Sooner or later, as a modern-day history major\u00a0you have to figure out where you stand on Wikipedia. \u00a0It\u2019s either something you depend on, something you avoid, or something you use but try not to acknowledge. \u00a0Where do you stand? \u00a0More important if you are a serious history major, how should the profession adapt in this Wiki Age?<\/p>\n
The answers don\u2019t come easy anymore. \u00a0For years, history professors warned students away from Wikipedia. \u00a0But now some are welcoming it. \u00a0William Cronon, a distinguished historian, used his term as president of the American Historical Association (AHA) to advocate for making Wikipedia better. \u00a0Check out Cronon\u2019s\u00a02012 editorial on the subject<\/a>. \u00a0He\u00a0makes some powerful points, but historian Timothy Messer-Kruse\u2019s dismal experience <\/a>with trying to improve a mediocre Wikipedia entry highlights some of the inherent problems with this crowd-sourced and surprisingly rigid online encyclopedia. \u00a0More recently, historian Stephen Campbell reports to the AHA about his challenges<\/a> in trying to live up to Cronon\u2019s call to action.<\/p>\n And even more recently, the AHA reports in September 2016<\/a> on the continuing struggles by historians to counteract the biases of Wikipedia’s content policies.<\/p>\n What’s your opinion? \u00a0Feel free to comment.<\/p>\n This post was updated in September 2016<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Sooner or later, as a modern-day history major\u00a0you have to figure out where you stand on Wikipedia. \u00a0It\u2019s either something you depend on, something you avoid, or something you use but try not to acknowledge. \u00a0Where do you stand? \u00a0More … Continue reading