Submissions:2025/Wikipedia as Literature
This submission has been noted and is pending review for WikiConference North America 2025.
Title:
- Wikipedia as Literature
Type of session:
- Lecture (15-30 min)
Session theme(s):
- Credibility, Missing pieces
Abstract:
At WCNA 2021 (Virtual), I gave a presentation, based on what I was learning in grad school at the University of Idaho for my Master’s degree in English, that proposed the concept of Wikipedia as “odd literature,” or literature that was unusual or did not fulfill the typical definition of literature. Spoiler alert: I was wrong about that. Instead, we should look at Wikipedia through the lens of narratology, or the study of literature and narrative. In this presentation, I discuss how Wikipedia is a part of the history of the encyclopedia, a genre of literature with a long, centuries-old history that stretches back to the Enlightenment, with its own rules, characteristics, and style. Wikipedia contributors and editors, as a part of a community of people with similar values about open access and truth, are a part of the long tradition of a genre of literature that fights disinformation, something that is sorely needed in our world today. For many of us who contribute to Wikipedia and the other parts of the Wikipedia movement, we have found our voice in Wikipedia, and I will talk about how to develop that voice, as well as ways in which editors can develop a community within the movement.
Author name(s):
Wikimedia username(s):
- Figureskatingfan
Affiliated organization(s):
- WikiProject Women in Religion, WikiProject Figure Skating
Estimated length of session
- 30 minutes
Will you be presenting remotely?
- I will present in-person
Okay to livestream?
- Livestreaming is okay
Previously presented?
- No
Special requests:
- My presentation should not conflict with the presentations by WikiProject Women in Religion.