Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/Bowdoin College/Religions of the African Atlantic (Spring 2019)

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Course name
Religions of the African Atlantic
Institution
Bowdoin College
Instructor
Brian Smithson
Wikipedia Expert
Ian (Wiki Ed)
Subject
Anthropology, Religion, Africana Studies
Course dates
2019-01-24 00:00:00 UTC – 2019-05-17 23:59:59 UTC
Approximate number of student editors
6


This course considers how people in Africa and the African Diaspora encounter the divine. Over the course of the semester, students study African and African-inspired religions from the perspective of those who practice them. Topics covered include religious ontologies wherein divinities and spirits are active presences; historical explorations of how religions have linked Africans to counterparts across the Atlantic for more than 400 years; religious contact and mixture; and Afro–Atlantic peoples’ contributions to global Christianity, Islam, and other world religions.

For this Wikipedia assignment, you will get a closer look at some aspect of the course that interests you, dig deep into that topic, and find some slice of it to expand and write about on Wikipedia. By the end of the assignment, you should have a better understanding of your topic of interest, and you should be able to describe the key points about it to a general audience of Wikipedia's readers.

This project will take focus and commitment, but this page will break things down into steps that will give you the chance to think critically about how you want to identify and write about your topic. Each of these activities represents an important step toward creating a quality contribution to Wikipedia, so it's important that you do each step in order and on time. Cumulatively, this project is worth 45% of your final grade (20% for the individual steps and 25% for the final article you submit). You will receive full credit for the small assignments as long as you complete them thoughtfully and do them on time. The grade for your final article will be based on a rubric you will receive in class.

Student Assigned Reviewing
Sangbin1999 Opon Ifá Mambo (Vodou)
Thatgirljessie Mambo (Vodou) Methodist Church Ghana
Krogers2 Pentecostalism in Ethiopia Methodist Church Ghana
Saborbie Methodist Church Ghana Opon Ifa

Timeline

Week 6

Course meetings
Tuesday, 26 February 2019   |   Thursday, 28 February 2019
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.)

Milestones

This week, everyone should have a Wikipedia account.

Week 7

Course meetings
Tuesday, 5 March 2019   |   Thursday, 7 March 2019
Assignment - Evaluate Wikipedia

Exercise

Evaluate an article

Week 8

Course meetings
Tuesday, 26 March 2019   |   Thursday, 28 March 2019
Assignment - Choose possible topics

Exercise

Choose a topic

Resource: Editing Wikipedia, page 6

In class - Discussion

What's a content gap?

Week 9

Course meetings
Tuesday, 2 April 2019   |   Thursday, 4 April 2019
Assignment - Add to an article

Exercise

Add a citation

Week 10

Course meetings
Tuesday, 9 April 2019   |   Thursday, 11 April 2019
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

Art History

Cultural Anthropology

Milestones

Everyone has begun writing their article drafts.

Week 11

Course meetings
Tuesday, 16 April 2019   |   Thursday, 18 April 2019
Assignment - Finding a template

Look through Featured articles and Good articles on Wikipedia. Find one that covers a topic similar to your own. Use it as a template to help you identify which aspects of your topic you should cover and how you might wish to do so.

Assignment - Peer review an article

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.

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 12

Course meetings
Tuesday, 23 April 2019   |   Thursday, 25 April 2019
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 13

Course meetings
Tuesday, 30 April 2019   |   Thursday, 2 May 2019
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.

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 14

Course meetings
Tuesday, 7 May 2019   |   Thursday, 9 May 2019
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 - In-class presentation

Guiding questions

Week 15

Course meetings
Tuesday, 14 May 2019   |   Thursday, 16 May 2019
Milestones

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