Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/Western Washington University/History of Ancient Egypt (Winter Quarter)

HIST 311 offers a general introduction to the political and cultural history of Ancient Egypt from the Predynastic period until the conquest of Egypt by Rome. This course will examine the development of ancient Egypt and its institutions along the Nile and beyond through both textual sources and archaeological remains. Topics addressed will include the introduction of agriculture, the emergence of writing, state formation and kingship ideology, bureaucracy and economy, religion and literature, funerary culture and tomb construction, and climate change. Throughout the course we will also highlight the connectivity between Egypt and the rest of North Africa and the broader Mediterranean. Although this course is about Ancient Egypt, students are encouraged to consider the ways that the past can inform on the present, as well as the role of modern agendas in the exploration and appropriation of the past.

The Wiki assignment will be the major research assignment of the quarter. Students will be expected to add/review/reorganize content on one of the available articles, as well as add images or graphics if possible. Topics selected will focus on historical individuals and important aspects of life in ancient Egypt (belief, festivals, daily life, etc.). Students will also participate in peer-review of their colleagues’ contributions (each student will review two contributions). At the end of the project students will also be responsible for submitting a short reflection on the exercise, as well as a research question, hypothesis, and short outline of a research project related to the Wikipedia topic.

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

This week, everyone should have a Wikipedia account.

Week 2
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.)

For more information on Plagiarism: How Plagiarism is Different on Wikipedia

Week 3
Everyone will have chosen their Wikipedia article.

History

Week 4
Try searching your topic in these online databases of primary sources:


 * UCL's Digital Egypt (excellent bibliographies and some texts in translation)
 * Perseus Project (also has a great encyclopedia and image library)
 * Lacus Curtius (also has a great encyclopedia)
 * Wikisource


 * don't forget to look at related Wikipedia articles that may have good resources or images


 * Harvard has a great overview of image copyright that includes links to popular databases of Public Domain and Creative Common's images (including Wikimedia Commons and Flickr—especially Dan Diffendale's Flickr page). The Metropolitan Museum, for example, has many images that are Open Access. You can find more collections links listed in the &quot;Ancient Life in Objects&quot; assignment on Canvas (be sure to check the copyright on any collection you look at!).

Week 6
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

For more information on Plagiarism:  How Plagiarism is Different on Wikipedia

Week 9
Guiding framework

Week 10
Now's the time to revisit your text and refine your work.  Consider your reviewers' suggestions, decide whether they make your work more accurate and complete, and edit your draft to make those changes. 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.

Resources:


 * Editing Wikipedia, pages 12 and 14
 * Reach out to your Wikipedia Expert if you have any questions.

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 time to submit the final 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.