“Just as genes propagate themselves in the gene pool by leaping from body to body… so memes propagate themselves in the meme pool…”
Richard Dawkins. The Selfish Gene, 1976.
The Memescape Project
The Culture Wars, Redux
Memes are more than internet jokes—they’re modern tools for spreading political ideas, shaping public opinion, and reflecting cultural values. This project will explore the history and evolution of memes and their role in spreading political ideas throughout American history. Students will analyze memetics over time, connect contemporary memes to political movements, and create their own original memes that enrich our civic debate.
Project Goals
Historical Understanding
Explore the history of memes and how they’ve evolved from printed propaganda to digital content.
Study how political ideas and movements spread through art, symbols, and humor.
Critical Thinking
Analyze existing memes for their political or cultural commentary.
Connect memes to historical and modern political movements.
Creative Expression
Create original memes that reflect or critique governmental ideas, processes, or events.
Incorporate humor, symbolism, and historical or political context.
"…systems of self-replicating ideas or memes can quickly accumulate their own agenda and behaviours. I assign no higher motive to a cultural entity than the primitive drive to reproduce itself and modify its environment to aid its spread."
Kelly, Kevin (1994). Out of Control: The New Biology of Machines, Social Systems and the Economic World. Boston: Addison-Wesley. p. 360. ISBN 9780201483406.
