A “meme” is a virally-transmitted cultural symbol or social idea. But what is it about memes that leads to the level of virality? Why are we so attracted to making and sharing (and sharing and sharing and sharing) memes?
Suggested Readings
- What Defines a Meme?
- World Made Meme (interview)
- A Unified Theory of Meme Death
- We Need to Talk About Digital Blackface in Reaction GIFs
- Tweetdecking is Taking Over Twitter
- Surreal Memes Are the Last Escape the Internet Has
- The Man Behind The “What Are Those?” Meme Has Died At 31
Suggested Tasks
- Make a meme and share it on the UMW memes Facebook or some other context
- Create a new meme template
- Analyze a meme, focusing on how it uses visual rhetoric
- Track a meme’s popularity over time, and analyze its circulation through different communities
