[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":3,"doc-seo-404514-105":59,"doc-detail-404514-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,13,18,23,28,33,38,43,48,51,55],{"id":8,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":10,"show_sort_weight":11,"slug":12},1,"Document","Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":14,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":15,"show_sort_weight":16,"slug":17},2,"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":19,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":20,"show_sort_weight":21,"slug":22},4,"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":24,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":25,"show_sort_weight":26,"slug":27},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":29,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":30,"show_sort_weight":31,"slug":32},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":34,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":35,"show_sort_weight":36,"slug":37},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":39,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":40,"show_sort_weight":41,"slug":42},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":44,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":45,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":47},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":46,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":49,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":50},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":52,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":53,"show_sort_weight":52,"slug":54},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":56,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":57,"show_sort_weight":24,"slug":58},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":60,"data":61},"ok",{"site_id":62,"language":63,"slug":64,"title":65,"keywords":66,"description":67,"schema_data":68,"social_meta":123,"head_meta":125,"extra_data":127,"updated_unix":129},105,"en","memes-in-the-literature-studies-classroom","Memes in the Literature Studies Classroom","","Memes are analyzed through the lens of riddles, emphasizing their generative and creative potential when used in a literature studies classroom. The study examines memes as genre-like condensed forms that invite ambiguity, irony, humor, and play, while also functioning as recursive media that circulate rapidly through retelling and replication. Students discussed memes’ genre-specific possibilities across canonical to bestselling fiction and created memes as part of course assessment. Results revealed strong ambivalence—ranging from humor and self-critique to critique, anxiety about the final exam, and exaggerated play—which complicates any definitive account of meme meaning. Framing memes as “riddled forms” suggests that, due to this ambiguity, they may align more closely with a student’s truth.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":15,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/literature/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/memes-in-the-literature-studies-classroom/404514/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/memes-in-the-literature-studies-classroom/404514.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Jiven","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-04","2026-09-27",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":39},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"How does the paper connect memes to riddles?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"It treats memes as condensed forms with qualities associated with riddles, including ambiguity, irony, and playfulness. The paper also stresses memes’ recursive nature, where retelling and replication drive their spread.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"What role did memes play in the classroom study?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"Students discussed the genre-specific potential of memes in literary studies courses and were encouraged to explore memes both intellectually and experientially. Students also created memes as part of their course assessment.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"What did the students’ meme work reveal about meme meaning?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"The outcomes were highly ambivalent, ranging from humor to seriousness and from self-critique to critique of the course. This ambivalence—often intensified by irony and excess—challenges a single definitive interpretation of memes’ content and meaning.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},404514,1791397883,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":14,"category_name":15,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":39,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":144,"read_time":145},1099513958607,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/100002390cf8733938c?x-image-process=image/resize,m_fixed,w_180,h_180&k=1778829742770036399","Memes in the Literature Studies Classroom  \nBryan Yazell  \nDanish Institute for Advanced Study  \nDepartment of Language, Culture, History and Communication University of Southern Denmark  \n[yazell@sdu.dk](yazell@sdu.dk)  \nAnita Wohlmann  \nDepartment of Language, Culture, History and Communication University of Southern Denmark  \nThis paper considers memes through the lens of riddles and discusses the generative or creative aspect of the meme format as applied in the classroom. In a literary studies course on cultural narratives, ranging from canonical to bestselling fiction, we critically discussed the genre-specific potential of memes, which students were encouraged to explore both intellectually and experientially. In addition, we asked students to create memes in their assessment of the course. The results were highly ambivalent, ranging from humor to seriousness, self-critique to critique of the course, panic (regarding the final exam) to playful exaggeration of said panic. This ambivalence, often accentuated by irony and excess, challenges any definitive understanding of the memes’ content and meaning. Rather than dismissing memesas a flawed, imprecise tool, this article examines them as riddled forms and hypothesizes that, due to their ambivalence, they may actually be closer to a student’s “truth.” The connection between memes and meaning-making is especially relevant to courses that, like the one in this article, foreground semantic ambiguity and an explorative habitus.  \nKeywords:  \nmemes, riddles, form, genre, teaching  \nINTRODUCTION  \nAs a highly condensed form, memes have many affordances. Among these, they can be approached as a type of literary genre that invites ambiguity, irony, humor, and playfulness – features that are often associated with riddles, too. But memes are inherently recursive media. They are riddles that, once told, demand to be retold. This recursive aspect of memes explains, in part, both their ubiquity on digital platforms as well as the speed with which they travel; they are meant togo viral, replicating themselves in the minds of individuals who, in turn, pass thememes along. As this language indicates, memes themselves are largely understood in metaphorical terms as agents for the transmission of information and creative expression (Wiggins and Bowers 1890) . The combination of non-literal language and metaphoric framing thus makes memes especially difficult riddles to solve for readers outside their intended audience. At the same time, these features have led to memes becoming a fixture in the classroom, where they might inform students on complex topics while also fostering a communal link between instructor and students, who together share a sense of being in on the joke. This generative or creative aspect of the meme format as applied in the classroom is at the center of our paper, which reflects on using memes both as an evaluation tool and as a subject of literary investigation. 1  \nIn approaching memes through the conceptual lens of riddles, we want to clarify where we see productive alignments. According to André Jolles, riddles are “simple forms” and, in this sense, similar to myths, fairy tales and jokes. Riddles are considered, on the one hand, entertaining tasks associated with children or young adults (so-called “Spaßfragen” or amusing, game-like questions); similarly, memes are typically associated with digital natives and entertainment. On the other hand, riddles have a long tradition as puzzles in folklore narratives where they are imbued with serious consequences. For example, a hero’s ability to solve a riddle will decide his or her fate (so-called“Halsrätsel”, i.e., someone’s “throat” is on the line (133)) . In this second sense, riddles appear in the context of a trial or examination that tests the worthiness of the hero (131) . In solving the riddle, the hero proves himself or herself to be on par with the person who poses the riddle and is thus granted access to an inn","cbCaikn6g5lowGTv","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaikn6g5lowGTv","pdf",540730,17,"English","# Introduction\n## Memes as condensed, recursive forms\n## Riddles and their productive alignments\n## Meaning-making through genre conventions","[{\"question\":\"How does the paper connect memes to riddles?\",\"answer\":\"It treats memes as condensed forms with qualities associated with riddles, including ambiguity, irony, and playfulness. The paper also stresses memes’ recursive nature, where retelling and replication drive their spread.\"},{\"question\":\"What role did memes play in the classroom study?\",\"answer\":\"Students discussed the genre-specific potential of memes in literary studies courses and were encouraged to explore memes both intellectually and experientially. Students also created memes as part of their course assessment.\"},{\"question\":\"What did the students’ meme work reveal about meme meaning?\",\"answer\":\"The outcomes were highly ambivalent, ranging from humor to seriousness and from self-critique to critique of the course. This ambivalence—often intensified by irony and excess—challenges a single definitive interpretation of memes’ content and meaning.\"}]","Memes in the Literature Studies Classroom | PDF",1790548565,26]