Assignment: Development Wiki
95 points
Due:
Pair Request: July 1
Team Contract: July 10
Page creation: July 17
Outline: July 22
Final Wiki page, team member evaluation and reflection: August 4
Evaluation of two other wikis: August 8
[print version - pdf]
Students will work in pairs to create a Wiki-page related to the effects of development on an indigenous
group from a cultural anthropology perspective. This assignment is designed to allow students to delve
more deeply into the topics studied by cultural anthropologists as well as learn more about indigenous
cultures from around the world.
Mechanics
1. Fill out the Pair Request form.
2. Contact your partner as soon as you receive the email from me with that person's name and
email address.
3. Create a Team Contract. Once you have read through the complete instructions, develop a
contract that addresses team member conduct, responsibility, and/or roles. One person should
be responsible for typing up and emailing me a copy of the contract. Each team member should
have a copy. A good contract will include, but isn’t limited to the following:
a. How will you communicate? Each team will have its own discussion board, chat room,
and file sharing area. Click on Teams in the navigation menu to access. You can also
easily email your team members from the Team areas.
b. How often will you be expected to check for updates from your team members?
c. Will there be a permanent team leader or will this task be rotated in some way?
d. Who will be assigned to turn in the required paperwork?
e. What will be your team’s policy on, if any, absences and covering for one another if
need be?
f. What policy will you have in place to resolve any intragroup conflict that may arise? You
may use me—your instructor—as a higher court of appeals (I will always be happy to
moderate and intervene, but you will first be expected to document for me that you
implemented your initial conflict resolution plans per your contract).
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
g. Please note that your project will not be graded unless I have a copy of your contract on
file.
Choose an indigenous people to study. You can approach this a couple of different ways. You
may want to choose by region or problem. One of the things you must do as part of the
assignment is to locate a non-governmental organization (NGO) that is working to assist the
people. Sometimes it is easier to locate the NGO first and then see which peoples they are
working with. Either way it is up to you and your partner. Our librarian, Katie Whitson, has
created a guide that can help you get started:
http://library.uwb.edu/guides/Anthro202Wtr2008.html. The Human Relations Area Files is a
good database and can be browsed by region. Ethnic News Watch can also be helpful as it
contains news sources created by and for indigenous peoples.
Once you have chosen a people, go to the Cultural Anthropology wiki at Wetpaint. Join the wiki.
After creating your account, one of your pair needs to create a page to develop. Click on the link
Profiles of Indigenous Cultures in the left-side navigation menu.
Click Add Page also in the left-side navigation menu. A small window will pop up - fill in the
required information and Add Page. You are now ready to begin creating your wiki page.
An outline of your page should be created by July 22-you can either create an outline on your
wiki page or type it up and email it to me.
Each student is required to complete a team member evaluation. This will be emailed to you
later in the quarter as it will be based on your contract.
Each student will write a reflection on what they learned and the assignment process. Are there
any correlates between the experience of the people you studied and your personal
experience/knowledge.
Each student will evaluate two other teams' wikis. Evaluation form will be available later in the
quarter.
Required information in your wiki:





short history of the people
where the people live (a map would be nice to include--don't forget to cite where you found the
map)
issues of development--what development is occurring and how is it affecting the people-remember this is an anthropology class, so you want to think in anthropological terms
NGO(s) that are working with the people
Works Cited; Graphics Cited
Works Cited Requirements:





citations formatted using Chicago Style
at least three scholarly, anthropological resources
at least one recent source (2002-present) [this can also be one of your anthropological sources]
only two credible web sites can be used (this does not apply to sources found through the UWB
library site)--thinks CARS
Wikipedia cannot be used
Assessment
Learn Actively: 15 points



recognize key elements of human culture and have a basic understanding of fundamental
cultural anthropology concepts: anthropological concepts present and used correctly
have researched and educated your classmates about an indigenous culture:wiki contains
enough iinformation to give an overview and provides sources that can be used for further
information
have delved into discipline-specific databases and explored a variety of library resources: used
at least three anthropological scholarly sources; other works cited guidelines followed
Communicate with Clarity and Originality: 15 points



have begun to develop or improve your communication skills: creative wiki page that clearly
relates information
be able to clearly express your thoughts about human culture and adaptive processes:
statements are worded succinctly and concisely; information is presented in logical manner; all
required information present; clearly states relationship between development activities and
the people's culture
know how to properly cite sources and provide complete citations for sources: in text citations
used; citations provided in the Chicago Style; graphics citations included
Think Critically, Creatively, and Reflectively: 25 points




understand how to look at culture at various levels (individual, community, national) and from
an anthropological perspective: relationship between development and national interests to the
indigenous peoples clearly identified
be able to assess the interaction of culture, biology, and environment: culture change, biological
effects, and both natural and cultural environment issues addressed if appropriate
have learned to assess anthropological information in general and scholarly sources: during
research process identifies scholarly sources; web sites used are credible
understand that while there are various ways of being human and we are each unique, we also
share basic commonalities of experience and living: reflection indicates ability to make
connections of experience
Interact in Diverse and Complex Environments: 40 points

have works on your cooperative and verbal skills through team work: team member evaluation
indicates full and responsible participation