Historian's review of Wikipedia

An excellent academic article about Wikipedia, nicely written (no 'scholarese'), by Roy Rosenzweig: "Can History Be Open Source? Wikipedia and the Future of the Past" (Journal of American History 93 (1): 117-146).

It offers a great introduction to Wikipedia (something many journalists increasingly writing about Wikipedia should look at), compares Wiki to Encarta and an academic database, and discusses the role of history and historians on Wikipedia. It has many good points - on why studends use Wikipedia (and why they should not), on why academcis should contribute to Wikipedia, and many others. Excellent read!

TTags: Wikipedia