User:Aolivex/Art Since 1945

Course name

Art Since 1945

Institution

University of Pittsburgh

Instructor

Alexandra Oliver

Subject

Art History

Course dates

2015-01-12 – 2015-04-13

Approximate number of student editors

18

This course explores key developments in the arts globally, from 1945 to the present. Topics include: art in the Cold War, the impact of decolonization, "global" conceptualism, the Culture Wars, and more.

Students will write a new article or significantly improve on one, instead of writing the traditional end-of-term paper. This involves research, writing and sourcing material.

We will be working on articles related to topics covered in class. Given the uneven coverage of the arts in general, these articles can be broad (for example, Conceptualism in Latin America) or narrow (a particular artist or object), providing the subject meets Wikipedia's criteria for "notability."

Requirements

• 5-6 pages equivalent (1250 - 1500 words) total. (In some circumstances, this word count may be spread across several sections or articles.)
• topic-appropriate sections (lede, “background”, “early career” etc., understanding these will vary)
• 10 sources
• 1 picture (optional)

Deadlines

All assignments must be completed no later than Friday, 4:30 pm on the week they are assigned, unless otherwise noted.

Timeline

Week 1: Wikipedia essentials

In class

• Wikipedia research assignment requirements
• Wikipedia is a community: a brief overview of its rules, expectations, and etiquette

Week 2: Student training

In class

• Tips on finding the best articles to work on for class assignments. See Do's and Don'ts

Assignment (due Week 3)

• Create an account and then complete the online training for students. During this training, you will make edits in a sandbox and learn the basic rules of Wikipedia.
• Create a User page, and then click the "enroll" button on the top left of this course page.
• To practice editing and communicating on Wikipedia, introduce yourself on the user talk page of one of your classmates, who should also be enrolled in the table at the bottom of the page.

Milestones

• All students have Wikipedia user accounts and are listed on the course page.
• Familiar with the basics of editing
• Familiar with the anatomy of Wikipedia articles, what makes a good article, how to distinguish between good and bad articles
• Introduced to collaborating and engaging with the Wiki editing community

Week 3: NO CLASS

Assignment (due Week 4)

• Read through this brochure on evaluating Wikipedia articles, especially pages 4-7. This will give you a good, brief overview of what to look for in other articles, and what other people will look for in your own.

• Evaluate an existing Wikipedia article related to the class, and leave suggestions for improving it on the article's talk page.
  • A few questions to consider (don't feel limited to these):
    • Is everything in the article relevant to the article topic? Is there anything that distracted you?
    • Is each fact referenced with an appropriate, reliable reference?
    • Is the article neutral? Are there any claims that appear biased to one side or an other?
    • Are there viewpoints that are overrepresented, or underrepresented?
    • What's missing that could be added?
    • Check a few citations. Is there any close paraphrasing or plagiarism in the article?

• For reference:
  • Ten Dollar Bill
  • Janise Yntema
  • Canadian Art
  • Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion

Week 4: Exploring the topic area

In class

• Anatomy of Wikipedia articles, what makes a good article, how to distinguish between good and bad articles
• Collaborating and engaging with the Wiki editing community - and peers! Handout
• Tips on finding the best articles to work on for class assignments.

Assignment (due Week 5)

• Add 1–2 sentences of new information, backed up with a citation to an appropriate source, to a Wikipedia article related to the class.

• Research and list 3–5 articles on your Wikipedia user page that you will consider working on as your main project. Look at the talk page for existing topics for a sense of who else is working on it and what they're doing. Describe your choices to your instructor for feedback.

Week 5: Using sources and choosing articles

In class

• Handouts: Citing sources on Wikipedia and Avoiding plagiarism on Wikipedia.

• Be prepared to explain close paraphrasing, plagiarism, and copyright violations on Wikipedia.

Week 6: Finalizing topics and starting research

In class

• In-class workshop with Wikipedian Cassandra DellaCorte. Please bring a laptop to class! (If this is difficult for you, please contact the course instructor to make arrangements for a temporary loan.)

Assignment (due Week 7)

• Select an article to work on, removing the rest from your user page. Add your article to the class’s course page.

• Mark your article's talk page with a banner to let other editors know you're working on it. Add this code in the top section of the talk page:

{{course assignment | course = User:Aolivex/Art Since 1945 | term = Spring 2015 }}

• Compile a bibliography of relevant, reliable sources and post it to the talk page of the article you are working on. Begin reading the sources. Make sure to check in on the talk page (or watchlist) to see if anyone has advice on your bibliography.

Week 7: Drafting starter articles

In class

• Handout: Moving out of your sandbox

• Library activity with Kate Joranson. We will discuss research, sourcing and citing.

Assignment (due Week 8)

• Move sandbox articles into main space.
  • If you are expanding an existing article, copy your edit into the article. If you are making many small edits, save after each edit before you make the next one. Do NOT paste over the entire existing article, or large sections of the existing article.
  • If you are creating a new article, do NOT copy and paste your text, or there will be no record of your work history. Follow these instructions on how to move your work.

• Optional: For new articles or qualifying expansions of stubs, compose a one-sentence “hook,” nominate it for “Did you know,” (see detailed instructions) and monitor the nomination for any issues identified by other editors. Wiki Education Foundation staff can provide support for this process.

• Begin expanding your article into a comprehensive treatment of the topic.

Week 8: Moving articles to the main space

Milestones

• All students have started editing articles or drafts on Wikipedia.

Week 9: Building articles, Creating first draft

In class

• Demo uploading images and adding images to articles.
• Handouts: "Uploading images" and "Evaluating Wikipedia article quality" (handed out originally earlier in the course)
• Select at least one classmate's articles that you will peer review and copyedit. (You don’t need to start reviewing yet.)

Milestones

• Expand your article into an initial draft of a comprehensive treatment of the topic.

Week 10: NO CLASS

Week 11: Getting and giving feedback

In class

• As a group, have the students offer suggestions for improving one or two of the students' articles, setting the example for what is expected from a solid encyclopedia article.

Assignment (due Week 12)

• Peer review one of your classmate's articles. Leave suggestions on the article talk pages. You can figure out what your classmate has edited so far by clicking on their name and looking over their User Contributions (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/[classmate's user name]). If you are in your sandbox, please move your material to the mainspace! I know it's scary but it's an important step to putting your work out there and getting feedback.

Milestones

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

Week 12: Responding to feedback, Continuing to improve articles

In class

• Continue discussing how the articles can be further improved. Come up with improvement goals for each article for next week.

Assignment (due Week 13)

• Make edits to your article based on peers’ feedback. If you disagree with a suggestion, use talk pages to politely discuss and come to a consensus on your edit.

• Return to your classmates' articles you previously reviewed, and provide more suggestions for further improvement. If there is a disagreement, suggest a compromise.
• Do additional research and writing to make further improvements to your article, based on your classmates' suggestions and any additional areas for improvement you can identify.

Milestones

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

Week 13: Finishing touches

Assignment (due Week 15)

• Add final touches to your Wikipedia article. You can find a handy reference guide here.

Milestones

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

Week 14: TBA

Week 15: Articles due!

Milestones

• Students have finished all their work on Wikipedia that will be considered for grading.

Exam Week

Assignment (due no later than April 24)

• Write a reflective essay (2–5 pages) on your Wikipedia contributions.

Grading

  5%  

   Completion of Wikipedia training

  15%  

   Early Wikipedia exercises

  10%  

   Evaluation of a Wikipedia article

  10%  

   Bibliography and outline

  10%  

   Peer reviews and collaboration with classmates

  50%  

   Quality of main Wikipedia contributions