Wikipedia:WikiProject Raising Representation
Raising Representation
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About
[edit]Studies have shown a considerable Gender bias on Wikipedia and that Wikipedia and repositories of crowd sourced information are skewed towards straight, white, able-bodied, men from the Global North. If you take a look, you will find Wikipedia entries in Archaeology (and in Classics) are no different. The archaeological profession also lacks diversity, despite the existence of a diverse student body[1][2]. This means that Wikipedia perpetuates already significant inequities in archaeology, and students who are not straight, white, cis men, without disabilities, often struggle to see role models and career possibilities, or feel they have agency to change this.
This project, running throughout the academic year 2024/2025, addresses these problems by raising representation and recentring student agency in diversifying archaeology (and our sister subjects of Classics, Ancient History and Egyptology) by running a series of Wikipedia editathons with University of Manchester students. We will also be presenting our findings to staff and students at the UoM at International Women's Day event on 5th March. However, to truly empower students and make structural change, it is essential that this work extends beyond the University and into the professional arena. Consequently, this project supports our students to lead an editathon and present their findings at the annual Chartered Institute for Archaeologists conference and in an editathon in conjunction with Historic England.
The project is supported by funds from the University of Manchester Faculty of Humanities Social Responsibility in the Curriculum fund and a School of Arts, Languages and Cultures Social Responsibility Fund award.
Meetups
[edit]As of February 2005[update] we've had two meetups
- Meetup/Raising Representation, November 2024
- Meetup/Raising Representation CAHAE event, February 2025
... with two planned for the future
- Meetup/Raising Representation CIfA, April 2025
- Meetup/Raising Representation Historic England, May 2025
Pages we have created so far
[edit]- Sonya Atalay
- Laurie Burgess
- Pen Foreman
- Jean Sassoon
- Kisha Supernant
- Claire Taylor (historian)
- Sadie Watson
Pages we have edited so far
[edit]- Janet Gourlay
- Owen Hurcum
- Alexandra Jones (archaeologist)
- Margaret Murray
- Gertrude Caton Thompson
- Ruth Tringham
- Tessa Wheeler
- Selma Al-Radi
- Kayt Hawkins
- Kate Clark (archaeologist)
- Lisa Westcott Wilkins
References
[edit]- ^ Cobb, H., L. 2015. 'A diverse profession? Challenging inequalities and diversifying involvement in British archaeology'. In P. Everill and P. Irving (eds.) Rescue Archaeology: Foundations for the Future. Hereford: RESCUE. Pp.226-245
- ^ https://profilingtheprofession.org.uk/