Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/University at Buffalo-SUNY/Sociology of Gender (Spring 2017)
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- Course name
- Sociology of Gender
- Institution
- University at Buffalo-SUNY
- Instructor
- Jennifer Schweitzer
- Wikipedia Expert
- Shalor (Wiki Ed)
- Subject
- Sociology
- Course dates
- 2017-01-31 00:00:00 UTC – 2017-05-15 23:59:59 UTC
- Approximate number of student editors
- 48
Welcome to Sociology of Gender! This class is designed to introduce you to the main theories, concepts, and social issues pertaining to gender and society. Gender, or the social expression of biological sex, is typically a deeply personal aspect of an individual’s identity, and often shapes life outcomes. Gender is socially constructed—that is, we give it meaning through our words, actions, and beliefs. And gender, (like race, class, sexuality, ability, etc.) is also one of many ways of organizing people in society into rigid groups. As with most types of social categorization, there is a hierarchy, with men typically at the top of the gender strata. While this has led to numerous inequalities in society, the relationship is far more complex than this, as men are disenfranchised by gendered beliefs in both predictable and unexpected ways. Additionally, gender-nonconforming individuals are also disenfranchised by our gender binary system that seeks to classify people as either male or female, thus transgender people and other groups that do not observe traditional gender categories face inequality in our society today. Much of this class focuses primarily on the gendered society of the U.S. and other parts of the Western world, but we will routinely examine the manifestations and consequences of gender in other societies throughout the world.
Timeline
Week 1
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 31 January 2017 | Thursday, 2 February 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. Be sure to check with your instructor to see if there are other pages you should be following as well.
This page breaks down writing a Wikipedia article into a series of steps, or milestones. These steps include online trainings 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:
- Editing Wikipedia pages 1–5
- Evaluating Wikipedia
Week 2
- Course meetings
-
- Tuesday, 7 February 2017 | Thursday, 9 February 2017
- 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"?
- Assignment - Everyone has a Wikipedia account
This week, everyone should have a Wikipedia account.
Week 3
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 14 February 2017 | Thursday, 16 February 2017
- Assignment - Practicing 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.
Week 4
- Course meetings
-
- Tuesday, 21 February 2017 | Thursday, 23 February 2017
- Assignment - Critique an Article
For this assignment, you will visit the talk page of an article on Wikipedia and make two comments. You may use the following questions to guide your critique:
Is each fact referenced with an appropriate, reliable reference?
Is everything in the article relevant to the article topic? Is there anything that distracted you?
Is the article neutral? Are there any claims, or frames, that appear heavily biased toward a particular position?
Where does the information come from? Are these neutral sources? If biased, is that bias noted?
Are there viewpoints that are overrepresented, or underrepresented?
Check a few citations. Do the links work? Is there any close paraphrasing or plagiarism in the article?
Is any information out of date? Is anything missing that could be added?
How does the discussion of your topic compare to the way we talk about similar issues or themes in class?
Choose at least 2 questions relevant to the article you're evaluating. Leave your evaluation on the article's Talk page. Be sure to sign your feedback with four tildes — Helaine (Wiki Ed) (talk) 22:38, 12 May 2017 (UTC).
Additionally, be sure to complete the Evaluate Articles and Sources Training Module (below).
Week 5
- Course meetings
-
- Tuesday, 28 February 2017 | Thursday, 2 March 2017
- In class - Discussion
- Thinking about sources and plagiarism
- Blog posts and press releases are considered poor sources of reliable information. Why?
- What are some reasons you might not want to use a company's website as the main source of information about that company?
- What is the difference between a copyright violation and plagiarism?
- What are some good techniques to avoid close paraphrasing and plagiarism?
- Assignment - Choose possible subject for your final article
- Review page 6 of your Editing Wikipedia guidebook.
- Choose 3–5 potential articles that you can tackle, and post links to them on your Wikipedia user page. For articles that already exist, check the Talk page to see what other Wikipedians might be doing. Finally, present your choices to your instructor for feedback.
- The following links can help you get started finding a stub. (A stub is a short version of a Wikipedia article that is in need of expansion.):
Week 6
- Course meetings
-
- Tuesday, 7 March 2017 | Thursday, 9 March 2017
- Assignment - Add to an article
Familiarize yourself with editing Wikipedia by adding a citation to an article. There are two ways you can do this:
- Add 1-2 sentences to a course-related article, and cite that statement to a reliable source, as you learned in the online training.
- The Citation Hunt tool shows unreferenced statements from articles. First, evaluate whether the statement in question is true! An uncited statement could just be lacking a reference or it could be inaccurate or misleading. Reliable sources on the subject will help you choose whether to add it or correct the statement.
- Illustrate an article - Extra Credit, optional
You'll want to find or create an appropriate photo, illustration, or piece of video/audio to add to an article.
- 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.
Week 7
- Course meetings
-
- Tuesday, 14 March 2017 | Thursday, 16 March 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?
- Assignment - Finalize your topic / Find your sources
- On the Students tab, assign your chosen topic to yourself.
- In your sandbox, 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, too.
- Compile a list of relevant, reliable books, journal articles, or other sources. Post that bibliography to the talk page of the article you'll be working on, and in your sandbox. Make sure to check in on the Talk page to see if anyone has advice on your bibliography.
- Milestones
Your instructor will approve your final selection from the three possibilities submitted previously. Topics will not be changed after this.
Week 8
- Course meetings
-
- Tuesday, 28 March 2017 | Thursday, 30 March 2017
- Milestones
Everyone has begun writing their article drafts.
Week 9
- Course meetings
-
- Tuesday, 4 April 2017 | Thursday, 6 April 2017
- Assignment - Draft your article
You've picked a topic and found your sources. Now it's time to start writing.
Creating a new article?
- Write an outline of that topic in the form of a standard Wikipedia article's "lead section." Write it in your sandbox.
- A "lead" section is not a traditional introduction. It should summarize, very briefly, what the rest of the article will say in detail. The first paragraph should include important, broad facts about the subject. A good example is Ada Lovelace. See Editing Wikipedia page 9 for more ideas.
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. Make notes for improvement in your sandbox.
Keep reading your sources, too, as you prepare to write the body of the article.
Resources: Editing Wikipedia pages 7–9
Week 10
- Course meetings
-
- Tuesday, 11 April 2017 | Thursday, 13 April 2017
- Assignment - Expand your draft
- Keep working on transforming your article into a complete first draft.
- If you'd like a Content Expert to review your draft, now is the time! Click the "Get Help" button in your sandbox to request notes.
Week 11
- Course meetings
-
- Tuesday, 18 April 2017 | Thursday, 20 April 2017
Week 12
- Course meetings
-
- Tuesday, 25 April 2017 | Thursday, 27 April 2017
- Milestones
Everyone should have finished all of the work they'll do on Wikipedia, and be ready for grading.
- 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 Content Expert at any time!