RESEARCH PROJECT & BOOK
Memes for the Soul: The Internet and its Phantasmic Global Citizen
Written as my Master’s thesis at RISD, Memes for the Soul studies the internet meme as a symptom of the various new conceptual logics that have emerged in the age of information and networks – specifically those that govern our understanding of the “world”, “self”, and “knowledge”. Dismantling its existing ontological status, it reframes the internet meme through its communicative and performative social functions. It shows how the internet meme – through its capacity for experiential resonance, self-referential humor and absurdity – performs a curious dual function: it at once exposes the scale of the world, as well as soothes the anxiety that comes with that scale, rendering it an immensely addictive form of expression for our time.
This project is supported by the RISD Research SPUR Fund.
Watch a film of the book below.
The Regular & Funhouse Editions
The book is produced in two editions, the "Regular" edition which is designed to be a mass-market publication, and the "Funhouse" edition which is a multimedia artist book containing interactive pages, pop-ups and more.
Across five chapters, the book studies the internet meme as a phenomenon that exposes the fundamentally problematic ways in which we visualize the "world" and our relationship to it. Its first chapter reveals the shaky foundations upon which the meme was first conceptualized, arguing that it never existed as an object to begin with and must be reframed as a purely social interaction. Problematizing our intensely differentiated conceptualization of human "experience", Chapter 2 argues that the meme's unmatched compression capacity makes it an addictive language through which to talk about our experiences. Chapter 3 then discusses how the meme helps us cope with our inability to make sense of today's large global abstractions, while Chapter 4 shows how the meme's unique self-referential humor helps find community despite the globe. The fifth chapter ends with exposing the meme's unique ability to provide intimate resonance and utter detachment at the same time.
Written in a hybrid register that blends academese and vernacular speak, the book interweaves traditional scholarship with humor, personal anecdotes, pop culture references and visual material, allowing her reader a multimodal consumption of its themes. In true interdisciplinary fashion, the research draws from scholars across multiple fields such as media theory, philosophy, cultural critique, linguistics and more.
Since the research deals with digital/new media, both editions of the book seek out ways to simulate various digital experiences and interactions for their reader. While the "Funhouse" edition does so in more elaborate, analog ways, the "Regular" edition too immerses its reader in play-by-play screenshots of YouTube videos, Instagram stories, TikTok videos, Reddit posts and more.
RISD Global Arts & Cultures Thesis Symposium 2023
Listen to me present this book at the GAC Thesis Symposium in December 2023 where I discuss its various themes at length. Recorded on 8 December 2023 at the RISD Museum.
