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Wikipedia:GLAM/Wellcome/Events and Workshops/Beyond the Asylum 2

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About the event

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This event followed on from another Beyond the Asylum Wikithon
Postcard of a woman sending her husband away on holiday in order to pursue an affair with the "nerve specialist" who prescribed the trip.

Linked with the Wellcome Collection exhibition Bedlam: The Asylum and Beyond, this Beyond the Asylum session will give you a chance to hear about some recent fascinating research on the history of psychiatry and mental health, and then give you the opportunity to make some of that history available to other people all over the world by learning to edit Wikipedia content.

We'll begin with a morning of talks on various aspects of the history of psychiatry and mental health, to provide some inspiration for the editing to come! After a break for lunch, we'll dive into some wiki-training from Alice White, Wikimedian in Residence at the Wellcome Library, which will cover everything from to creating an account and to how to edit. After learning your way around and getting comfortable with editing, you will have the opportunity to develop articles on the history of psychiatry: there are lots of pages on institutions, groups and individuals (particularly women) that are missing or very brief, so there’s lots of scope for making some exciting improvements!

Experienced Wikipedia editors and complete beginners are both welcome to attend - we'll provide training for anyone new to editing. Participants should bring a laptop or tablet (or request one in advance when you sign up) – editing is much easier with a keyboard. If you’ve spotted an article that needs improving, bring along your queries and we’ll see what we can do to help!

How do I prepare?
  • Sign up for the event!
  • Create a Wikipedia account (look at the top right of this page for the link). You don't need to do anything else, but it'll speed things up on the day if you've already signed up for an account.
  • Bring a laptop (wifi will be provided), some laptops may be available - let me know in advance via email if you'll need to borrow one.
  • Learn about editing if you like: see Visual Editor user guide for more information.
  • Think about what you would like to edit about - you can even prepare some materials to bring with you on the day (to help with verifiability).
  • Check out the notability guidelines and what topics can be written about on Wikipedia.
  • Think about whether you have any conflicts of interest.

Programme

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The day will start at 10am, with a chance to check out the exhibition and warm up with a cup of tea or coffee.

We'll then move on to hearing some inspirational history of psychiatry & mental health (there'll be a break between the talks for lunch - please let me know of any dietary requirements in advance). Talks will include:

  • Hilary Marland - Bedlam in Broad Arrows: Mental Health and the Prison System
  • Jennifer Kain - Sailors beyond the asylum: Experiences of 'mad' merchant seamen in 1910s New Zealand
  • David Vaughan - Off the Page: Mad or Bad. Crime and Insanity in Victorian Britain
  • Chris Millard - Jealous husbands, errant boyfriends and refrigerator mothers: social environments and mental health in twentieth-century Britain
  • Gianetta Rands - An Introduction to Pioneering Women Psychiatrists

Then we'll move on to some wiki-editing! Experienced and new editors are very welcome - there'll be training for new editors and tips for experienced editors - to improve some history of psychiatry and mental health pages.

Participants

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Wiki-editors can add their names here during the event...

Wiki Pages to Improve/Create

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Here are some suggestions (along with links to more information to get you started) - feel free to add your own too!

Male Lunatic Asylum at Kissy in Sierra Leone, photo from Wellcome Images

Content Improved/Created

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Any content we improve or create will be listed here after the event...

Inspiration for even more improvements

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If you'd like to join us remotely or continue to edit after the event, there are plenty of improvements to make - we'll suggest some here soon!