Political Criticism

Create a political meme and write a short essay explaining its relevance, meaning, intended audience, and desired effect.
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Introduction
The Internet is filled with political memes. They are particularly ubiquitous on social media sites. Given their association with social media, you might think memes are something relatively new to us all.
However, we humans have used memes to share our ideas with each other for eons. For instance, in sculpture and on tombs built in the days of the ancient Roman Empire, the phrase “Memento Mori”—Latin for “remember that you have to die”—often appears together with skulls and other symbols of mortality. The pairing was widely imitated throughout the empire, even showing up as everyday graffiti on city walls, and served as a means of rapidly spreading the message it conveyed with just a brief phrase and accompanying symbols.
Today’s memes serve the same function of spreading ideas and culture, this time digitally. Memes on the internet are attention grabbing forms of rhetoric, usually including an image, often funny, coupled with text. They spread and circulate through commonly used communication channels like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. Often these memes are political. Regardless of how online you may or may not be or how much or little attention you pay to memes, you should understand how they are used and the impact they can have. They play an important role in our political and social movements.
In this assessment, you will learn more about how public opinion is shaped. You will be asked to consider how political memes relate to American politics and/or public policy and then to create your own meme and describe the effect you expect it to have on its intended audience. Learning more about memes and how they work to spread ideas and shape opinion will help you become a more critically aware consumer of political rhetoric. And maybe give you a new perspective on the next meme you see.
Overview
For this assessment, you will create a political meme and write a short essay explaining its relevance, meaning, intended audience, and desired effect.
Preparation
To prepare for this assessment:
• Review the suggested resources for this assessment.
• Complete the Political Meme and Essay interactive activity.
• Identify at least one credible source, such as a peer-reviewed article, credible newspaper (such as the New York Times or Wall Street Journal, as long as you do not use their editorial/opinion articles), or a report from a credible research firm (such as the Pew Research Center) to support the content and message of your meme.
Instructions
For this assessment, generate a political meme with text and write an essay about your meme. While you are welcome to base the meme on the topic you used for your previous assessments, you are also welcome to address another topic. Your submission should address the following requirements:
• Step 1: Generate an engaging political meme that is a still image with text. You may use any image you want (as long as it is academically appropriate), but the text must be your original work. Include the image in your paper.
o It may be helpful to use a tool like those found in Assessment 4: Meme Creation Tools to create your meme.
• Step 2: Explain the personal relevance of your meme.
• Step 3: Explain what the meme means to you and why it’s personally relevant.
• Step 4: Describe your meme’s intended audience.
• Step 5: Explain the desired effect of your meme on its intended audience.
Be sure to write in a well-organized and concise manner that adheres to the rules of grammar, usage, and mechanics.
Submission Requirements
Your assessment should meet the following requirements:
• Length: About 1–2 pages.
• Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12 point.
• Written communication: Written communication is free of errors that detract from the overall message.
• Sources: Citing at least one credible source for support is required. Properly cite sources according to APA rules. Review Evidence and APA for more information on how to cite your sources.
Refer to the Political Meme and Essay scoring guide to ensure that you meet all criteria. To earn full points for each criterion, be sure to note the details on what constitutes distinguished performance.
Competencies Measured
By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and scoring guide criteria:
• Competency 3: Explain the historical development of current political issues and policies.
o Explain how a political meme relates to American politics and/or public policy.
• Competency 4: Explain how individuals and groups influence local, state, and national government, and vice versa.
o Generate an engaging political meme that is a still image with text.
o Explain the personal relevance of the meme.
o Explain the desired effect of a political meme on an intended audience.
• Competency 6: Address assessment purpose in a well-organized manner, incorporating appropriate evidence and tone in grammatically sound sentences.
o Describe a political meme’s intended audience.
o Write in a well-organized and concise manner that adheres to the rules of grammar, usage, and mechanics.

Resources
Use the resources linked below to help complete this assessment.
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Public Opinion and Voting
The following suggested textbook chapters are useful for understanding more about how public opinion and political culture are shaped by various means. The reading list comprises a resource explaining ranked choice voting, a type of voting of increasing interest among American voters.
• O’Connor, K., & Sabato, L. J. (2022). American government: Roots and reform, 2020 presidential election edition (14th ed.). Pearson. Available in the course room via the VitalSource Bookshelf link.
o Chapter 10, “Public Opinion and Political Socialization,” pages 241–260.
o Chapter 12, “Campaigns, Elections, and Voting,” pages 289–327.
• Assessment 4: Ranked Choice Voting.
Understanding Memes
Resources in the following reading list explain what memes are and how they spread and can shape popular culture and political opinion. A better understanding of the role and effect of memes will help you create a more effective meme for this assessment.
• Assessment 4: Understanding Memes reading list.
Political Memes and Fake News
You can explore the resources in the following reading list to both learn how memes have been used to propagate “fake news” and also gain insight into how to recognize the reliability of political memes.
• Assessment 4: Political Memes and Fake News reading list.
Library Research Guide
You may want to find other resources to prepare for this assessment, and you will need to ensure that they are appropriate, credible, and valid. The General Education Information Research Skills Library Guide provides links to library skills instruction, subject-specific resources and tools, and assessment-focused help you can use in all your general education courses. The Political Science page in the guide includes links to eBooks, background information, and specialized databases in the area.