Critical Memetic Literacies in English Education

This edited collection introduces English and literacy educators to the theoretical, research-based, and practical dimensions of using digital memetic texts-"memes"-in the classroom. Digital memetic texts come with new affordances, particularly as avenues for student creativity, voice, and advocacy. But these texts can also be put to manipulative, propagandistic, and nefarious purposes, posing critical challenges to an informed, democratic citizenry. Grounded in multimodality and critical literacy, this book investigates the fascinating digital dimension of texts, audiences, and meaning, and considers how English educators might take up these conversations in practical ways with students. With authentic examples from teachers and students, this volume provides a road map to researchers and educators-both preservice and in-service-interested in critical and productive uses of these modern phenomena.

Leah Panther is an assistant professor of Literacy Education at Mercer University, USA. She has been a member of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) since 2008 and is a former middle school teacher. Darren Crovitz is a professor of English and English Education at Kennesaw State University, USA. He regularly presents at the NCTE conference and is a former high school teacher.

Editors List of Contributors Acknowledgements - Historical Damage, Modern Resonances, and Speculative Futures: English Education through Memes Part One. A Critical Memetic Curriculum Introduction: Rethinking Reading in a Critical Memetic Curriculum - Making "Meme"ing: Questions for Critical Memetic Inquiry in High School English Classrooms - Critical Media Analysis through Memes: Considerations and Applications for ELA Classrooms - Mimetic Masculinities: Young Men of Color Analyze Anime Texts They Love - The Meme Museum: Depictions and Analysis of COVID-19 with High School Students Part Two. Multimodal Composing with Memetic Texts Introduction: Deconstructing Purposes and Outcomes for Composing - Socially Conscious Memetics Through a Culturally Digitized Pedagogy Lens - Young People Reading and Writing the World through Meme Curation, Creation, and Critical Conversation - Critical Memetic Analysis as Testimony: Restorying Memes as Healing Pedagogies - What do you Meme? Using Memes for Argument Construction and Understanding - We're not Joking Anymore: Context, Audiences, and Memetics Part Three. Memetics and Language Introduction: Critiquing Linguicism with Critical Memetic Language Study - Using Memes to Teach Linguistic Concepts in the ELA Classroom - "I want to use my voice": Youth Literacies Disrupting Critical Memetic Analysis Part Four. Memes and Community Identities Introduction: Transgression and Control - Framing Critical Memetic Literacy: Helping Students Grapple with Manipulative Memes - Repurposing Problematic Memes in a Middle School Superhero Storytelling Project - The Plagiarism Paradox: Memes, Originality, and Authorship Key Terms Index