English student's dissertation a first on 'memes'

Posted on 24 October 2017

A Department of English graduate has gained a top grade for his trailblazing dissertation on the social media phenomenon of ‘memes’.

Memes are virally-transmitted symbols and ideas – generally knowledge, jokes and gossip – that spread rapidly via social media, often changing slightly as they travel from person to person.

Julian Porch’s 8,000-word dissertation, which was awarded a First, takes stock of where we are with memes today and how we got there. It also analyses memes as a form of political discourse, and explores how they are pushing the boundaries of how people communicate and create comedy.