Skip to main content

The Feminist Critique: Mapping Controversy in Wikipedia

  • Chapter
Understanding Digital Humanities

Abstract

Research on Wikipedia often compares its articles to print references such as the Encyclopaedia Britannica, a resource historically associated with depoliticised content, neutrality, and the desire to catalogue the external world objectively.Yet Wikipedia, the free-content, openly editable, online encyclopedia, evolves out of a process whereby multiple perspectives, motives, compromises, and protocols determine the present version of an article. Using controversy as an epistemological device, can we explore Wikipedia to map editors’ concerns around an issue? Can we observe how the mechanics of controversy regulation affect the quality of an article?

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 89.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 119.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Notes

  • Brauges, G. (2009), ‘Wiki-Philosophizing in a Marketplace of Ideas: Evaluating Wikipedia’s Entries on Seven Great Minds’, Media Tropes E-Journal II(1): 117–58.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chesney, T. (2006), ‘An Empirical Examination of Wikipedia’s Credibility’, First Monday 11 (November). http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue11_11/chesney/.

    Google Scholar 

  • Digital Methods Initiative (2008), ‘Digital Methods Wiki’. http://www.digitalmethods.net. Date accessed 9 January 2010.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gerlitz, C., and Stevenson, M. (2008), ‘The Place of Issues – According to Editors and Their Edits’, Digital Methods Wiki. http://wiki.digitalmethods.net/Dmi/NetworkedContent.Date accessed 19 January 2010.

    Google Scholar 

  • George, A. (2007), ‘Avoiding Tragedy in the Wiki-Commons’, Virginia Journal of Law and Technology 12(8), Fall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kittur, A., et al. (2007), ‘Power of the Few vs. Wisdom of the Crowd: Wikipedia and the Rise of the Bourgeoisie’, Alt.CHI at CHI 2007; 28 April–3 May 2007; San Jose, CA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kushal, D., Wattenberg, M., and Viegas, F. B. (2004), ‘Studying Cooperation and Conflict between Authors with History Flow Visualizations’, CHI Journal April: 24–29.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lih, A. (2004), ‘Wikipedia as Participatory Journalism: Reliable Sources? Metrics for Evaluating Collaborative Media as a News Resource’, Paper presented to the 5th International Symposium on Online Journalism, University of Texas at Austin. Retrieved 19 October 2006, fromhttp://jm http://jmsc.hku.hk/faculty/alih/publications/utaustin-2004-wikipedia-rc2.pdf. Date accessed 10 January 2010.

    Google Scholar 

  • Niederer, S. and van Dijck, J. (2010), ‘Wisdom of the Crowd or Technicity of Content? Wikipedia as a Socio-Technical System’, New Media & Society, first published on 7 July 2010 doi:10.1177/1461444810365297.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nissenbaum, H., and Benkler, Y. (2006), ‘Commons-Based Peer Production and Virtue’,The Journal of Political Philosophy 14(4): 394–419.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nupedia archive (2010), http://web.archive.org/web/*/www.nupedia.com/main.shtml.Date accessed 10 January 2010.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reagle, J. (2008), ‘In Good Faith: Wikipedia and the Pursuit of the Universal Encyclopedia’, PhD dissertation, New York University: 70–102.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rogers, R. (2009), The End of the Virtual: Digital Methods (Amsterdam: Vossiuspers UvA).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Simmons, J. (ed.) (2006), ‘The Wikipedia Mohammed Cartoons Debate: A War of Ideas. Iraq Museum International’. http://www.baghdadmuseum.org/wikipedia/wmcd03_060215. pdf.

    Google Scholar 

  • Venturini, T. (2010), ‘Diving in Magma: How to Explore Controversies with Actor-Network Theory’, Public Understanding of Science 19(3): 258–73.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wiki.org (2010), ‘What is Wiki’. http://wiki.org/wiki.cgi?WhatIsWiki. Date accessed 9 January 2010.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wikipedia (2010a), ‘About Wikipedia’. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:About. Date accessed 9 January 2010.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wikipedia (2010j), ‘Anacapa User Page’. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Anacapa. Date accessed 3 December 2009.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wikipedia (2010l), ‘Community Sanction Board’. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index. php?title=Wikipedia:Community_sanction_noticeboard&oldid=136135960. Date accessed 10 January 2010.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wikipedia (2010h), ‘Edit Warring’. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edit_warring. Date accessed 10 January 2010.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wikipedia, ‘Feminism Talk Page’. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Talk:Femin ism&oldid=154594558. Date accessed 10 January 2010.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wikipedia (2010m), ‘Feminism Edit History 1 February 2006’. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/ index.php?title=Feminism&oldid=154829063. Date accessed 10 January 2010.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wikpedia (2010n), ‘Feminism Edit History 31 August 2007’. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/ index.php?title=Feminism&oldid=37622595. Date accessed 10 January 2010.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wikipedia (2010o), ‘Feminism Edit History 30 April 2006’. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/ index.php?title=Feminism&oldid=50939405. Date accessed 10 January 2010.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wikipedia (2010i), ‘Flame War’. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flame_war. Date accessed 10 January 2010.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wikipedia (2010d), ‘Neutral Point of View’. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia: Neutral_point_of_view. Date accessed 26 March 2009.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wikipedia (2010c), ‘No Original Research’. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:No_ original_research. Date accessed 26 March 2009.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wikipedia (2010k), ‘Plonkeroo User Page’. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Plonkeroo. Date accessed 3 December 2009.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wikipedia (2010e), ‘Reliability of Wikipedia’. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reliability_ of_Wikipedia. Date accessed 7 January 2010.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wikipedia (2009), ‘Revision History of Feminism’. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php ?title=Feminism&action=history. Date accessed 3 December 2009

    Google Scholar 

  • Wikipedia (2010), ‘Revision History of Antifeminism’. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index. php?title=Antifeminism&action=history. Date accessed 3 December 2009.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wikipedia (2010), ‘Revision History Pro-feminism. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index. php?title=Pro-feminism&action=history. Date accessed 3 December 2009.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wikipedia (2010g), ‘The Three Revert Rules’. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Three_ revert_rule#The_three-revert_rule. Date accessed 10 January 2010.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wikipedia (2010b), ‘Verifiability’. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability. Date accessed 26 March 2009.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wikipedia (2010f), ‘Writing for the Opponent’. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Wikipedia:Writing_for_the_opponent. Date accessed 10 January 2010.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Copyright information

© 2012 Morgan Currie

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Currie, M. (2012). The Feminist Critique: Mapping Controversy in Wikipedia. In: Berry, D.M. (eds) Understanding Digital Humanities. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230371934_13

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics