Wikipedia:University of Edinburgh/Events and Workshops/Medieval Islamic Visual Culture

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University of Edinburgh edit-a-thon

Consult the Manual of Style for style guidelines for articles on Wikipedia[edit]

About the task[edit]

Have you ever wondered why the information in Wikipedia is extensive for some topics and scarce for others? On the 23rd of September 2020, the University's Information Services team will run a Wikipedia research session. Full Wikipedia editing training will be given. Thereafter the editathon will focus on creating & improving the quality of articles about Islamic art.

Working together with academic colleagues we will provide training on how to edit and participate in an open knowledge community. Participants will be supported to develop articles covering areas which could stand to be improved in the field of Medieval Islamic Visual Culture.

The formative assessment is a collaborative project and presentation due in week 5.

The task in detail[edit]

Imagine you’ve been hired as a consultant for a major museum to improve the public’s knowledge of Islamic art, science, and magic in advance of an exhibition. Your task is to write a new Wikipedia article, or to assess an existing Wikipedia article, chosen from the list below for the quality of its sources and content and then research, write, and improve it. You will work collaboratively in groups of 3-4 students. You will revise existing text and/or write new text (aiming for a group total of 500+ words), image(s), and scholarly references. In a 5-minute class presentation your group will explain how you improved the article, and what you learned from the process.

The overall goal is to contribute to knowledge about the connections between art and science as it developed in Islamic civilizations. By contributing to Wikipedia you will be using your skills as art historians to create, improve, and diversify this important source of free online knowledge.

The assignment will feedforward to the essay and exam because it encourages you early in the semester to engage with the visual and material evidence available to art historians focused on Islamic art/science, craft/intellect, and religion/supernatural.

Join us to learn about how Wikipedia works and contribute a greater understanding of Islamic Art!

We Can Edit
Khalili Collection Hajj Mahmal cover
How to add an infobox on English Wikipedia

How do I prepare?[edit]

Watch an introduction to Wikipedia

Further reading[edit]

The main policies and guidelines can be found at the following pages:

Trainers[edit]

Ewan McAndrew, Wikimedian in Residence at the University of Edinburgh

Helpful links[edit]

Once you've learned the basics of editing using Wikipedia’s Visual Editor, I hope that you'll stay logged in and edit or create more articles. I've added some booklets and some links below that you may find useful. As a first step you may like to check out what What Wikipedia is not along with its 5 guiding principles: The 5 pillars.

  • Please sign your messages on talk pages with four tildes (~~~~). This will automatically insert your "signature" (your username and a date stamp). The or button, on the tool bar above Wikipedia's text editing window, also does this.
  • If you would like to play around with your new Wiki skills without changing the mainspace, the Sandbox is for you.

Hit list of articles to be created or improved[edit]

Helpful updates could be as simple as: Making sure reference links are still appropriate and functional; Adding new inline citations/references; Adding a photo; Adding an infobox; Adding data to more fields in an existing infobox; Creating headings; Adding categories; etc.

The following is a small sample of topics to work on. Feel free to come up with your own ideas!

All are welcome to add names to the list which is intended to serve as a basis for creating new articles in this important but somewhat neglected sector on the English Wikipedia.

Articles to be created and improved[edit]

Choose your topics from the following:

Discussed in Wks 4-6[edit]

Discussed in Wks 8-9[edit]

Discussed in Wk. 10[edit]

Sources[edit]

Join us for the event!

Suggested sources:[edit]

General[edit]
  • DiscoverEd to find books, ebooks, journals, ejournals and more.
News sources[edit]
Theses databases[edit]

Resources[edit]

  • Editing Wikipedia brochure (Wiki Education Foundation)
    Editing Wikipedia brochure (Wiki Education Foundation)
  • Illustrating Wikipedia brochure (Wiki Education Foundation)
    Illustrating Wikipedia brochure (Wiki Education Foundation)
  • Theories: Wikipedia and the production of knowledge
    Theories: Wikipedia and the production of knowledge
  • Evaluating Wikipedia brochure (Wiki Education Foundation)
    Evaluating Wikipedia brochure (Wiki Education Foundation)
  • Editing Wikipedia articles on Medicine
    Editing Wikipedia articles on Medicine

Video guides to editing Wikipedia[edit]

Tutorials on Wikipedia editing[edit]

One page handouts[edit]

  • Using talk pages
    Using talk pages
  • Choosing an article
    Choosing an article
  • Citing your sources
    Citing your sources
  • Avoiding plagiarism
    Avoiding plagiarism
  • Classroom handout - moving out of your sandbox
    Classroom handout - moving out of your sandbox
  • Polishing your articles
    Polishing your articles
  • Classroom handout - Submitting an article to the Did You Know process
    Classroom handout - Submitting an article to the Did You Know process

Subject-specific handouts[edit]

  • Editing Wikipedia Articles Biographies
    Editing Wikipedia Articles Biographies
  • Editing Wikipedia articles on Chemistry (Wiki Ed)
    Editing Wikipedia articles on Chemistry (Wiki Ed)
  • Editing Wikipedia articles on Ecology
    Editing Wikipedia articles on Ecology
  • Editing Wikipedia articles on Environmental Sciences (Wiki Ed)
    Editing Wikipedia articles on Environmental Sciences (Wiki Ed)
  • Editing Wikipedia articles on Genes and Proteins (Wiki Ed)
    Editing Wikipedia articles on Genes and Proteins (Wiki Ed)
  • Editing Wikipedia articles on Psychology
    Editing Wikipedia articles on Psychology
  • Editing Wikipedia articles on Sociology
    Editing Wikipedia articles on Sociology
  • Editing Wikipedia articles on Species (Wiki Ed)
    Editing Wikipedia articles on Species (Wiki Ed)
  • Editing Wikipedia articles on Women's Studies
    Editing Wikipedia articles on Women's Studies

Outcomes[edit]

To be determined.

What can I do after the event?[edit]

You may find these useful if you want to learn further about editing:

External links[edit]

Participants - Sign Up Here![edit]

Prior to the event:

  1. RSVP: ewan.mcandrew@ed.ac.uk
  2. Do you have a Wikipedia User Name?
    No? Create a Wikipedia account
    Yes? Go to Step #2
  3. Sign up! Add your Wikipedia User Name to this section by clicking the blue button below (follow instructions). Your name will be added to the bottom of this page
Don't worry! If you haven't edited Wikipedia before and don't have a Wikipedia User Name yet, we will help you on the day of the event! And remember to have fun!
To sign up for this event: Log in or create an account.
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