In March 2010, a music video by Just a Band brought the character, Makmende, to the consciousness of Kenyans - at least those who were wired to the internet. This lesson uses this event to explore how power, technology and culture influence the production and circulation of knowledge.
Analyze the changing role of Wikipedia in global knowledge production and demonstrate how this relates to local and global knowledge of and expressions of experiences in the Horn of Africa.
Edit Wiki articles related to topic after critical review of article, sources, and article history.
Tools: Using Wikipedia in the Classroom:
1. Watch the music video “Ha-He” by the Kenyan group, Just a Band.
2. Watch the CNN report.
3. Read the Wikipedia entry on Makmende.
4. Then click the talk button and read the entries there. Follow the various links.
5. Read Heather Ford’s article “The Missing Wikipedians”
6. Search internet for other references to Makmende. Collect 1 or 2 to share with class
1. Present Makmende case - Powerpoint available
2. Lecture on relation between western, global and African experiences and knowledge.
3. Provide short background on the development of Sheng
4. Organize a computer lab or studio session editing wikipedia articles
a. Global culture….Kenyan only phenomenon? Or global phenonomenon?
b. Share other internet references
c. How is knowledge given authority?
d. Compare Kenyan youth culture(s) as represented in videos with U.S. youth culture(s).
Edit Wikipedia articles. Follow History and Talk pages after editing. This bibliography provides resources for this.