Re: memetics comps exam list--pop culture, advertising, rhetoric & composition

From: rrecchia@frontiernet.net
Date: Wed 01 Oct 2003 - 16:51:29 GMT

  • Next message: Richard Brodie: "Snowcrash (SPOILER) - just read it and don't read this post if you haven't yet"

    Hiya Stephanie:

    Good list. 'Snow Crash' by Neal Stephenson? It's a good SF book but I don't recall anything more memetic about it than a dozen other cyberpunk novels. Just a couple to add. Although much criticised here Robert Aunger's
    'Electric Meme' should probably be on your list.

    I would also recommend the first chapter of Agner Fog's 'Cultural Selection' for excellent research into the history of the concept of cultural selection. It can be found online at http://www.agner.org/cultsel/toc.php. The whole 'r/k cultures' concept he espouses in later chapters is a bit of an oversimplification, but that first chapter is worth reading. He also has a chapter on the mass media online but I haven't read it.

    I can't think of anything more specific to your topic offhand.

    Raymond O. Recchia

    Stephanie Vie writes:

    > I tried sending this once but I don't think it went through. Apologies if
    > this is being sent twice!
    >
    >> Date: Tue, 30 Sep 2003 07:36:41 -0700
    >> To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
    >> From: Stephanie Vie <svie@u.arizona.edu>
    >> Subject: memetics comps exam list--pop culture, advertising, rhetoric &
    >> composition
    >>
    >> Hello!
    >>
    >> I've just recently joined this list. I am studying for my comprehensive
    >> exams for a PhD in Rhetoric, Composition, and the Teaching of English.
    >> One of my areas is memetic theory. I am looking for bibliographic
    >> references that have to do with the intersection of pop culture,
    >> advertising/propaganda, rhetoric & composition, and fiction with memetic
    >> theory (fun to read and/or available at my library or online is good...)
    >> Could anyone take a look at what I've got so far and maybe make
    >> suggestions? I'd be forever indebted! Thanks :)
    >>
    >> Stephanie Vie
    >> You never will be the person you can be if pressure, tension and
    >> discipline are taken out of your life.
    >> - James G. Bilkey
    >
    >
    > Part III. Memetic Theory as a Analytical Framework [15 books, 15 articles]
    >
    > Memetic theory has been applied outside of the field of rhetoric and
    > composition to explain social change and adaptation, particularly in
    > analysis of computer viruses and media/advertising. However, little
    > attention to memetics has been paid in our field historically, leaving it
    > as a theoretical framework rich for application to the current adaptation
    > and use of technology in the writing classroom. As we shift from a more
    > traditional writing classroom to hybridized classrooms utilizing
    > technologies and virtual spaces, we must look critically at the reasoning
    > behind adopting particular technologies and their potential effects on the
    > instructor, students, and classroom. The texts on this list offer
    > background reading in memetic theory (Aunger, Blackmore, Dawkins) as well
    > as connections and intersections between memetic theory and
    > advertising/media studies (Ellul), computer technology (Friedman,
    > Johnson-Eilola, Postman), fiction (Burroughs, Stephenson), and
    > sociocultural behavior (Balkin, Brodie, Hill, Lynch, Paicheler).
    >
    > Some of the questions I pose in this list are:
    >
    > · How do I define memetic theory as well as the concept of a
    > meme?
    >
    > · What is the history of memetic theory?
    >
    > · How has memetic theory been used as a theoretical framework
    > outside of rhetoric and composition? Particularly, how has memetic theory
    > been used in: pop culture (i.e. fiction), analysis of computer viruses,
    > and analysis of media and/or advertising?
    >
    > · How can memetic theory be applied to the intersection of
    > technology and pedagogy in writing instruction?
    >
    > Aunger, Robert, ed. Darwinizing Culture: The Status of Memetics as a
    > Science. New York: Oxford UP, 2000.
    >
    > Balkin, J. M. Cultural Software: A Theory of Ideology. New Haven, CT: Yale
    > UP, 1998.
    >
    > Blackmore, Susan. The Meme Machine. New York: Oxford UP, 1999.
    >
    > Brodie, Richard. Virus of the Mind: The New Science of the Meme. Seattle:
    > Integral Press, 1996.
    >
    > Burroughs, William S. The Ticket that Exploded. New York: Grove Press,
    > 1967.
    >
    > Castelfranchi, Cristiano. Towards a Cognitive Memetics: Socio-Cognitive
    > Mechanisms for Memes Selection and Spreading.Journal of Memetics:
    > Evolutionary Models of Information Transmission 5.1 (2001): page #s.
    >
    > Clark, S. R. L. Minds, Memes and Rhetoric.Inquiry 36 (1993): 3-16.
    >
    > Dawkins, Richard. The Selfish Gene. New York: Oxford UP, 1999.
    >
    > ---. Viruses of the Mind.Free Inquiry 13.3 (1993): 34-41.
    >
    > Dennett, Daniel C. Memes and the Exploitation of Imagination.Journal of
    > Aesthetics and Art Criticism 48 (1990): 127-35.
    >
    > Dixon, Kathleen. Making and Taking Apart Culturein the (Writing)
    > Classroom.Left Margins: Cultural Studies and Composition Pedagogy. Albany,
    > NY: State U of New York P, 1995: 99-114.
    >
    > Du Preez, Peter. The Evolution of Altruism.Political Psychology 17.3
    > (1996): 563-567.
    >
    > Ellul, Jacques. Propaganda: The Formation of Mens Attitudes. New York:
    > Vintage Books, 1973.
    >
    > Friedman, Matthew. Fuzzy Logic: Dispatches from the Information
    > Revolution. Montréal: Véhicule Press, 1997.
    >
    > Gatherer, Derek. Why the Thought ContagionMetaphor is Retarding the
    > Progress of Memetics.Journal of Memetics: Evolutionary Models of
    > Information Transmission 2.2 (1998): page #s.
    >
    > Heylighen, Francis. Selfish Memes and the Evolution of
    > Cooperation.Journal of Ideas 2.4 (1992): 77-84.
    >
    > Hill, Michael W. The Impact of Information on Society: An Examination of
    > its Nature, Value, and Usage. London: Bowker Saur, 1999.
    >
    > Johnson-Eilola, Johndan. Wild Technologies: Computer Use and Social
    > Possibility.Computers and Technical Communication: Pedagogical and
    > Programmatic Perspectives. Stuart Selber, ed. Greenwich, CT: Ablex, 1997:
    > 97-128.
    >
    > Lynch, Aaron. Thought Contagion: How Belief Spreads Through Society. New
    > York: Basic Books, 1996.
    >
    > Paicheler, Geneviéve. The Psychology of Social Influence. New York: Oxford
    > UP, 1988.
    >
    > Patterson, M.L. Accelerating Innovation: A Dip into the Meme
    > Pool.National Productivity Review 19.4 (1990): 53-58.
    >
    > Postman, Neil. The Ideology of Machines: Computer Technology.Technopoly:
    > The Surrender of Culture to Technology. New York: Knopf, 1992: 107-122.
    >
    > Sloop, John M. and Mark Olson. Cultural Struggle: A Politics of Meaning in
    > Rhetorical Studies.At the Intersection: Cultural Studies and Rhetorical
    > Studies. New York: Guilford, 1999.
    >
    > Stephenson, Neal. Snow Crash. New York: Bantam Books, 1992. [PS3569.T3868]
     

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