Date of Award
12-13-2023
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Communication
First Advisor
Dr. Cynthia Hoffner
Second Advisor
Dr. Jaye Atkinson
Third Advisor
Dr. Dror Walter
Abstract
Internet memes carry news messages to mass audiences through social media platforms. In seconds, global events can be transmitted to millions of users in the form of an image with text overlayed. Despite the power of memes, there has been little scholarly research devoted to the selection mechanism of meme-makers. As both audience and creator, meme-makers’ craft and consume messages capable of influence. Grounded in work on rhetorical analysis and framing, this study examined memes posted to conservative and liberal affiliated Reddit communities in the wake of the first days of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. The analysis focused on the themes and rhetorical devices utilized by meme-makers to present political actors and issues to the American public. The results revealed 10 themes designed for conservative and/or liberal audiences and five rhetorical devices used by meme-makers to craft memetic messages.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.57709/z7vr-r080
Recommended Citation
Zimmerman, Edward B., "Memes, Themes, and Rhetorical Schemes: Analyzing the themes and rhetorical devices used by meme creators in American political internet memes in the first week of the Ukrainian-Russian War." Thesis, Georgia State University, 2023.
doi: https://doi.org/10.57709/z7vr-r080
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