Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/Pennsylvania State University/Muslims and Non-Muslims in the Modern Middle East (Fall)

This course examines the interaction between Muslim, Christian, and Jewish communities in the modern Middle East (19th-20th centuries), focusing on the Arab Eastern Mediterranean (the Mashriq), North Africa (the Maghrib and Egypt), and the former Ottoman heartlands of Anatolia and the Balkans. Thematically we will cover issues such as: theological influences; communal life; state structures and political rights; economy; gender; law; social and spatial boundaries; nationalism; ethnic conflict, civil war, and genocide; and exile and Diaspora.

This is an undergraduate research and writing seminar. I envision the Wikipedia assignment covering the first half of the course, where students will edit pages related to the course content (e.g., Millet-Ottoman Empire, Dhimma). This will be excellent preparation for their independent research paper projects that cover the second half of the semester.

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
History

Week 4
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

Everyone has begun writing their article drafts.

Week 5
Guiding framework

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

Week 6
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.

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 7
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

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 8
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!

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

Write a paper going beyond your Wikipedia article to advance your own ideas, arguments, and original research about your topic.