В поисках мема.

С каждым днём мемы набирают всё большую популярность, мир захватывают картинки порой с незамысловатыми, но забавными надписями. А что мы в действительности знаем об этом феномене, откуда произошло само название, и кто стал его создателем?

Один из своих уроков в рамках темы Интернет я решила посвятить мемам, что вызвало неистовый восторг ребят, ведь это как отметили они сами, частью их досуга. Урок мы начали с небольшого текста, который был посвящён происхождению понятия.

Memes

Memes are becoming a growing part of our everyday life and popular culture, especially online. Many of us know memes as the pictures and photographs that go viral on social media sites. People use them to make jokes or social and political observations. However, biologist and author Richard Dawkins, the originator of the word 'meme', is unhappy with how the Internet has defined a meme as a "picture with words". Mr Dawkins coined the term 'meme' in his 1976 book 'The Selfish Gene'. He said memes are ideas that spread from brain to brain and are replicated many times, much like genes. He told the BBC: "I'm not going to use the term Internet meme to refer to a picture with writing on it."

Memes have infused our culture to the extent that universities now offer degree courses on them. America's Northwestern University unveiled its Meme Studies course back in 2011. Britain's Sky News says memes have helped to make politics more accessible to young people. One Twitter user told a Sky journalist that: "Memes helped people understand more complex ideas, and that having politics framed in a different way makes it more digestible." This was obvious with how memes became a key part of how people expressed their views during the 2016 U.S. presidential election. The vice.com website said: "Memes now have as much power, influence and reach as the propaganda posters of yesteryear."

Учащиеся поработали над текстом: прочли, выписали незнакомые слова, а также дали дефениции на английском языке выделенным словам и выражением в тексте.

Мы также выполнили следующие задания по тексту.

Нашли верные и неверные высказывания:

1. The article says memes are now an important part of popular culture. T/F

2. The word 'meme' originated over 500 years ago. T / F

3. The book 'The Selfish Gene' was written in 1967. T / F

4. An author said memes spread pretty much like genes. T / F

5. Northwestern Uni. will start teaching Meme Studies for the first time. T / F

6. Sky News said memes make politics more difficult to understand. T / F

7. Memes were an important way to express views in the 2016 US election.T/F

8. Memes are as important now as propaganda posters were in the past. T / F

А также ответили на вопросы, поговорив о мемах в их жизни:

1) What part do memes play in your culture?

2)What is popular culture?

3)How important is being online to you?

4)What do you think of things going viral on the Internet?

5)What social media site do you like?

6) Will memes become a new art form?

Подытожить решили видеороликом о возникновении мемов.

Домашнее задание оказалось творческим - сделать свой собственный мем и подписать его на английском языке.