Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/College of DuPage/ENGLI1102-015 (Summer 2016)

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This class will teach the basics of discourse, argumentative writing, and research methods -- while also promoting digital literacy -- through a rigorous inquiry of the world’s seventh most visited website. According to its own entry, Wikipedia is “a free-access, free-content Internet encyclopedia, supported and hosted by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation...[it] constitutes the Internet’s largest and most popular general reference work.”

And yet, many academics frown upon the use of Wikipedia, while some even go so far as to ban students from using it. Why? This class will pursue that question and many, many more related to research, writing, and the production of knowledge. Course assignments involve 2 major research-based projects: (1) an analysis essay, and (2) a Wikipedia article written and edited by you. In order to successfully produce both projects, we will have to explore a variety of conventions related to writing, as well as some theoretical ideas related to epistemology. We will familiarize ourselves with the policies and procedures set forth by Wikipedia’s community of contributors. We will evaluate print and digital texts by conducting research in the library and online. We will hone your skills in academic research, argumentative writing, and discourse analysis. We will practice summarizing, paraphrasing, quoting, analyzing, and synthesizing the views of other writers. Ultimately, you will begin to apprehend the fundamental role of rhetoric (i.e., persuasion) within the world of online and academic discourse, while also learning about knowledge creation, bias, credibility, objectivity, and community writing in the digital world. In sum, through classroom discussions, writing assignments, and your own online inquiries, this class promises to make you a better writer, reader, researcher, and thinker.