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Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/University of Chicago/Feminist Perspectives on Science (Fall 2020)

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Course name
Feminist Perspectives on Science
Institution
University of Chicago
Instructor
Parysa Mostajir
Wikipedia Expert
Ian (Wiki Ed)
Subject
Course dates
2020-09-29 00:00:00 UTC – 2020-12-18 23:59:59 UTC
Approximate number of student editors
25


We will be learning about feminist scholarship on science, from the perspectives of history, philosophy, and anthropology. We are learning about the construction of knowledge (with a special focus on scientific knowledge), and various ways that values can influence the construction of knowledge, engaging with the large scholarly literature (especially from the late '80s to the present day) on feminist philosophy/anthropology/history of science. Two major topics of relevance are: the participation/exclusion/erasure of women and minorities from the production of knowledge throughout history; and the ways scientific knowledge can be susceptible to bias as a result of the values held by individuals. For that reason, I would like students to participate in WikiProject Women Scientists as a means of achieving the following learning objectives: to participate in research on women figures in the history of science; to understand the historical and current reasons these figures are missing from a major knowledge resource; to engage more broadly with issues of knowledge construction/transmission/erasure through WikiEdu's sourcing/editing training; to come to an understanding of objectivity as a social value that is at once necessary and susceptible to the influences of power.

Student Assigned Reviewing
Jpb782 Cornelia Cohen Stuart Elisa Chimenti
Thatblonde678 Asa Cristina Laurell Irene Caroline Diner Koenigsberger
Pjtian Daisy L. Hung Marcia Caldas de Castro
Snitikins Marcia Caldas de Castro Benjamin Neale
Legacyleft Benjamin Neale Lucy Engel Graves Taliaferro, Lucy Graves Taliaferro
Latkegyoza Frances Matilda Abbott Elisabetta Pierazzo
Anonymous user22144 Anne C. Petersen Patricia Billings
Oc1999 Melodie Winawer Elsa-Brita Nordlund
Sage cat Catherine Potvin Fátima of Madrid
Anonfemperspectives Sethanne Howard Daisy L. Hung
Dylan Thomas Clark Rosanna Gusmano Catherine Potvin
Ewchan25 Elsa-Brita Nordlund Anne C. Petersen
Sgc43 Irene Caroline Diner Koenigsberger Åsa Christina Laurell
Trician1 Elisabetta Pierazzo Elena Gentile
Catdaly00 Lucy Engel Graves Taliaferro Frances Matilda Abbott
Jyumanzor Leila Birhaji Elisa Chimenti
Mishyback Fátima of Madrid Cornelia Cohen Stuart
Aschmidbauer Elisa Chimenti Leila Birhaji
Pompquine Patricia Billings Elisa Chimenti
Sagecat2 Catherine Potvin

Timeline

Week 2

Course meetings
Monday, 12 October 2020
Assignment - 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 3

Course meetings
Monday, 19 October 2020
Assignment - Systemic Bias in Knowledge Resources

Read the talk pages on Wikipedia (here and here), in which the Wikipedia entries of two Black women psychiatrists were flagged for deletion based on their lack of “notability” (a standard for inclusion on Wikipedia). Also have a browse through this list of women's pages nominated for deletion from Wikipedia.

Write a short (200 word) reflective essay about the issues you see in the two talk pages, and anything that catches your eye in the list of women's pages nominated for deletion, relating to this week's readings (Keller and Schiebinger) on exclusion from the profession and erasure from official histories. Some questions you may consider: What are the positions expressed in the editorial disagreements? What are they based on? How might this be influenced by wider societal issues of gender and racial injustice? Do these issues echo anything described by Keller, Schiebinger, and Deegan (or any other of our class readings)? Do Wikipedia's editing guidelines and community processes contribute to or safeguard against systemic bias in their knowledge resources, and how?


Assignment - Evaluate Wikipedia

Week 4

Course meetings
Monday, 26 October 2020
Assignment - Review the rules for health topics
Assignment - Choose Wikipedia Page Topic

Resource: Editing Wikipedia, page 6

For your Wikipedia article, I would like you to select an option from this list. However, if you would like to contribute to or clean up a topical page (e.g. on the Tuskegee experiments), or substantially contribute to a stub or poor-quality page about a woman scientist, then you can, but run it by me first. Also, if you want to write about a woman who is science-adjacent (e.g. a science journalist), that should be fine, but also run that by me. Beware of protected pages and highly contentious pages (as the training mentions). Once we all graduate from this class as Wikipedia-editing veterans, we can apply our skills and knowledge to these contentious pages!

Once you have made your decision, check the Regenstein catalogue for any academic sources on the person. If the sources are not available online, you should request Scan and Deliver immediately so you will receive it next week to help write your article. If you have any trouble or confusion around this process, reach out to me or Marc--that's why we're here.


In class - Discussion

Week 5

Course meetings
Monday, 2 November 2020
Assignment - Add to an article
Assignment - Exercise
Assignment - Start drafting your contributions

Resource: Editing Wikipedia, pages 7–9

Your contributions to Wikipedia have no minimum or maximum word limit, but will be graded on the basis of the overall quality of your work.


Guide(s) for writing articles in your topic area

Biographies

Cultural Anthropology

History

Sociology

Women's Studies

Milestones

Everyone has begun writing their article drafts.

Week 6

Course meetings
Monday, 9 November 2020
Assignment - Keep working on your article

Week 7

Course meetings
Monday, 16 November 2020
Assignment - Peer review an article

Guiding framework

In class - Discussion
Milestones

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

Week 8

Course meetings
Monday, 23 November 2020
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.


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


Assignment - Exercise

Week 9

Course meetings
Monday, 30 November 2020
Assignment - Continue improving 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 10

Course meetings
Monday, 7 December 2020
Assignment -
Assignment - In-class presentation

Prepare a 10 minute presentation on the subject of your Wikipedia article. You should discuss:

  • the individual, her intellectual context, and her achievements
  • what your research uncovered about her
  • why she did not have a Wikipedia page (in your assessment)
  • what issues you encountered in making her Wikipedia page (notability? finding acceptable sources?)
  • anything else you find interesting, valuable, or relevant

Week 11

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!
Milestones

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