Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/Yale University/Open Democracy (Spring 2021)

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Course name
Open Democracy
Institution
Yale University
Instructor
Helene Landemore
Wikipedia Expert
Ian (Wiki Ed)
Subject
Political Science
Course dates
2021-01-31 00:00:00 UTC – 2021-05-16 23:59:59 UTC
Approximate number of student editors
18


This course is an invitation to reimagine what democracy could be like in the 21st century. We revisit classics of democratic theory and explore multiple democratic innovations, from Participatory Budgeting to Citizens Assemblies and crowdsourced policy-processes, as well as topics such as democracy in the workplace.

Student Assigned Reviewing
Michael.gary16 Liquid democracy Agonism, Representative democracy
Zraerobertson Participatory democracy Citizens Convention for Climate, Representative democracy
Ajsorota Agonism Group consciousness (political science), Liquid democracy, Oral democracy
Matthew.meyers5 Citizens Convention for Climate Liquid democracy, Group consciousness (political science)
MathisBitton The Public and its Problems Participatory democracy
Monikolov Group consciousness (political science) Participatory democracy, Liquid democracy, The Public and its Problems
Vixwint Athenian Democracy Isabelle Ferreras, Boule (ancient Greece)
American Lautaro Representative democracy, Representative Government Legitimation Crisis (book), Participatory planning
CJIrsfeld
Gostislav Boule (ancient Greece) Agonism, Communicative planning
LiamPLSC308
GeorgeMandelYale Popular assembly, Ecclesia (ancient Greece), Democratic confederalism
HirokiOsada Legitimation Crisis (book) Oral democracy, Isabelle Ferreras
TherealLiamplsc308 Participatory planning, Communicative planning Boule (ancient Greece), Isabelle Ferreras
AnnaRO2021 Isabelle Ferreras Citizens Convention for Climate, The Public and its Problems
Diegosalazarguerra Oral Democracy, Oral democracy Athenian Democracy, Legitimation Crisis (book), The Public and its Problems
Rkm22 Citizens' assembly Athenian Democracy, Representative democracy

Timeline

Week 2

Course meetings
Wednesday, 10 February 2021
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 3

Course meetings
Wednesday, 17 February 2021
Assignment - Evaluate Wikipedia
In class - Discussion

Week 4

Course meetings
Wednesday, 24 February 2021
Assignment - Choose possible topics

Resource: Editing Wikipedia, page 6

In class - Discussion

Week 5

Course meetings
Wednesday, 3 March 2021
Assignment - Add to an article
Assignment - Exercise

Week 6

Course meetings
Wednesday, 10 March 2021
Assignment - Start drafting your contributions

Resource: Editing Wikipedia, pages 7–9

Guide(s) for writing articles in your topic area

Ecology

Environmental Sciences

History

Political Science

Sociology

Women's Studies

Milestones

Everyone has begun writing their article drafts.

Week 7

Course meetings
Wednesday, 17 March 2021
Assignment - Peer review two articles

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
Wednesday, 31 March 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 9

Course meetings
Wednesday, 7 April 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 10

Course meetings
Wednesday, 14 April 2021
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.

Week 11

Course meetings
Wednesday, 21 April 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 12

Course meetings
Wednesday, 28 April 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 - In-class presentation
Assignment - Reflective essay
Assignment - Original analytical paper

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

Week 13

Milestones

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