| dc.description.abstract | Humor during varying periods of time are seen simply as reflections of the culture they were created in. But it is often overlooked that there is a tradition of that same humor recurring throughout history and across cultures. The idea of a type of humor that is imitated, circulated, and influenced by a culture, is alongside the functions of what we now call “memes”. Memes, as we understand them today, are made up of image macros, a templated piece of digital work with a caption that is easily propagated and has a multiplicity of variations. Memes are a part of the larger field of study called Memetics. Richard Dawkins is a canonical figure in Memetics and the man who gave it all a name. However, his definition is increasingly inaccurate and out of date. The motivation for this thesis is to further nuance the current convoluted discourse around memes, specifically in reference to their long history. The use of imitative humor didn’t just come into existence with the coinage of ‘meme’. It has its place all throughout history. Scholarly studies of contemporary memes and the culture surrounding memes—such as Because Internet, Memes in Digital Culture, and Still Life With Rhetoric—discuss the linguistic and rhetorical aspects of memes; however, they often lack a nuanced discussion of the historical aspect of meme culture. This thesis is determined to explore both the linguistic and rhetorical nature of these memes in historical contexts— what I consider to be the precursor to the image macro. By studying the humorous nature that influences earlier forms of virality and circulation, I will be able to draw interesting parallels between contemporary and historical contexts for understanding memes as a form of imitative humor. In order to fully appreciate the hilarity of these figures and their literature, we must also keep in mind the historical contexts in which they were created and what they meant to the people that were consuming them. This can be done by looking through a lens using the practices of Comparative Textual Media and Foucauldian Archaeology. These practices allow us to first understand that in order to study these earlier forms of humor, we must consider the cultural context that it occurred in. Secondly, these pieces of history manifest themselves through words and artifacts. Lastly, and most importantly, Foucauldian Archaeology guides this thesis with the prevailing idea that to analyze these artifacts, we need to deconstruct the current assumptions we have to expose the significance to the culture that the meme was created and circulated in. The approach to this topic must first begin in understanding the relation of memes to historical pieces of literature— then applying that knowledge, as well as primary concepts such as material repeatability, to artifacts found in Ancient Greece and Shakespearean times. By studying a particular niche of historical-literary memes, I can consider potential origins for memetic humor and the presence of memes in history (i.e. Shakespeare as a viral, circulating text in early modern England and the 21st century). It is hoped that this thesis expands memetic discourse to non-contemporary periods and literature, beginning with Greeks during the Classical Period, followed by the culture surrounding the Early Modern period of Shakespeare. I highlight a few moments in time that best express the underlying mantra of this thesis: the more things change, the more they stay the same. A cliche, and often resigned, phrase, but nonetheless a true one. | en |
