"Popularization of historical content on Wikipedia": round table in Kazan

On February 19, 2021, the Institute of History of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tatarstan (Mardzhani Institute) held a round table on the topic "Popularization of historical content on Wikipedia." Scientists historians have identified a range of problems that arise when working with Wikipedia.



The discussion addressed two key questions: 1) how to avoid ethnic conflicts, 2) how to make scientific literature available for the widest possible use.



Radik Rimovich Salikhov (Director of the Institute of History of ANRT) was happy to emphasize that people's interest in their native languages ​​and local history is growing, and this interest is turning to the historical resources of the Internet. Therefore, a new question arises before Tatar scientists - about the widest dissemination of reliable scientific knowledge. If this issue is not resolved, then erroneous or biased news will appear in Wikipedia articles about settlements and individuals.



Marat Mingalievich Gibatdinov(Deputy Director for Research of AI ANRT) said that the Institute seeks to replenish Wikipedia with new articles and correct already created articles, because the Institute has a very large stock of knowledge that it cannot bring to the general public on its own. The own website of the Institute of History does not solve this problem, it does not allow transmitting historical knowledge to where readers really need it.



He clarified that this is not only about Wikipedia help articles. Together with them, the Institute can turn its attention to a photobank - Wikimedia Commons, to a library - Wikisource, to a news site - Wikinews. This provides even more tools for popularizing knowledge, for promoting a serious interest in historical science.



Aydar Ilsurovich Nogmanov(Head of the Department of Historical and Cultural Heritage of the Peoples of the Republic of Tatarstan, II ANRT) spoke about the conflicts between neighboring peoples who inherit a single, geographically related history, but perceive past events differently, and illuminate the national peculiarities of local history differently. Bashkir literature illuminates the history of Tatarstan differently from Tatar literature, puts its own accents and denotes its own circle of interests, from where a conflict can arise. The question becomes more and more important, because more and more Wikipedia articles are devoted to local issues, which means that the number of conflict points is also growing.



Bakhtiyar Iskanderovich Izmailov(head of the department of interdisciplinary research of AI of ANRT) admitted that he has been working with Wikipedia for a long time, because it has become a very popular reference book, it is primarily broadcast by search sites, from which the public wants to get objective information about the facts.



He noticed that Wikipedia contains more than dry references. It is inevitably colored with ideological colors, because it follows in the footsteps of scientific researchers who do not completely agree with each other. As in science there are conflicts between schools - so in Wikipedia there are conflicts between articles in which different points of view are expressed. Articles in Wikipedia in Russian, Bashkir and Tatar languages ​​represent different points of view on one topic - on an event, person or territory.



Historians are accustomed to working in the format of editorial boards, when an author sends an article, editors discuss it and ask questions. But Wikipedia uses a different method: different people quickly make their own additions or amendments. For academic scientists, this method is new and unusual.



Izmailov noted that Wikipedia's historical articles are not sufficiently linked to historical literature through quotations and references. In his opinion, the main reason is that historical works are not available in electronic form . He noted that the Institute of History of ANRT publishes its works on the website, but has not yet asked about their free distribution, free licensing. It's time to address this issue.



Cyrus Ruslanovich Khamidullin(Department of Historical and Cultural Heritage of the Peoples of the Republic of Tatarstan, II ANRT) said that the Institute of History prepares articles on the history of settlements in Tatarstan, relying on an encyclopedia published ten years ago. Ethnic conflicts began to arise here, because Bashkir literature and Tatar literature give different, contradictory conclusions on the history of villages and villages. The Bashkirs and Tatars have authoritative and reliable scientific literature on such issues - however, it gives different assessments, indicates different names of peoples. Today, this leads to clear and noticeable contradictions.



Dmitry Evgenievich Martynov(Kazan Federal University) explained that the very method of creating Wikipedia differs from the methods of creating a classical encyclopedia. The classical encyclopedia was written by intelligent specialists with a large store of knowledge. Wikipedia, on the other hand, is written by non-specialists who are highly dependent on the availability of scientific sources. While working on Wikipedia articles, authors do not have easy access to serious literature. Moreover, even scientific bibliography is insufficient, there is no convenient access to scientific bibliographic databases and reviews, it is even difficult to find reliable literature.



Summing up, Farhad Nailevich Fatkullin (translator of the Office of State Protocol of the President of the Republic of Tatarstan) said that Wikipedia allows the development of cooperation between people, allows you to negotiate with each other, allows you to learn how to work together.



Why is all this interesting and useful for us?



  • The work of the academic institute will be an example for many others.
  • There is a hope that the Institute of History will work out model documents and contracts so that publishers can release their literature for free circulation under a free license.
  • Typically, academic institutions have an enormous supply of scientific, popular and visual content. It is believed that this content will enter the market under free licenses. The very digitization and presentation of such content leads to the creation of new technologies for knowledge management.
  • The Institute of History ANRT seeks to solve a social and political problem, setting a new trend. This trend contradicts the established tradition, the established scientific method and, most importantly, the established scientific economy . Here unexpected discoveries and changes are possible.





Text: PereslavlFoto, CC-BY-SA 3.0.



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