprojects, looking for gaps/opportunities to edit.
 * To practice editing and communicating on Wikipedia, introduce yourself on the user talk page of one of your classmates, who should also be enrolled in the table at the bottom of the page.
 * Create a User page, and then click the "enroll" button on the top left of this course page.

Homework: Wikipedia Student Training Modules 4 and 5


 * All students have Wikipedia user accounts and are listed on the course page.

Week 3: Editing Basics
Tuesday


 * Review Modules 4 and 5.
 * Practice editing in Talk pages and mainspace.
 * Gamergate Controversy Talk Page Activity OR Proposal Activity (See below).
 * Set up a User page and sandbox if still needed.


 * Read through this brochure on evaluating Wikipedia articles, especially pages 4-7. This will give you a good, brief overview of what to look for in other articles, and what other people will look for in your own.


 * Possible Activity for Proposals: Evaluate an existing Wikipedia article related to your project proposal.


 * A few questions to consider (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 biased 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?

Homework: Finish Proposals.

Thursday


 * Workshop Proposals in Groups; Discuss possible problems and solutions.
 * Meet briefly with instructor about your proposal.

Homework: Read McClure "Googlepedia: Turning Information Behaviors into Research Skills"

Week 4: Citation and Research
Tuesday


 * Discuss Mcclure.
 * Introduce Database and Internet Research.
 * Citation in Wikipedia.


 * Handouts: Citing sources on Wikipedia and Avoiding plagiarism on Wikipedia.
 * Be prepared to explain close paraphrasing, plagiarism, and copyright violations on Wikipedia.

Homework: Research

Thursday


 * Research: Find 3 sources by the end of class period.

Homework: Work on Annotated Bibliography

Week 5: Integrating Research
Tuesday


 * Annotated Bibliographies due to Box.


 * In Class: Research; Groups share and review sources.
 * Start drafting article edits in Sandboxes

Homework: Continue Drafting article edits

Thursday


 * In Class: Review Editing Basics; Drafting Article Edits in Sandboxes.
 * Mark your article's talk page with a banner to let other editors know you're working on it. Add this code in the top section of the talk page:

Homework: Research. Finish Sandbox Drafts. Read Stedman "Annoying Ways People User Sources."

Week 6: Peer Review and Revision
Tuesday


 * In Class: Review Citation/Documentation.
 * Discuss Stedman.
 * Post a link for Wikipedian to Review Sandbox drafts.
 * Use remaining time to work on edits.

Homework: Edit/Revise References section of articles.

Thursday


 * In Class: Student Peer Review for Article Edits.
 * Demo uploading images and adding images to articles.
 * Handouts: "Uploading images" and "Evaluating Wikipedia article quality" (handed out originally earlier in the course)

Homework: Read Sommers’ "Revision Strategies."

Week 7:
Tuesday


 * In Class: Discuss Process, Discuss Sommers,
 * Process in Wikipedia.

Homework: Read Graham, “Wiki Space: Palimpsests and the Politics of Exclusion” in Critical Point of View: A Wikipedia Reader

Thursday


 * In Class: Discuss Graham, Intersectionality, global/spatial rhetorics.
 * Activity: West Wing Video.
 * Assign Portfolio.

Homework: Revisions for Portfolio

Week 8: Revise and Move to Mainspace
Tuesday


 * In Class: Revise articles according to Wikipedian's feedback.
 * Short Student Presentation on their experiences in Wikipedia.


 * Course Evaluations.

Homework: Revisions for Portfolio.

Thursday


 * In Class: Revise articles according to Wikipedian's feedback.
 * Work on Portfolios
 * Move articles from Sandboxes to Mainspace
 * Pizza Party.


 * Handout: Moving out of your sandbox
 * Handout: here.


 * Move sandbox articles into main space.
 * If you are expanding an existing article, copy your edit into the article. If you are making many small edits, save after each edit before you make the next one. Do NOT paste over the entire existing article, or large sections of the existing article.
 * If you are creating a new article, do NOT copy and paste your text, or there will be no record of your work history. Follow these instructions on how to move your work.

Homework: Finish Portfolios due on Finals period.