Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/University of California, Berkeley/African Politics (Spring 2020)

This course introduces students to modern African politics, focusing on the region’s political trends and trajectories from the colonial era to the present. We begin by studying the region’s political experiences through the turn of the 21st century before turning to current dilemmas and questions in African politics. Particular attention is paid to the prospects for and constraints on economic development and democratic consolidation and contemporary challenges, such as the rise of new forms of political participation and political challenges to the state. Reoccurring themes include the interaction of formal and informal institutions in African societies, Africa’s position in the global economy and the nature of the state in Africa, highlighting throughout both what is specific to Africa and its sub-regions and where the continent’s politics find broader comparability with other world regions.

Students will individually write or expand on a topic related to African Politics to help fill many existing gaps.

Week 5
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.)

This week, everyone should have a Wikipedia account.

Exercise
Evaluate an article

Thinking about sources and plagiarism

Exercise
Choose a topic

Resource: Editing Wikipedia, page 6

What's a content gap?

Exercise
Add a citation

Finalize your topic / Find your sources

Week 9
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

History

Political Science

Everyone has begun writing their article drafts.

Week 10
Guiding framework

Thinking about Wikipedia

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

Week 11
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 12
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

Exercise
Add links to your article

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 14
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 15
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!

Guiding questions

Week 16
Everyone should have finished all of the work they'll do on Wikipedia, and be ready for grading.