Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/Virginia Commonwealth University/Fiction into Film (Fall 2020)
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- Course name
- Fiction into Film
- Institution
- Virginia Commonwealth University
- Instructor
- Gardner Campbell
- Wikipedia Expert
- Ian (Wiki Ed)
- Subject
- Films
- Course dates
- 2020-08-17 00:00:00 UTC – 2020-12-10 23:59:59 UTC
- Approximate number of student editors
- 37
ENGL 385: Fiction into Film. "The Ongoing Legacy of 'Little Women'"
President Theodore Roosevelt said he “worshipped” "Little Women." Simone de Beauvoir reported she “identified … passionately with Jo” and “shared her horror of sewing and housekeeping and her love of books.” Cynthia Ozick said she read "Little Women" “ten thousand” times. Barbara Kingsolver insisted, simply, “I, personally, am Jo March, and if her author Louisa May Alcott had a whole new life to live for the sole pursuit of talking me out of it, she could not.” Camille Paglia, in a dissenting opinion, stated that “the whole thing is like a horror movie to me.” The curated fanfiction website “Archive of Our Own” contains 346 works in the "Little Women" series.
And the most important statistic for our purposes in this course of study: "Little Women" has been adapted for film or television over 20 times, from 1917 to 2019.
It’s hard to think of another American novel, or of any novel at all, that has such a long and influential legacy in film and popular culture. At one point its author, Louisa May Alcott, dismissively referred to "Little Women" and its sequels as “moral pap for the young.” Yet the book is still read, and movies are still made of it, and each new adaptation teaches us something not only about strategies of literary adaptation but also, and crucially, something about the role of women in the cultural context in which Alcott lived and in which each of the adaptations was undertaken.
Together we’ll read and analyze Alcott’s novel—as art, as biography, as fantasy, as feminism, as livelihood—as well as its many adaptations, with an emphasis on the 1933, 1949, 1994, and 2019 cinematic adaptations.
In addition to quizzes, tests, and short analytical essays, you will edit and improve a Wikipedia article related to Alcott herself, "Little Women," or any of the film, television, or musical adaptations of the novel.
Timeline
Week 7
- Course meetings
-
- Wednesday, 30 September 2020
- 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 8
- Course meetings
-
- Monday, 5 October 2020 | Wednesday, 7 October 2020
- Assignment - Evaluate Wikipedia
- In class - Discussion
Week 9
- Course meetings
-
- Monday, 12 October 2020 | Wednesday, 14 October 2020
- Assignment - Review the rules for health topics
- Assignment - Exercise
- In class - Discussion
- Guide(s) for writing articles in your topic area
Week 10
- Course meetings
-
- Monday, 19 October 2020 | Wednesday, 21 October 2020
- Assignment - Add to an article
- Assignment - Exercise
Week 11
- Course meetings
-
- Monday, 26 October 2020 | Wednesday, 28 October 2020
- Assignment - Start drafting your contributions
Reach out to your Wikipedia Expert if you have questions using the Get Help button at the top of this page.
Resource: Editing Wikipedia, pages 7–9
- Milestones
Everyone has begun writing their article drafts.
Week 12
- Course meetings
-
- Monday, 2 November 2020 | Wednesday, 4 November 2020
- Assignment - Peer review two articles
- In class - Discussion
- Milestones
Every student has finished reviewing their assigned articles, making sure that every article has been reviewed.
Week 13
- Course meetings
-
- Monday, 9 November 2020 | Wednesday, 11 November 2020
- 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.
Week 14
- Course meetings
-
- Monday, 16 November 2020 | Wednesday, 18 November 2020
- 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 - Exercise
Week 15
- Course meetings
-
- Monday, 23 November 2020
- Assignment - Continue improving your article
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!
Week 16
- Course meetings
-
- Monday, 30 November 2020 | Wednesday, 2 December 2020
- 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!
- Assignment - Reflective essay
Week 17
- Course meetings
-
- Monday, 7 December 2020 | Wednesday, 9 December 2020
- Milestones
Everyone should have finished all of the work they'll do on Wikipedia, and be ready for grading.