Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/University of Missouri, Columbia/Black Sexual Politics (Fall 2021)

This Course Wikipedia Resources Connect
Questions? Ask us:

contact@wikiedu.org

Course name
Black Sexual Politics
Institution
University of Missouri, Columbia
Instructor
Christina Carney
Wikipedia Expert
Ian (Wiki Ed)
Subject
Black Sexual Politics
Course dates
2021-08-24 00:00:00 UTC – 2021-12-09 23:59:59 UTC
Approximate number of student editors
35


We position Stacey Patton’s provocative essay, “Who’s Afraid of Black Sexuality?” in The Chronicle of Higher Education, as a starting point for thinking through how silence about sex and pleasure has “left a gap in the classroom and in black studies scholarship.” While prominent black feminist scholars have illuminated histories of black women’s sexual violation under slavery and their counter-resistance, the culture of dissemblance in black communities to shield themselves from racism, and sexual ideologies that fueled Jim Crow legislation and lynching – few have said anything about “black sexual agency, pleasure and intimacy, or same-sex relationships.” Instead, black sexuality is exclusively positioned in relation to white violation, dehumanization and the larger project of positioning black folks as subhuman.

While this gap has been undertaken in the fields of black (queer) studies (E. Patrick Johnson, Robert Reid Pharr, Cathy Cohen) and queer of color critique (Rod Ferguson) alongside grassroots organizations such as ActUP, new scholarship in black sexuality studies suggests that “although the dynamics of respectability have evolved they are not any less insidious.” These new inquires reveal how respectability politics serves as a neo-colonialist measure in which respectability becomes a primary technique of power and knowledge, while suggesting how anti-respectability as a methodology can “carve new territories for Black and Gender Studies, respectively.”

As a class, we will approach this question by positioning politics of representation and respectability within the realm of popular culture, such as pornography studies, and other highly consumed forms of media. Furthermore, we will discuss themes of intramural policing, and other forms of oppression performed within (and outside) Black communities as ways to understand how respectability politics are martialed in the current public sphere.

Student Assigned Reviewing
Llpfqd LGBT representations in hip hop music Prison sexuality, Raunch aesthetics
Vaidajj Black maternal mortality in the United States LGBT representations in hip hop music, Raunch aesthetics
Kiessence Madea, Media and gender LGBT representations in hip hop music, Prison sexuality
Trjqdk African-American Creators, Harlem Writers Guild Compulsory heterosexuality, Misogynoir
Alicia.m3 Black maternal mortality in the United States Madea, Prison sexuality
Krs4d3 Raunch aesthetics Mammy stereotype, Media and gender
Kebrown3789
Kbm6cb Gender pay gap Black maternal mortality in the United States, Big Purr (Prrdd)
ChloeR2000 Bustle Mammy stereotype, Madea
Dmg31500 Mammy stereotype Black Feminist Future, Prison sexuality, Bustle
Victoria Goudeau Bustle LGBT representations in hip hop music, Misogynoir
Mervt2 Misogynoir Prison sexuality, Sexual Slavery
Lkm4gn Mammy stereotype Misogynoir, Raunch aesthetics
Peytonblakemore Gender pay gap Gender pay gap
Abjay26 Raunch aesthetics
Cassidybohne Raunch aesthetics Big Purr (Prrdd), Gender pay gap
Renette776 Big Purr (Prrdd) Madea, Misogyny in rap music
Abc8kr Harlem Writers Guild Big Purr (Prrdd), Raunch aesthetics
Ckaraluch Harlem Writers Guild Gender pay gap
Amh2099
Klhhng Bustle Bustle
Roshae Hemmings Madea
LHK428 LGBT representations in hip hop music Compulsory heterosexuality, Mammy stereotype, Big Purr (Prrdd), Cross-gender acting, Misogynoir, Misogyny in rap music, Sexual slavery, Prison sexuality
Dubosem Big Purr (Prrdd)
EmilyInman Gender pay gap Black maternal mortality in the United States, Raunch aesthetics
Janylahthomas Misogynoir Sexual slavery, Prison sexuality
Crowe614 LGBT representations in hip hop music
Wkimmerling Prison sexuality Race and sexuality
Rileyjaylen Prison sexuality
Mmpqv5 Black maternal mortality in the United States Big Purr (Prrdd), Harlem Writers Guild
BlackIce0021 Big Purr (Prrdd) Sexual slavery, African-American Creators, Harlem Writers Guild
KH35F Madea, Cross-gender acting Black maternal mortality in the United States
Ope Adekunle16 Mammy stereotype
Michael Henderson Burt Mom & Me & Mom, Sexual slavery Gender pay gap, Media and gender

Timeline

Week 1

Course meetings
Thursday, 26 August 2021
In class -
In class - 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:

Assignment - Get started on 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.)

Assignment - Wikipedia assignment blog

Begin a blog about your experiences. You can use discussion questions to frame your entries, or reflect on the research and writing process. Create at least one blog entry each week during the Wikipedia assignment.

Milestones

This week, everyone should have a Wikipedia account.

Week 2

Course meetings
Tuesday, 31 August 2021   |   Thursday, 2 September 2021
Assignment - Evaluate Wikipedia

Week 3

Course meetings
Tuesday, 7 September 2021   |   Thursday, 9 September 2021
Assignment - Review the rules for health topics
Assignment - Choose possible topics

Exercise

Choose a topic

Resource: Editing Wikipedia, page 6

In class - Discussion

What's a content gap?

Week 4

Course meetings
Tuesday, 14 September 2021   |   Thursday, 16 September 2021
Assignment - Add to an article

Exercise

Add a citation

Week 5

Course meetings
Tuesday, 21 September 2021   |   Thursday, 23 September 2021
Assignment - Start drafting your contributions

Resource: Editing Wikipedia, pages 7–9

Guide(s) for writing articles in your topic area

Biographies

Books

Films

History

LGBT+ Studies

Political Science

Sociology

Women's Studies

Milestones

Everyone has begun writing their article drafts.

Week 6

Course meetings
Tuesday, 28 September 2021   |   Thursday, 30 September 2021
Assignment - Peer review two articles

Guiding framework

In class - Discussion

Thinking about Wikipedia

Milestones

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

Week 7

Course meetings
Tuesday, 5 October 2021
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.

Week 8

Course meetings
Tuesday, 12 October 2021   |   Thursday, 14 October 2021
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

Week 9

Course meetings
Tuesday, 19 October 2021   |   Thursday, 21 October 2021
Assignment - Continue improving your article

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

Course meetings
Tuesday, 26 October 2021   |   Thursday, 28 October 2021
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 Wikipedia Expert at any time if you need further help!

Week 11

Course meetings
Tuesday, 2 November 2021   |   Thursday, 4 November 2021
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!
In class - Start Preparing for in-class presentations

Guiding questions

Week 12

Course meetings
Tuesday, 9 November 2021   |   Thursday, 11 November 2021
Milestones

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

Week 13

Course meetings
Tuesday, 16 November 2021   |   Thursday, 18 November 2021
Assignment - DUE
Group In-Class Presentations

Week 14

Course meetings
Tuesday, 30 November 2021   |   Thursday, 2 December 2021
Assignment - DUE
Group In-Class Presentations
Assignment - Original analytical paper

Write a paper going beyond your Wikipedia article to advance your own ideas, arguments, and original research about your topic.