Wikipedia is many things: a free encyclopedia with aspirations to universal knowledge; the seventh most visited website in the world; a collaborative, volunteer-driven work-in-progress; a provider of information and misinformation; a “social influencer” and shaper of narratives; and a bane of, or boon for, educators. But how reliable is it? Who writes for it, and how much expertise or bias do they bring to the platform? In short, how does, can, or should Wikipedia relate to the world of scholarship and learning?

In this talk I will consider Wikipedia as a cultural phenomenon that has become the focus of a massive but diffuse body of interdisciplinary research examining its social roles, mechanics, and functions. I will also discuss Wikipedia as an educational tool and forum for public-facing scholarship: a means of cultivating skills among university students who can share what they learn. Members of wider global publics, who lack access to research libraries, depend on Wikipedia for information. Wikipedia is therefore too influential – and too important – for scholars to ignore.