Pilot Project (Fall 2019): Manuscripts and Monks on Wikipedia

Content

Students will first receive an introduction to working with manuscripts, to the Abbey of St. Gallen, and to the manuscripts in the Abbey Library relating to the Anglo-Saxon world of the early medieval period. In a second step, they will be introduced to working with Wikipedia before they check, correct or write one or more specific articles on Wikipedia (to be defined).

Alternatively, students help with preparing presentation material relating to St. Gallen manuscripts or persons or they help with checking, correction, and translation of an existing article in German into English (e.g. abbots, librarians, scholars).

1. Deeper knowledge of the early medieval world and the ideas that helped to shape it.
2. Introduction to techniques that deal with early medieval materials ('Hilfswissenschaften').
3. Development of skills in writing or translating articles for Wikipedia in a scholarly correct fashion.
4. An understanding of early medieval networks across Europe, including Ireland and England.

Prerequisites:

• Students are expected to have written term papers in English literature or linguistics at BA level or above.
• Students are required to have good (written) academic English language skills (Level C1)
• Latin skills (Latinum)
• Knowledge about Old English and Middle English (ideally by having passed the UZH Bachelor modules "History of English Language 1 & 2: Focus on Old English & Focus on Middle English")

Asessment:

• Time Sheet: Students will have to submit a time sheet documenting their workload (c. 90 hours). The time sheet needs to be signed off by the contact person at the partner institution.
• Portfolio with links to one or more articles uploaded to Wikipedia or electronic copies of the presentation material or the translated texts (original and translation).

Slots: 1-2