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Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/Georgetown University/Museums and Diversity (Spring 2017)

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Course name
Museums and Diversity
Institution
Georgetown University
Instructor
Lisa Maria Strong
Wikipedia Expert
Shalor (Wiki Ed)
Subject
Museum Studies and Art History
Course dates
2017-01-12 00:00:00 UTC – 2017-05-26 23:59:59 UTC
Approximate number of student editors
12


What is the role of America’s museums in fostering cultural diversity and inclusiveness? How can museums provide a more complete narrative of American history and culture? Taking three area museums as case studies, this course will explore how the National Museum of the American Indian, the Freer-Sackler Galleries, and the new National Museum of African American History and Culture shape our understanding of American cultural life. We will investigate how museums define ‘art’ in a non-western context, how they collect and display non-western material, and how they use material culture to create a more inclusive historical narrative. In the course of our discussion, students will also learn about three of the core museum areas: collections management, education, and curating, and will discuss issues of diversity in museum audiences and staffing. This course will require two site visits to museums during class time, as well one site visit on a Friday.

Student Assigned Reviewing
Hgaba Indian Peace Medal East India Marine Society, Charles Lang Freer
Meghankreidy John Hemmings Indian Peace Medal, Poplar Forest
Csmccloskey Charles Lang Freer Robert Scott Duncanson, Japonism
LTyndall Thomas Day Poplar Forest, John Hemmings
Gjkinney Lois Mailou Jones Aaron Douglas, Black Hawk
Cmbyrd Willie Seaweed Indian Peace Medal, James Luna
Slh140 East India Marine Society Japonism, Thomas Day
Jenniferclifford James Luna Black Hawk, Dave Drake
Sgj7 Japonism Dave Drake, East India Marine Society
CDurgana Aaron Douglas Charles Lang Freer, Lois Maillou Jones
Rab286 Poplar Forest Robert Duncanson, John Hemmings
Aer112 David Drake (potter) Aaron Douglas, Willie Seaweed
Kellyskeen Robert Scott Duncanson Willie Seaweed, Thomas Day
SterlingLucas Black Hawk (artist) James Luna, Lois Maillou Jones

Timeline

Week 1

Course meetings
Thursday, 19 January 2017
In class - Introduction to the Wikipedia project

 Welcome to your Wikipedia project's course timeline. This page will guide you through the Wikipedia project for your course. 

This page breaks down writing a Wikipedia article into a series of steps, or milestones. These steps include online training to help you get started on Wikipedia. 

 Your course has also been assigned a Wikipedia Content Expert. Check your Talk page for notes from them. You can also reach them through the "Get Help" button on this page. 

 To get started, please review the following handouts: 


Assignment - Training in the Basics
  • Create an account and join this course page, using the enrollment link your instructor sent you.
  •  It's time to dive into Wikipedia. Below, you'll find the first set of online trainings you'll need to take. New modules will appear on this timeline as you get to new milestones. Be sure to check back and complete them! Incomplete trainings will be reflected in your grade. 



Assignment - Everyone has a Wikipedia account

By 1/19, everyone should have read the handouts Editing Wikipedia, 1-5 and Evaluating Wikipedia, taken the above training modules: Wikipedia Essentials and Editing Basics, created a Wikipedia account, and selected an article to edit. 

Assignment - Choose your Article

Choose one of the articles below to work on for class. I will pass around a sheet for you to sign up for your article on 1/19. Only one article per student, so be sure to have a second choice:

  • Poplar Forest (particularly the section on Preservation and the excavation of the slave quarters)
  • John Hemmings (furniture maker, 1776-1833)
  • David Drake (potter, c. 1801-c.1870)
  • Robert Scott Duncanson (painter, 1821-1872)
  • Black Hawk (artist, Sans Arc Lakota, c. 1832-c.1890)
  • Indian Peace Medal
  • James Luna (performance artist, b. 1950)
  • Thomas Day (North Carolina furniture maker, c. 1801-1861)
  • Aaron Douglas (painter, 1899-1979)
  • Lois Mailou Jones (painter, 1905-1998)
  • Japonism
  • Charles Lang Freer (art collector, 1854-1919)
  • East India Marine Society (add section on their museum)
  • Addison Scurlock (photographer and studio - there is no entry for him! This entry would be new, and would require 2 authors to collaborate)
  • You may also select a stub from one of the following lists:



Week 2

Course meetings
Thursday, 26 January 2017
Assignment - Evaluating a Wikipedia Article/Creating Citations

 It's time to think critically about Wikipedia articles. 

Familiarize yourself with editing Wikipedia by adding a citation to an article.

  • Complete the Sources and Citations training (linked below)
  • Add 1-2 sentences to a course-related article, and cite that statement to a reliable source, as you learned in the online training.





In class - Discussion
What's a content gap?

Now that you're thinking about what makes a "good" Wikipedia article, consider some additional questions.

  • Wikipedians often talk about "content gaps." What do you think a content gap is, and what are some possible ways to identify them?
  • What are some reasons a content gap might arise? What are some ways to remedy them?
  • Does it matter who writes Wikipedia?
  • What does it mean to be "unbiased" on Wikipedia? How is that different, or similar, to your own definition of "bias"?

Week 3

Course meetings
Thursday, 2 February 2017
Assignment - Evaluate a Wikipedia Article--Wikipedia Editing Worksheet

Complete your Wikipedia Editing Worksheet by 1/31 and  submit electronically to @georgetown.edu ls1080@georgetown.edu AND @georgetown.edu megan.browndorf@georgetown.edu  Then bring a print out, together with your computer, to class on Thursday.
CLASS WILL MEET in library class room (Dubin-157) in Lauinger Library on 2/2


Week 4

Course meetings
Thursday, 9 February 2017
In class - Visit to NMAI

This week we have our visit to NMAI, but you have two Wikipedia assignments: Illustrate your article (due 2/9), and begin your Literature Review Checklist (not due until 2/21). These are described below.

Assignment - Illustrate an article

You'll want to find or create an appropriate photo, illustration, or piece of video/audio to add to the article you have selected.

  •  Before you start, review the Illustrating Wikipedia handbook, or see Editing Wikipedia pages 10–11. 
  • When you've reviewed those pages, take the training linked below.
  •  When you're ready to start finding images, remember: Never grab images you find through an image search, or those found on Instagram, Tumblr, Reddit, Imgur, or even so-called "Free image" or "free stock photo" websites. Instead, you'll want to find images with clear proof that the creator has given permission to use their work. Many of these images can be found on search.creativecommons.org
  •  Don't just upload an image to Wikipedia. Instead, upload it to Wikipedia's sister site for images, Wikimedia Commons. For instructions, read through the Illustrating Wikipedia handbook. 


Assignment - Literature Review Worksheet

It's time to review the literature for your article topic. You may find there are one or two more sources available that directly discuss your topic, as well as other books or textbooks that generally contextualize it. You might also find useful primary sources (although they can't be cited on Wikipedia, they can be used to source exhibition dates or other lifedates and they can be used in your final catalogue entry).

Work on your Literature Review Checklist (available on Blackboard) submit electronically to @georgetown.edu ls1080@georgetown.edu by 2/21   

Please list your sources on your worksheet in bibliographic form following Kate Turabian, A Manual for Writers, ch. 17, "Notes-Bibliography Style." Excerpts of Ch. 17 providing formatting can be found on Blackboard.

YOU SHOULD FIND A TOTAL OF AT LEAST
TEN SOURCES FOR YOUR LITERATURE REVIEW. IF YOU CANNOT FIND TEN, PLEASE CONTACT ME.

 Your worksheet will ask you to write a few sentences about what you plan to contribute to the selected article. 

  •  Think back to when you did an article critique. What can you add? Post some of your ideas to the article's talk page. 
  •  Compile a list of at least ten relevant, reliable books, journal articles, or other sources. Post that bibliography to the talk page of the article you'll be working on. Make sure to check in on the Talk page to see if anyone has advice on your bibliography. (This will not be too important for most of you. But for those who are working on articles that others have recently edited, it will be very helpful)

Week 5

Course meetings
Thursday, 16 February 2017
Assignment - No Class - Continue with Literature Review

Week 6

Course meetings
Thursday, 23 February 2017
In class - Discussion
Thinking about Wikipedia
  • What do you think of Wikipedia's definition of "neutrality"?
  • What are the impacts and limits of Wikipedia as a source of information?
  • On Wikipedia, all material must be attributable to reliable, published sources. What kinds of sources does this exclude? Can you think of any problems that might create?
  • If Wikipedia was written 100 years ago, how might its content (and contributors) be different? What about 100 years from now?


In class - Begin Editing

You've picked a topic and found your sources. Now it's time to start editing.

Improving an existing article?

  •  Identify what's missing from the current form of the article. Think back to the skills you learned while critiquing an article. 


Keep reading your sources, too, and begin to write the body of the article.

Resources: Editing Wikipedia pages 7–9

Week 7

Course meetings
Thursday, 2 March 2017
Assignment - Peer Review

Read texts that you have identified as important for your topic. Begin writing and making further improvements to your article based on suggestions and your own critique as outlined in the Literature Review.

Note, if you would like to cite the same source, but different page number, here are instructions: http://ask.wikiedu.org/question/525/how-do-i-cite-the-same-source-with-different-page-numbers/

Editing an existing article?

  • NEVER copy and paste your draft of an article over the entire article. Instead, edit small sections at a time.
  • Copy your edits into the article. Make many small edits, saving each time, and leaving an edit summary. Never replace more than one to two sentences without saving!




Week 8

Course meetings
Thursday, 16 March 2017
Assignment - Continue improving your article/Peer Review

Note, the deadline is extended by 3 days.

Peer  Review

  • First, take the "Peer Review" online training.
  •  When you have reviewed your classmate's article, you should leave a message on their User Talk page (note, not the Article's Talk Page, where the public can see it).
  • To find a user's Talk page, click on their username and you'll see the talk link at the top left of the page. 
  • To create a new section, click "New section" on the Talk page.
  • Consider the issues of article lead-in, neutrality, organization, coverage, etc. that are discussed in the Peer Review training.






Assignment - Polish your work

Continue to expand and improve your work, and format your article to match Wikipedia's tone and standards. Remember to contact your Content Expert at any time if you need further help!

Week 9

Course meetings
Thursday, 23 March 2017
Assignment - Final article

Final revisions now due 3/26.

It's the final week to develop your article.

  • Make edits based on your Peer Review responses.
  • 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 Content Expert at any time!