Title: TASK: Understanding Political Memes
Course: US Election 2020-Leuphana-Copy > Section: 2. The Candidates

[fa-info-circle]  In this task, you will:
- discuss memes as a tool of virtual campaigns,
- analyze the content of political memes.

1. What is a meme?

A meme is typically an image with a humorous nature that is copied and spread rapidly by Internet users, often with slight variations.

2. What is a political meme?

A political meme is a purposefully designed visual framing of a position. Memes are a new genre of political communication and they generally have at least one of two characteristics:  they are inside jokes and they trigger an emotional reaction.

A political meme is a purposefully designed visual framing of a position. Memes are a new genre of political communication and they generally have at least one of two characteristics:  they are inside jokes and they trigger an emotional reaction.

More characteristics:

- Shareability: Memes can spread rapidly online.
- They are easily created, consumed, altered and disseminated.
- Trigger an emotional reaction: The stronger the emotional response provoked by a post, the greater the intent to spread it.
- They usually cater to a specific audience who inhabit a “shared sphere of cultural knowledge.” Who have self-referential language, cultivating an in-group that can decipher the memes and get the “in-joke” while those who aren’t in on the joke can not.

3. Rhetorical Analysis of memes

Memes are more than just funny images. They often relate to provocative or controversial issues. During campaigns, they can even determine the candidate´s stance on particular issues. They have a visual context and an argumentative element that requires your attention. In this activity, you will discuss the messages, stereotypes ideologies, and audiences of memes.

4. Gather your memes

Memes are everywhere. They can be images on your social media feed or even a viral video.  You and your group can sit together and decide which one is the most interesting. In the link https://www.kapwing.com/2020-election-meme-templates you will find some examples you can use.

Getting ready

In small groups, you will choose a meme and perform a rhetorical analysis using the template “Rhetorical Analysis of a Meme by Patricia G. Elmore and Julianne M. Coleman”.

Before getting ready to scroll through your screens, get familiar whit these concepts.

Meme | A rhetorical piece of shared information
Rhetorical Analysis | Breaking down the parts of a meme to understand its message and the motives of the speaker
Speaker | The creator of the meme AND the person who shares the meme
Logos | An appeal to logic in order to persuade someone
Pathos | An appeal to emotion in order to persuade someone
Ethos | An effort to establish the authority of the speaker
Kairos | The context of the meme: the subject, setting, and medium
Medium | The format and space through which the meme is shared (e.g., Facebook)
Material Affects | The size and shape of the meme and its contents (e.g., pictures, font sizes)

Resources for this task

1 How  do Internet Memes Shape our Politics
huffPost.com  | Sept. 16, 2019
video

2 Meme analysis guide
Elmore, Patricia & Coleman, Julianne. | 2019

handout