Wikipedia was started as just one of many “wikis,’ websites that can be developed and curated collaboratively, by multiple people. Wikipedia, then, became a collaboratively and continuously created encyclopedia that many people rely on for explanations of everything from Derrida  to electronic literature. Given your explorations of electronic literature this semester, why not help wikipedia out with their explanation of it?

This assignment has four parts:

1. The wikipedia page on electronic literature is a bit sparse. Read through it a few times and reflect back on our discussions in class this semester. Identify a key concept or debate in the field that is not present in wikipedia’s explanation. ‘¨’¨Then  create a section (don’t actually edit the wikipedia page … yet) for the page that explains this concept/debate. Remember that as an encyclopedia, wikipedia is wary of bias on the part of its contributors, which means all info and arguments should be well supported with evidence from credible sources. Please incorporate into your discussion at least 2 texts (quote, paraphrase, summary …) that we’ve worked with together in class.
2. Wikipedia is an ongoing project – pages are constantly being added, edited, and updated. Please choose a section of the wikipedia page about electronic literature that, in your opinion, needs revising. Revise it (again, don’t edit the actual page yet). Consider this verb “revise’ carefully. To revise is to re-see or re-envision. A reader of your revision ought to get a different, hopefully better understanding of the subject than if they had read the older version. What will you change? Are there paragraphs to be added? Links? Examples? Please incorporate in your revision at least 2 texts that we’ve worked with together in class.
3. Works cited. Wikipedia likes information to be referenced, and often linked. Please include a “References” section that lists all of your sources in the format used by Wikipedia.
4. Reflect. After having composed your own contribution to Wikipedia and revised another, post to our class blog about why you made the choices you did. You may choose to focus on a single choice or on a series of related ones. Please don’t simply list a series of choices. Rather, focus on analysis of your choices. Consider in your reflection  the impact you expected each of your choices to make. Please include in your discussion how your rhetorical situation influenced your choice(s).

DEADLINES:

Draft: Wednesday 3/4 by midnight to Google Drive
Peer Review: Friday 3/6 by midnight to Drive
Final: Tuesday 3/10 by class

EVALUATION:

This assignment will be worth 45 points (for 15% of your final grade in the course). Point breakdown:

1. Created section: 10 points
2. Revised section: 10 points
3. References: 5 points
4. Reflection: 10 points
5. Peer Review: 10 points