Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/Sonoma State University/ANTH382 Language Change (Fall 2021)

This course examines language change across time, space, and social circumstances, from a linguistic anthropology approach. Beginning with the evolutionary origins of human communication and language, the course reviews the physiological, neurological, and cognitive aspects of language. Next, protolanguage reconstruction, cladistic studies, and various forms of glottochronology are introduced to help understand the origins and relationships of various language families. Historical language change will lead to studies of language contact, shift, and extinction, with a special emphasis on language preservation and revitalization.

For their semester-long Wikipedia project, students will substantively edit an existing article or develop a new article on a topic in one of three categories relevant to the course: 1) a biographical article on a linguist from an underrepresented demographic in the linguistic literature, including that scholar's major linguistic and related contributions; 2) an article focusing on formal linguistic analyses documenting language change and its effects (including sociocultural effects) in a specific language or set of languages; or 3) an article documenting a specific language preservation/revitalization project, including some discussion of the relevant formal linguistics and sociopolitical/ethnographic.

Students will start by making minor edits in existing Wikipedia articles (such as copyediting tasks, or recasting confusion or problematic language). By the end of the semester, students will need to contribute substantially to an existing or new article by drawing upon at least 5 academic (peer-reviewed) sources. They will peer-review each other's developing text (in their respective sandboxes) prior to placing their materials into live articles. Students will also need to link their entry to at least five other Wikipedia articles.

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

Cultural Anthropology

Ecology

Environmental Sciences

Linguistics

Species

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!

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

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