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Course name
Arts of Zen Buddhism
Institution
Georgetown University
Instructor
Michelle Wang
Wikipedia Expert
Shalor (Wiki Ed)
Subject
Art History
Course dates
2018-01-10 00:00:00 UTC – 2018-05-05 23:59:59 UTC
Approximate number of student editors
10


Zen Buddhism is one of the major traditions of Buddhism in East Asia and was moreover an instrumental force in shaping modern perceptions of Japan in the west. Over the course of the semester, we will analyze how the perceived distinctiveness of Zen Buddhism – as marked by concepts such as mind-to-mind transmission, master-disciple lineage, and sudden enlightenment – was constructed through the visual arts and how the arts in turn contributed to monk-patron relations and the cultural lives of monks outside the monastic walls. Among the weekly topics to be covered are: ink landscape paintings, portraits of Zen masters, the tea ceremony and ceramic tea wares, as well as Beat Zen and the impact of Buddhism upon postwar artists in the United States. No prior knowledge of Asian art is required or assumed.

In the Spring 2018 iteration of this course, the main assignment will be a Wikipedia project in which each class member will be responsible for the authorship of a substantial Wikipedia article on a certain aspect of Zen art. This project will foster the development of research, critical thinking, and writing skills. The goals for this project are two-fold: (1) you will learn to explain abstruse concepts and topics in an accessible and intelligent manner to diverse audiences beyond the Georgetown community, thereby making an impact on the popular contemporary understanding of Zen Buddhism and Zen art; (2) in the process, you will address in a constructive manner the ways in which Zen Buddhism and Zen art have been represented in popular culture from the mid-20th century onward, and understand the historical and social mechanisms by which discourses on Zen art have shaped perceptions regarding the perceived distinctiveness of Zen Buddhism and Japanese culture.

This course is a Doyle Seminar, part of the Doyle Engaging Difference Program, a new campus-wide curricular initiative, and gives faculty the opportunity to enhance the student research component of upper-level seminars that address questions of national, social, cultural, religious, moral, and other forms of difference. The Doyle seminars are intended to deepen student learning about diversity and different through enhanced research opportunities, interaction with thought leaders, and dialogue with the Georgetown community and beyond.

Student Assigned Reviewing
Mpm263 Shussan Shaka
Jxrwang Muqi Fachang
Amyxqhuang Huineng
Bzuegel Xianzi, the Shrimp Eater
Ltk8 Shigajiku
Cyn2 Hanshan and Shide
Hgiordano Chinsō
Cristischles Oribe ware
Tophergraff Budai

Timeline

Week 3

Course meetings
Monday, 22 January 2018
Assignment - Introduction to the Wikipedia project

Welcome to your Wikipedia project's course timeline. This page will guide you through the Wikipedia project for your course. 


 This page breaks down writing a Wikipedia article into a series of steps, or milestones. These steps include online trainings to help you get started on Wikipedia. 


 Your course has also been assigned a Wikipedia Expert. Check your Talk page for notes from them. You can also reach them through the "Get Help" button on this page. 


 To get started, please review the following handouts.  Along with the assigned reading, we'll discuss these in class.



Assignment - Get started on Wikipedia
  • Create an account and join this course page, using the enrollment link your instructor sent you. (To avoid hitting Wikipedia's account creation limits, this is best done outside of class. Only 6 new accounts may be created per day from the same IP address.)
  • It's time to dive into Wikipedia. Below, you'll find the first set of online trainings you'll need to take. New modules will appear on this timeline as you get to new milestones. Be sure to check back and complete them! Incomplete trainings will be reflected in your grade.
  • When you finish the trainings, practice by introducing yourself to a classmate on that classmate’s Talk page.
Milestones

This week, everyone should have a Wikipedia account.

Week 4

Course meetings
Monday, 29 January 2018
Assignment - Evaluate Wikipedia

 It's time to think critically about Wikipedia articles. You'll evaluate a Wikipedia article related to the course and leave suggestions for improving it on the article's Talk page. 


  • Complete the "Evaluating Articles and Sources" training (linked below).
  •  Create a section in your sandbox titled "Article evaluation" where you'll leave notes about your observations and learnings. 
  •  Choose an article on Wikipedia to read and evaluate. As you read, consider the following questions (but don't feel limited to these): 
    • Is everything in the article relevant to the article topic? Is there anything that distracted you?
    • Is the article neutral? Are there any claims, or frames, that appear heavily biased toward a particular position?
    • Are there viewpoints that are overrepresented, or underrepresented?
    • Check a few citations. Do the links work? Does the source support the claims in the article?
    •  Is each fact referenced with an appropriate, reliable reference? Where does the information come from? Are these neutral sources? If biased, is that bias noted? 
    • Is any information out of date? Is anything missing that could be added?
    •  Check out the Talk page of the article. What kinds of conversations, if any, are going on behind the scenes about how to represent this topic? 
    • How is the article rated? Is it a part of any WikiProjects?
    • How does the way Wikipedia discusses this topic differ from the way we've talked about it in class?
  •  Optional: Choose at least 1 question relevant to the article you're evaluating and leave your evaluation on the article's Talk page. Be sure to sign your feedback with four tildes — Michwang108 (talk) 20:19, 1 May 2018 (UTC). [reply]


In class - Discussion
What's a content gap?

 Now that you're thinking about what makes a "good" Wikipedia article, consider some additional questions,


  • Wikipedians often talk about "content gaps." What do you think a content gap is, and what are some possible ways to identify them?
  • What are some reasons a content gap might arise? What are some ways to remedy them?
  • Does it matter who writes Wikipedia?
  • What does it mean to be "unbiased" on Wikipedia? How is that different, or similar, to your own definition of "bias"?

Week 5

Course meetings
Monday, 5 February 2018
Assignment - Sources and Citations

Familiarize yourself with editing Wikipedia by adding a citation to an article.  You can practice this through the Citation Hunt tool below:


  •  The Citation Hunt tool shows unreferenced statements from articles. First, evaluate whether the statement in question is true! An uncited statement could just be lacking a reference or it could be inaccurate or misleading. Reliable sources on the subject will help you choose whether to add it or correct the statement. 


In class - Discussion
Thinking about sources and plagiarism
  • Blog posts and press releases are considered poor sources of reliable information. Why?
  • What are some reasons you might not want to use a company's website as the main source of information about that company?
  • What is the difference between a copyright violation and plagiarism?
  • What are some good techniques to avoid close paraphrasing and plagiarism?

Week 6

Course meetings
Monday, 12 February 2018
Assignment - Find your sources

It's time to start researching your chosen topic.


  • Review page 6 of your Editing Wikipedia guidebook.
  •  Find an article from the list of "Available Articles" on the Articles tab on this course page. When you find the one you want to work on, click Select to assign it to yourself. 
  •  In your sandbox, write a few sentences about what you plan to contribute to the selected article. 
    •  Think back to when you did an article critique. What can you add? Post some of your ideas to the article's talk page. 
    •  Compile a list of relevant, reliable books, journal articles, or other sources. Post that bibliography to the talk page of the article you'll be working on, and in your sandbox. Make sure to check in on the Talk page to see if anyone has advice on your bibliography. 


Guide(s) for writing articles in your topic area

Biographies

History


Assignment - Draft your article

You've picked a topic and found your sources. Now it's time to start writing.

Creating a new article?

  • Write an outline of that topic in the form of a standard Wikipedia article's "lead section." Write it in your sandbox.
    • A "lead" section is not a traditional introduction. It should summarize, very briefly, what the rest of the article will say in detail. The first paragraph should include important, broad facts about the subject. A good example is Ada Lovelace. See Editing Wikipedia page 9 for more ideas.

Improving an existing article?

  • Identify what's missing from the current form of the article. Think back to the skills you learned while critiquing an article. Make notes for improvement in your sandbox.


Keep reading your sources, too, as you prepare to write the body of the article.

Resources: Editing Wikipedia pages 7–9

Week 7

Course meetings
Monday, 26 February 2018
Assignment - Continue drafting your article

Flesh out your outline, add text and references.


Assignment - Adding images to your article
  • The quality of your article will be greatly enhanced by the addition of images.  In order to add images to your article, the images will first have to be available in Wikimedia Commons (adding images to Wikimedia Commons usually takes one day's lead time). This training module and the Illustrating Wikipedia booklet will provide instructions for how to do so.  
  • Museum websites are an excellent image source.  Please check the fine print, but since your use of images for the Wikipedia article falls under non-commercial use, generally you may use images from museum websites as long as you credit the source.
  • Before adding images to Wikimedia Commons, first do a search to see whether the images you'd like to use are already available.  After you finish this training module, start adding images to your article.

Week 8

Course meetings
Monday, 12 March 2018
Assignment - Expand your draft
  • Keep working on transforming your article into a complete first draft.
  •  If you'd like a Wikipedia Expert to review your draft, now is the time! Click the "Get Help" button in your sandbox to request notes. 

Week 9

Course meetings
Monday, 19 March 2018
Assignment - Continue writing your article draft

Your article draft is due next Monday, March 26.

Week 10

Course meetings
Monday, 26 March 2018
Assignment - Article draft due and ready for peer review
Assignment - Peer review and copy edit
  • The instructions below pertain to the peer review assignment, which is due Wednesday, April 4 (after Easter Break, during Week Thirteen).
  • First, take the "Peer Review" online training.
  • You will be assigned two classmates’ articles to peer review and copyedit. On the Articles tab, you will see all the articles available for review.  In the "My Articles" section of the Home tab, assign them to yourself to review. 
  •  Peer review your classmates' drafts. Leave suggestions on the Talk page of the article, or sandbox, that your fellow student is working on. Other editors may be reviewing your work, so look for their comments! Be sure to acknowledge feedback from other Wikipedians. 
  •  As you review, make spelling, grammar, and other adjustments. Pay attention to the tone of the article. Is it encyclopedic? 

Week 11

Course meetings
Monday, 9 April 2018
Assignment - Respond to your peer review, start revising your article

You probably have some feedback from other students and possibly other Wikipedians. It's time to work with that feedback to improve your article!

  • Read Editing Wikipedia pages 12 and 14.
  • Return to your draft or article and think about the suggestions. Decide which ones to start implementing. Reach out to your instructor or your Wikipedia Expert if you have any questions.

Week 12

Course meetings
Monday, 16 April 2018
Assignment - Continue revising your article

Do additional research and writing to make further improvements to your article, based on suggestions and your own critique.


  •  Read Editing Wikipedia page 12 to see how to create links from your article to others, and from other articles to your own. Try to link to 3–5 articles, and link to your article from 2–3 other articles. 


Assignment - Begin moving your work to Wikipedia

Once you've made improvements to your article based on peer review feedback, it's time to move your work to Wikipedia proper - the "mainspace."

Editing an existing article?

  • NEVER copy and paste your draft of an article over the entire article. Instead, edit small sections at a time.
  • Copy your edits into the article. Make many small edits, saving each time, and leaving an edit summary. Never replace more than one to two sentences without saving!
  • Be sure to copy text from your sandbox while the sandbox page is in 'Edit' mode. This ensures that the formatting is transferred correctly.

Creating a new article?

Week 13

Course meetings
Monday, 23 April 2018
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 due Friday, April 27 at 5pm for grading

It's the final week to develop your article, which is due Friday, April 27 at 5pm.


  • 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!

Week 14

Course meetings
Monday, 30 April 2018
In class - In-class discussion

Present about your Wikipedia editing experience.

Consider the following questions as you reflect on your Wikipedia assignment:

  • Critiquing articles: What did you learn about Wikipedia during the article evaluation? How did you approach critiquing the article you selected for this assignment? How did you decide what to add to your chosen article?
  • Summarizing your contributions: include a summary of your edits and why you felt they were a valuable addition to the article. How does your article compare to earlier versions?
  • Peer Review: If your class did peer review, include information about the peer review process. What did you contribute in your review of your peers article? What did your peers recommend you change on your article?
  • Feedback: Did you receive feedback from other Wikipedia editors, and if so, how did you respond to and handle that feedback?
  • Wikipedia generally: What did you learn from contributing to Wikipedia? How does a Wikipedia assignment compare to other assignments you've done in the past? How can Wikipedia be used to improve public understanding of our field/your topic? Why is this important?
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