Apr 26, 2024  
2022-2023 Undergraduate Bulletin 
    
2022-2023 Undergraduate Bulletin [ARCHIVED BULLETIN]

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WSC 125 - (AA) Memes and Trolls

Semester Hours: 3
In this course, we’ll explore the historical roots and central rhetorical practices of trolling, going as far back as Socrates, whom Encyclopedia Dramatica calls “a famous IRL troll of pre-internets Greece credited with inventing the first recorded trolling technique and otherwise laying the foundation of the science of lulz.” We’ll consider just how rare a phenomenon trolling is (or isn’t) and whether some generally respected cultural figures and/or institutions are or aren’t (just kidding, they totally are) engaged in the practice. Focusing on the circulation of writing, in addition to its production, we’ll also examine what happens to texts after they appear on the internet, especially as they’re meme-ified. What happens when the boundary between reader and writer, producer and consumer blurs entirely? 





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