Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/University of Pennsylvania/Muslims, Christians, and Jews in the Middle East (Fall 2019)

Course Description:

This seminar studies the history of religion in modern Middle Eastern and North African societies while considering how state policies and popular attitudes informed relations among Muslims, Christians, and Jews. We will start by surveying early Islamic state policies towards Muslims and non-Muslims; examine policies in the Ottoman Empire and Morocco under the Alaouite dynasty; and then turn to our major focus – the study of developments in the modern era from roughly 1800 onward. We will assess the relative importance, or unimportance, of religion as one variable among many in shaping social identities, along with sect, ethnicity, class, gender, place of origin, and profession.

What was the quality of inter-communal relations in various contexts; were there particularly harmonious or conflict-ridden eras? How can historians assess how people got along? When and to what degree did members of different religious communities convert, intermarry, form alliances or friendships, and occupy common social and geographic spaces? Which cultural practices and social assumptions did people share in spite of religious distinctions? Which customs and attitudes set people apart? Finally, in terms of method, what kinds of sources can we use to reconstruct histories in this field? These are among the questions we will address.

This seminar will give students the opportunity to devise and pursue independent, original research projects on some aspect of inter- or intra-communal relations in the modern Middle East and North Africa. We will discuss techniques for effective research and writing, along with strategies for publishing research in undergraduate, graduate, or professional journals or for presenting at conferences. We will also learn how to write for Wikipedia, by expanding content on relevant topics.

Wikipedia Content: I propose to have students expand the content of an existing article (or where possible create a new one) on a topic relating to a Muslim, Christian, or Jewish built structure. Examples would include a historic place of worship, museum, cultural center, sacred site, or significant neighborhood (urban landscape).

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.

Exercise
Evaluate an article

Thinking about sources and plagiarism

Week 3
Choose your topic / Find your sources

What's a content gap?

Art History

History

Exercise
Add a citation

Week 5
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 7
Guiding framework

Thinking about Wikipedia

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

Week 8
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 9
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 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!

Guiding questions

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