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JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY
COURSE CODE: "EXP 1014-1"
COURSE NAME: "Memes, Viral Media and Internet Culture"
SEMESTER & YEAR:
Fall 2017
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SYLLABUS
INSTRUCTOR:
Michael Watson
EMAIL: [email protected]
HOURS:
F 2:00-6:00 PM [Course meets on: Oct. 13th, Oct. 20th, Nov. 3rd, and Nov. 17th]
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS:
15
CREDITS:
1
PREREQUISITES:
OFFICE HOURS:
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COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Grading: This course will be graded on a PASS/FAIL scale
The term ‘meme’ applies to a word, phrase or image that spreads throughout a culture and can carry subversive, underground or mainstream meanings. In this course, students will critically engage with the political, ethical and aesthetic considerations of memes which have arisen specifically from internet culture. Students will be encouraged to explore and consider theoretical notions through the production of static or animated memes. Via this practical engagement, using online apps such as giphy and makeameme, students will explore the processes which lead to an image going viral as they to produce and promote their own visual media. Finally, class presentations will enable students to critically assess the internet as a medium via a consideration of the memes produced for the course. Throughout the course, issues around surveillance, information leaks, democracy and freedom of speech will underpin a critically engaged practice of creating viral culture and internet ‘memes’.
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SUMMARY OF COURSE CONTENT:
This course will take a dual theoretical and practical approach to the analysis of internet culture as students are encouraged to assess positive and negative aspects of the internet as a medium. This will be achieved via an analysis of internet-grown cultural movements, such as Vaporwave and Seapunk, and the relationship between these movements and social media platforms. Responding to the fast changing world of internet culture students will be asked to form groups and make their own visual memes which they will aim to make viral. Each student will be involved in the practical process of making memes or viral gifs by altering existing media or making their own images. Students will also be asked to write a 3 page accompanying text explaining their choice of meme and contextualizing it alongside the history of internet memes and viral culture.
All course texts will be distributed by the professor.
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LEARNING OUTCOMES:
Students are expected to utilize an appropriate vocabulary in order to discuss meme and viral culture.
Ultimately students will gain the knowledge to incisively critique meme culture.
Students will acquire the skills to both appraise and critique their own work and that of other students.
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TEXTBOOK:
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REQUIRED RESERVED READING:
RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:
| Book Title | Author | Publisher | ISBN number | Library Call Number | Comments |
| Digitizing Race: Visual Cultures of the Internet | Digitizing Race: Visual Cultures of the Internet | University of Minnesota Press | 0816646139 Why is ISBN important? | | |
| The Net Delusion: The Dark Side of Internet Freedom | Evgeny Morozov | PublicAffairs | 1610391063 | | |
| Jean Baudrillard: Selected Writings | Jean Baudrillard | Stanford Universty Press | 9780804742733 | | |
| Noise: the Political Economy of Music | Attali Jacques | MUP | 0816612870 | | |
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GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:
| Assignment | Guidelines | Weight |
| Pass/Fail | To pass the course students are expected to:
Come to each lesson, to produce a group of memes and to assess it in a written paper of 3 pages.
They are also expected to present their memes to their individual groups, and to the wider group during the final lesson.
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-ASSESSMENT CRITERIA:
A not applicable
B not applicable
C not applicable
D not applicable
F not applicable
-ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS:
Students are attended to require all lessons. Significant time absent will result in the dropping of a letter grade unless excused.
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ACADEMIC HONESTY
As stated in the university catalog, any student who commits an act of academic
dishonesty will receive a failing grade on the work in which the dishonesty occurred.
In addition, acts of academic dishonesty, irrespective of the weight of the assignment,
may result in the student receiving a failing grade in the course. Instances of
academic dishonesty will be reported to the Dean of Academic Affairs. A student
who is reported twice for academic dishonesty is subject to summary dismissal from
the University. In such a case, the Academic Council will then make a recommendation
to the President, who will make the final decision.
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STUDENTS WITH LEARNING OR OTHER DISABILITIES
John Cabot University does not discriminate on the basis of disability or handicap.
Students with approved accommodations must inform their professors at the beginning
of the term. Please see the website for the complete policy.
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SCHEDULE
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Lesson 1:
Course introduction.
To be discussed:
- Privacy, surveillance and information leaks. How 'free' is the internet? As a medium what are its unique features? What is a meme
- Culture Jamming, memes and viral imagery.
- Introduction to group project. Group formation.
- Viewing: Viral videos + Adam Curtis Hypernormalization (excerpt). Adam Curtis parody.
- Reading (excerpts) Lisa Nakumura, Jean Baudrillard.
Lesson 2:
- How to read the internet. memes and popular culture. The Lasagna Cat meme. Social media apps.
- Internet subcultures gone mainstream. Vaporwave, Seapunk. How to make an image go viral. If the internet is the most democratic medium to date why are choosing mostly to look at the Kardashians and Glamour Models?
- Brainstorming and meme production in groups.
- Written exercise introduced (3 page analysis of memes) as homework.
Lesson 3:
- Introduction of software and apps for making a viral image. Demonstration with examples.
- Groups work together. Each student makes there own memes. The groups appraise each group members meme.
- Appraisal of first image and analysis.
Lesson 4:
- Class presentations of produced viral images.
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