Syllabus Day
Opening Musical Playlist: First Day Redux
Theories:
Transmission Model of Communication
Memetic Artifacts:
Homer Simpson hiding in the bushes
The Simpsons “The Girl on the Bus” (Season 30, Episode 12) 7:05 to 7:30
Summary: Syllabus day is always a semi-weird experience as it is the combination of nervous energy, a strict focus on semester ahead, and the social navigation that occurs during the first day back to school after a long break. However, I felt good about teaching this class as a perfect example to bring into class today that I thought the students could relate to in the media in the form of a cartoon.
We discussed how this class was going to be the first time I taught a “colloquium” style class to undergraduates with a reading list that would help guide the students to analyze memes as cultural and mediated artifacts. The highlights of the syllabus were explained to the students, and we dove into a sample of how I thought the class would function for the next few months.
I explained that the students needed to read the assigned text before coming into class. Everyone would need to write down three to five questions, statements, observations, etc. about the assigned works and we would spend a little time going over their thoughts. After that, I would use the presentation time to do a variety of things (present five focus questions based on the assigned readings, present at least one memetic artifact to discuss, present a theory to help with the discussion assess a meme, and/or present some mediated content related to a meme). It was then that we went over the transmission model of communication as a starting point for talking about senders and receivers in the communication process. Once I felt that the assembled group understood the fundamentals of the theory, we watched the Simpsons’ clip as a class. We discussed the five focus questions listed below.
Focus Questions:
Who is the sender and who is the receiver in this clip?
What does the meme represent?
What “cultural capital”/information is needed to understand this meaning of the meme?
What are the issues associated with this clip?
What does this clip say about the power of memetic communication?
We started to talk about how Homer Simpson and the rest of his family would have a different relationship with the use of the meme than the rest of society. Users of the memes are having a type of parasocial relationship with the Simpson clan seeing Lisa’s reaction to Homer’s use of the gif. It could also be argued that this interaction has a level of paralanguage attached to it as the nature of the interaction shades how Lisa understand the meaning of the use of that gif.
We also discussed the meta nature of this scene. It’s Homer using a Homer reaction gif as a reaction to something Homer did. We also talked about the creepy undertones of the experience. Specifically, who filmed Homer going into the bushes in the realm of the Simpsons.
Next Class: “Memes vs. Tropes”