Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/NYU Shanghai/The Emergence of the Modern Middle East and North Africa (Spring 2022)

This course provides a brief introduction to the emergence of the modern Middle East and North Africa from 1699 to the end of WWI. Its geographic scope comprises the central provinces and territories of the former Ottoman and Safavid empires: Turkey, Iraq, Syria, Iran, Egypt, Levant, and North Africa.

The syllabus emphasizes four analytical themes: first, the historical evolution of &quot;Middle Eastern&quot; polities from dynastic and religious empires in the 18th century to modern &quot;nation-states&quot; in the 20th; second, the impact of industrial capitalism and European imperial expansion on local societies and their modes of production; third, local conceptions of modernity and measures of modernization in responses to European colonial expansion; Islamic and secular reform movements; nationalism and revolution; fourth, the ideological and socio-cultural dimensions of these large-scale transformations, specifically the rise of mass ideologies of liberation and development and the emergence of new issues in the areas of gender, identity, and popular culture. Major historical events include two world wars, creation of “new orders,” (constitutional republics, Islamic regimes or authoritarian states), projects and challenges of postcolonial state-building.

To these ends, we will read a wide array of writings, including standard textbooks, peer-reviewed journal articles, primary source official documents and personal memoirs.

Week 1
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

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.)

Begin a blog about your experiences. You can use discussion questions to frame your entries, or reflect on the research and writing process. Create at least one blog entry each week during the Wikipedia assignment.

This week, everyone should have a Wikipedia account.

Week 3
Resource: Editing Wikipedia, page 6

Week 5
Resource: Editing Wikipedia, pages 7–9

History

Everyone has begun writing their article drafts.

Week 6
Guiding framework

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

Week 7
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.

Week 8
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 9
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 10
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 11
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!

Week 12
Everyone should have finished all of the work they'll do on Wikipedia, and be ready for grading.