For the last couple of days, the Virginia History List, a discussion service of the Library of Virginia in Richmond, has tackled the issue of Wikipedia. Negative critics mingle with enthusiastic proponents, but two criticisms predominate--the issue of accuracy and the proclivity of students to use Wikipedia as a primary research tool.
One comment under the inherited subject line, In defense of Wikipedia, came from a professor who is not, in fact, a defender and writes,
Democratizing access to knowledge is not the same thing as democratizing the production of knowledge. I am all for the one, and deeply opposed to the other. When I say I am opposed to democratizing the production of knowledge, what I mean is that there are good standards in place to ensure that certain kinds of knowledge claims are advanced on the basis of rigorous and responsible methodologies, by careful and qualified scholars. ...those of us who complete academic training are, by virtue of that training, somewhat more likely to know how to employ those rigorous and responsible methodologies for producing knowledge.
Conversely, a Wikipedia fan states,
Wikipedia represents a technology at the very beginnings of the revolution of which it is a part...and already it represents a body of knowledge and an approach to sharing knowledge that promises to dwarf the fruits of Gutenberg's revolution. Our major problem at this point, I would argue, is not Wikipedia..but the stewardship of those who would (and should) serve as its guardians, guides, contributors, and advocates. Foremost among those stewards...are us.
Faculty at George Mason University have discussed these issues and their thoughts and uses of Wikipedia are on-line through the Center for History and New Media.
Professor Roy Rosenzweig's article, published in the Journal of American History, , volume 93, Number 1 (June 2006) 117-146, "Can History Be Open Source: Wikipedia and the Future of the Past," discusses the process of Wikipedia and its implications for producing and interpreting history.
Professor T. Mills Kelly describes a classroom project with Wikipedia designed to help students become better consumers of history in his blog entry, Why I won't get hired at Middlebury.
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