Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/University of Chicago/Science, Culture and Society III (Winter)

This course explores the rise of modern science, from the birth of the Royal Society, the first scientific society and the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, its first journal. In recent years, science has provided some of the biggest headlines in the world's press. From concerns over the nuclear capability of Iran and North Korea to the ability of new treatments to slow the spread of AIDS, from concerns over Japan’s degrading nuclear reactors to those about genetically modified foods, and from the controversies over alleged spying at Los Alamos and Italian geoscientists sent to jail for failing to predict earthquakes to the struggle over intellectual property in digital media, many of the major issues of the day emerge from the domains of science, technology and medicine. This course finds much of its rationale in such cases, where scientific questions become inseparable from social ones. It has two main aims. First, to help students understand what science itself is, as a social as well as intellectual enterprise, through examination of its emergence and evolution. Students will see not one science, but many sciences and scientific methods competing for attention and truth. Second, the course will seek to help students decide what role the scientific enterprise plays—and should play—in our society.

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.)

This week, everyone should have a Wikipedia account.

Week 3
Resource: Editing Wikipedia, page 6

Week 4
Resource: Editing Wikipedia, pages 7–9

Books

History

Science Communication

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.

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
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.

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