Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/UW-Madison/Global Politics of Policing (Summer 2024)

In past iterations of this course, students wrote essays comparing the politics, histories, theories, and futures of policing in two different places and times. For the accelerated summer online version of this course, I am converting this essay assignment into a Wikipedia assignment for students to further develop their digital literacy, writing, and critical thinking skills while contributing to public knowledge. Students will have the option to select an aspect or context of policing related to what we are covering in the course (course description copied below). They will then do research on their chosen topic, create an annotated bibliography, and evaluate and edit an existing Wikipedia page. (Note: This is 4-week course but it is designed to be accelerated, so students will be completing the equivalent of a 14-week semester worth of work. I hope this is still eligible given the 6-week minimum for Wikipedia courses.)

Course description:

This course takes a global approach to the politics of the police and policing. We begin with key concepts and theories of the relationship between policing and power. We then examine policing from the 17th century to the present within and between different contexts, including Nigeria, Brazil, France, Canada, South Africa, the Navajo Nation, Japan, the United Kingdom, Palestine, Tanzania, South Korea, and the United States. The course ends with an examination of social movements’ organizing toward democracy, abolitionist alternatives, and transformative justice. Students will leave the course with the foundational knowledge and analytical tools to address important questions around the politics of policing, such as: what is policing; how and why did the police emerge; what does policing look like around the world; and what is the future of the police and policing?