The Meme as a cultural and political object in the field of Media Education: Designing a workshop of educational activities to develop media literacy competencies based on the French-speaking Belgian Framework for Media Education

Abstract

This master's thesis explores whether memes, as cultural and political objects, can develop media literacy competencies within the CSEM framework for media education. The theoretical section defines memes and describes their characteristics, as well as the cultures of convergence, participation, sharing, and remix in which they circulate. The section also highlights the political dimension of memes, reviews two models for meme analysis, and outlines the competencies identified in the CSEM framework. Based on this foundation, the thesis reviews existing meme-based educational activities in English- and French-speaking contexts and proposes new activities inspired by these practices that align with the CSEM competencies. The practical section presents a creative workshop designed for teenagers and informed by a preliminary questionnaire regarding their knowledge of memes. It describes and evaluates the workshop activities, reflecting on their effectiveness and potential improvements. The results demonstrate that memes can serve as valuable tools for developing media literacy competencies. However, the workshop could be conducted more times to address the issue more effectively.