Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/Indiana University of Pennsylvania/Composition Theory and Practice (Spring 2019)
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- Course name
- Composition Theory and Practice
- Institution
- Indiana University of Pennsylvania
- Instructor
- Matthew Vetter
- Wikipedia Expert
- Shalor (Wiki Ed)
- Subject
- Composition Studies
- Course dates
- 2019-01-22 00:00:00 UTC – 2019-05-10 23:59:59 UTC
- Approximate number of student editors
- 12
A study of current theories of composition and ways those theories might be enacted and practiced. Time in the course will be spent on both discussion of theoretical texts and practice in composing in multiple genres and forms. The course will include an historical overview of the discipline, focusing on process and post process theories that have emerged in the late twentieth and early twenty first centuries. We will begin by reviewing and discussing current-traditionalist, process, and social theories of composition, using James Purdy's "When the Tenets of Composition Go Public: A Study of Writing in Wikipedia" as a framework for thinking about writing as mediated by material processes, community, and socially-mediated collaboration. Wikipedia's transparency as a digital platform lends itself especially well to the study of procedural and social concepts of composition. As we study composition through this platform, we will also learn how to contribute to Wikipedia and work in groups to improve Wikipedia articles related to composition theory. After this introduction to basic composition theory of the twentieth century, we will extend our study to include more recent advances in post-process considerations of identity, materiality, embodiment, environment, trans/multilingualism, and trans/multimodality. Readings in this segment of the course will include articles such as Jay Dolmage's "Writing Against Normal: Navigating a Corporeal Turn", Dan Anderson's "Watch the Bubble", Jody Shipka's "Transmodality in/and Processes of Making: Changing Dispositions and Practice", Jonathan Alexander and Jaqueline Rhodes, "Queer: An Impossible Subject for Composition," Nathaniel Rivers and Ryan P. Weber's "Ecological, Pedagogical, Public Rhetoric" and Cindy Selfe's "The Movement of Air, the Breath of Meaning: Aurality and Multimodal Composing." Beyond the Wikipedia project, you will also be responsible for two additional major assignments: (1) an exploratory synthesis of scholarly literature related to a topic in composition theory - preferably one that syncs with our discussions of postprocess theories related to the previously mentioned categories of identity, materiality, embodiment, environment, trans/multilingualism, and trans/multimodality, and (2) a creative/multimodal project exploring and developing your own theory and process of writing as an embodied act informed by material conditions, technology, rhetorical ecology, community, genre, and identity. More succinctly, in this culminating project, you will answer a simple question ("How do I write?") by attending to the complex negotiations and relations of your composing process, and then present your answer in a multimodal format.
Timeline
Week 1
- Course meetings
-
- Tuesday, 22 January 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:
- Editing Wikipedia, pages 1–5
- Evaluating Wikipedia
- 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 2
- Course meetings
-
- Tuesday, 29 January 2019
- In class - Discussion
Week 3
- Course meetings
-
- Tuesday, 5 February 2019
- In class - Discussion
Week 4
- Course meetings
-
- Tuesday, 12 February 2019
- Assignment - Exercise
Week 5
- Course meetings
-
- Tuesday, 19 February 2019
- Assignment - Start drafting your contributions
Resource: Editing Wikipedia, pages 7–9
- Milestones
Everyone has begun writing their article drafts.
Week 6
- Course meetings
-
- Tuesday, 26 February 2019
- Assignment - Peer review an article
- In class - Discussion
- Milestones
Every student has finished reviewing their assigned articles, making sure that every article has been reviewed.
Week 7
- Course meetings
-
- Tuesday, 5 March 2019
- 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 - Continue improving your article
Exercise
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!
- 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
Week 8
- Course meetings
-
- Tuesday, 19 March 2019
Week 9
- Course meetings
-
- Tuesday, 26 March 2019
Week 10
- Course meetings
-
- Tuesday, 2 April 2019
Week 11
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 9 April 2019
Week 12
- Course meetings
-
- Tuesday, 16 April 2019
- Milestones
Everyone should have finished all of the work they'll do on Wikipedia, and be ready for grading.