Wikipedia and the Representation of Reality
In 2021,McDowell and co-author Matthew Vetter had their book Wikipedia and the Representation of Reality published by Routledge . [2] Writing in Composition Studies, Vanessa Osborne wrote,"McDowell and Vetter's book exhibits a deep knowledge of the workings,contradictions,and flaws that underlie Wikipedia" while suggesting that "Educators may finish the book hopeful that Wikipedia will improve to better serve its mission and eager to contribute but could use tangible ways to begin this important work." [3] Similarly,Isabelle Langrock criticizes that the authors "...often assume a familiarity of Wikipedia's prominent place in the information environment. Readers who quibble with this assumption will find their concerns sparsely addressed" while concluding that,"Those invested in the improvement of information environments... will find McDowell and Vetter's book a clear guide to one of the most important informational resources available" in the International Journal of Communication. [4]
Robert Cummings in Computers and Composition offered a more positive review noting the ways that the book documents both the impact Wikipedia has and the many problems the project has both as a community and with the topics the encyclopedia covers,"McDowell and Vetter help readers to understand that the famously sexist,misanthropic,bullying,and petty behaviors of some Wikipedia editors are not inconsequential and isolated bad behaviors,or examples of how generic online interactions can filter out everything but the worst in people,but they are in fact the logical products of how these Wikimedia communities were created...The next time you conduct a Google search,or hear Alexa's voice,or encounter any type of online representation of knowledge,we would all be wise to remember this work,and pause to think of the flawed,biased,and evolving collaboration that produced it." [5]
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