Comments on: Editing Wikipedia > Writing Letters to the New York Times

By: hwileniu

hwileniu — Wed, 15 Mar 2017 11:46:22 +0000

For those who seriously consider Rex’s call to action, I recommend this ethnography of Wikipedia editing:

Jemielniak, D., 2014. Common Knowledge?: An Ethnography of Wikipedia. Stanford University Press, Stanford, California.

There’s useful stuff on edit wars, dispute resolution mechanisms, and the model of procedural objectivity that is favored in its “edit culture”.

By: magnuspharao

magnuspharao — Tue, 07 Mar 2017 19:07:18 +0000

I made this same point in AA a couple of months ago. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/aman.12598/full

Also, a demonstraiton is the fact that I was able to cause the White Supremacist definition of “Boasian Anthropology” to drop down in the google results simply by creating an article on Wikipedia about “Boasian Anthropoloyg” – the thing is that google privileges wikipedia, but in this case Wikipedia didn’t have an article on the topic!

By: LilyS

LilyS — Tue, 07 Mar 2017 17:32:53 +0000

I had a history and women’s studies prof in undergrad who, for the final paper, would assign each student to pick a Wikipedia entry on a topic of historical significance and edit it, focusing esp on adding information, sources, and critical readings that reinserted women and people of color into historical narratives that privileged the words and experiences of white men. I always thought that was an awesome assignment, and a good way to combine public scholarship and pedagogy.

By: Uzma Z. Rizvi

Uzma Z. Rizvi — Tue, 07 Mar 2017 13:10:17 +0000

For last years’ MeetUp Info, see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Meetup/ArtAndCommunity/Brooklyn2015

By: Uzma Z. Rizvi

Uzma Z. Rizvi — Tue, 07 Mar 2017 13:05:57 +0000

Thanks for this — I think it is so very important to get more Public Anthropologists into the Wiki-world and have them climb the ladder of authority within that framework.

Another great wiki idea is to set up edit-a-thons or meetups for wikipedia to enter into the archive people/events/things that fall out of the algorithm of notability.

So for example, last year, for a course, I joined my collaborator and class to develop an Edit-a-Thon/Meet-up Project – and it was used again this year to continue the project called ART + COMMUNITY.

“ART + COMMUNITY is an edit-a-thon project developed in the Art, Culture, and Community Development Course (SS-512) in the Social Science and Cultural Studies Department at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York. During this edit-a-thon we will be submitting pages for artists, activists, and organizers with a sustained involvement in cultural production, community building, and intersectional dialogs.”

To those interested, you can check out:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Meetup/ArtAndCommunity

Thanks so much for bringing this up – so very important to talk about new and diverse ways to engage with the contemporary world. And I have to say, when academics claim they have made a public intervention by writing a letter in the NYT, I do roll my eyes. Sure – public anthro can walk and chew gum – but if the goal is to get out of a burning building, I would concentrate on ambulation rather than mastication. Also – just a quick HT to my fave line in this “The new public anthropology, on the other hand, is not glamorous, will not make you famous, can be emotionally uncomfortable, involves working in new and unfamiliar genres, and can change the world.”

Thank you.

By: Rex

Rex — Tue, 07 Mar 2017 02:39:53 +0000

Thanks Will. It’s a fair point.

By: Will Meyer

Will Meyer — Tue, 07 Mar 2017 01:30:51 +0000

I am a fan of your ultimate message, but I have some misgivings about your confrontational and dismissive tone. I’m curious… Why can’t public anthropology be BOTH writing letters to the NYT and other “traditional” publications AND working in digital venues with a far broader and quicker readership? What ever happened to “all of the above” solutions? Or are we going to limit ourselves like much of the 21st-century American public has, asking “what thing should I care about to the exclusion of all others this week?” If we are really concerned about public anthropology, we need to reach as much of that public as possible, and that’s likely to mean walking and chewing gum at the same time (and not assuming that everyone is using or able to access social media).