Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/Brown University/Crime, Violence, and Policing in Latin America (Spring 2023)

Crime, Violence, and Policing in Latin America (POLS-1825C) Brown University, Spring 2023

This course covers questions and theories at the center of contemporary debates about crime, violence, and police in Latin Amerian society. We will discuss various theories of crime reduction that have motivated public policy, as well as the consequences of crime and violence for residents of these countries. Throughout the course, students will learn key concepts in social science related to crime, violence, and public security, and will gain experience applying them to specific country cases discussed in class.

This course will integrate a Wikipedia writing assignment as part of their final project. Students will choose a topic (e.g. &quot;violence against women in Brazil&quot;, &quot;coca spraying in Colombia&quot;) and complete four assignments: 1) collect/summarize existing literature and write/improve Wikipedia page; 2) submit a memo to me analyzing and explaining, using political science theory, how or why the topic is the way it is; 3) submit an argumentative memo to me analyzing policies or interventions that address the issue; 4) present their findings to the class.

Week 1
Create an account and join this course page, using the enrollment link your instructor sent you. (Because of Wikipedia's technical restraints, you may receive a message that you cannot create an account. To resolve this, please try again off campus or the next day.)

Welcome to your Wikipedia assignment's course timeline. This page guides you through the steps you'll need to complete for your Wikipedia assignment, with links to training modules and your classmates' work spaces.

Your course has been assigned a Wikipedia Expert. You can reach them through the Get Help button at the top of this page.

Resources:


 * Editing Wikipedia, pages 1–5
 * Evaluating Wikipedia

Week 2
This week, everyone should have a Wikipedia account.

Week 4
Resource: Editing Wikipedia, page 6

Week 5
Reach out to your Wikipedia Expert if you have questions using the Get Help button at the top of this page.

Resource: Editing Wikipedia, pages 7–9

Week 6
Everyone has begun writing their article drafts.

Political Science

Week 7
Now's the time to revisit your text and refine your work. You may do more research and find missing information; rewrite the lead section to represent all major points; reorganize the text to communicate the information better; or add images and other media.

Week 8
Continue to expand and improve your work, and format your article to match Wikipedia's tone and standards. Remember to contact your Wikipedia Expert at any time if you need further help!

Week 9
Guiding framework

Week 10
Every student has finished reviewing their assigned articles, making sure that every article has been reviewed.

You probably have some feedback from other students and possibly other Wikipedians. Consider their suggestions, decide whether it makes your work more accurate and complete, and edit your draft to make those changes.

Resources:


 * Editing Wikipedia, pages 12 and 14
 * Reach out to your Wikipedia Expert if you have any questions.

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 Wikipedia Expert at any time!

Now that you've improved your draft based on others' feedback, it's time to move your work live - to the &quot;mainspace.&quot;

Resource: Editing Wikipedia, page 13

Week 11
Everyone should have finished all of the work they'll do on Wikipedia, and be ready for grading.