Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/Vanderbilt University/Introduction to African Politics (Fall 2020)
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- Course name
- Introduction to African Politics
- Institution
- Vanderbilt University
- Instructor
- Kristin Michelitch
- Wikipedia Expert
- Ian (Wiki Ed)
- Subject
- Political Science
- Course dates
- 2020-08-24 00:00:00 UTC – 2020-12-18 23:59:59 UTC
- Approximate number of student editors
- 30
This course introduces students to key topics in African politics and development. We take a chronological tour of broad political and developmental themes from the pre-colonial era, colonial era, post-colonial era, and “3rd wave” transitions to democracy (for some countries). Students have a "term project" to individually improve wikipedia regarding a political topic related to their country. In the past, students have picked to create pages on a particular election, a piece of legislation, a coup, a battle, a political activist, a politician, foreign relations between their country and the US, and health policy.
Timeline
Week 2
- Course meetings
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- Monday, 31 August 2020 | Wednesday, 2 September 2020 | Friday, 4 September 2020
- Milestones
This week, everyone should have a Wikipedia account. (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.)
- Introduction to the Wikipedia assignment
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
- Assignment - Get started on Wikipedia
- In class - Investigate existing Wikipedia pages for your country
What types of pages are "missing" for your country's politics? One way to think about this is to examine what pages exists for other countries in the Global North, where pages are more developed and compare to your country. Further, think about your career, interests, passions - what general topic area could you choose that unites something important to you as well as important, that might also be missing on wikipedia for your country?
Week 3
- Course meetings
-
- Monday, 7 September 2020 | Wednesday, 9 September 2020 | Friday, 11 September 2020
- In class - Discussion
Week 4
- Course meetings
-
- Monday, 14 September 2020 | Wednesday, 16 September 2020 | Friday, 18 September 2020
- In class - Discussion
- Assignment - 1-2 page memo listing 2-3 topic ideas
For each idea, list at least 4 scholarly resources that you could use to create your page; also list why it is important to do the topic for the country, and why it is a good topic based on building on your personal interests
Week 5
- Course meetings
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- Monday, 21 September 2020 | Wednesday, 23 September 2020 | Friday, 25 September 2020
- Assignment - Finalize your topic training
- Assignment - Send Email to TA Confirming Finalized Topic
Week 6
- Course meetings
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- Monday, 28 September 2020 | Wednesday, 30 September 2020 | Friday, 2 October 2020
- Assignment - Start drafting your contributions
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
- Guide(s) for writing articles in your topic area
- Milestones
Everyone has begun writing their article drafts.
Week 7
- Course meetings
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- Monday, 5 October 2020 | Wednesday, 7 October 2020 | Friday, 9 October 2020
- Assignment - Continue Working on your article
Week 8
- Course meetings
-
- Monday, 12 October 2020 | Wednesday, 14 October 2020 | Friday, 16 October 2020
- Assignment - Continue Working on your article
Week 9
- Course meetings
-
- Monday, 19 October 2020 | Wednesday, 21 October 2020 | Friday, 23 October 2020
- Assignment - Continue Working on your article
Week 10
- Course meetings
-
- Monday, 26 October 2020 | Wednesday, 28 October 2020 | Friday, 30 October 2020
- In class - Peer review
- Assignment - Respond to your peer review
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.
- In class - Discussion
- Milestones
Every student has finished reviewing their assigned articles, making sure that every article has been reviewed.
Week 11
- Course meetings
-
- Monday, 2 November 2020 | Wednesday, 4 November 2020 | Friday, 6 November 2020
- Assignment - Begin moving your work to Wikipedia
Now that you've improved your draft based on others' feedback, it's time to move your work live - to the "mainspace."
Resource: Editing Wikipedia, page 13
- Assignment - Continue improving your article
Exercise
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.
- Assignment - Nominate Article
- Assignment - Polish your work - consider writing studio appointments
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 12
- Course meetings
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- Monday, 9 November 2020 | Wednesday, 11 November 2020 | Friday, 13 November 2020
- Assignment - Polish your work - consider writing studio appointment
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 13
- Course meetings
-
- Monday, 16 November 2020 | Wednesday, 18 November 2020 | Friday, 20 November 2020
- In class - In-class presentations
- Assignment - Reflective essay - due before class on the day of your presentation - 1-2p
Week 14
- Course meetings
-
- Monday, 23 November 2020 | Wednesday, 25 November 2020 | Friday, 27 November 2020
- Milestones
Week 15
- Course meetings
-
- Monday, 30 November 2020 | Wednesday, 2 December 2020 | Friday, 4 December 2020
- In class - In-class presentations
Week 16
- Course meetings
-
- Monday, 7 December 2020 | Wednesday, 9 December 2020 | Friday, 11 December 2020
- Assignment - Final article
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!
- Milestones
Everyone should have finished all of the work they'll do on Wikipedia, and be ready for grading.