Making meaning with memes through a multilayered approach to visual literacies

ABSTRACTAs digital technologies increase in their capacity to generate, display, and disseminate visual materials via spaces like social media, there is a need for pedagogical practices that support meaning making with visual texts. The purpose of this paper is to present a pedagogical framework for teaching visual literacies with social media memes using a multilayered approach. The proposed layers of the framework are (1) technical construction, (2) formal aesthetic, (3) aesthetic response, (4) media context, and (4) social context. As an example of this approach, I explore the meme shared in January 2021 of face-masked United States Senator Bernie Sanders with his legs crossed and wearing hand-knit mittens as he attended the U.S. Presidential Inauguration of Joe Biden. Key questions and activities using the “Bernie Sanders at the Inauguration” meme are offered alongside strategies for additional pedagogical and research considerations.KEYWORDS: Visual literaciespedagogies for visual literaciessocial media literaciessocial media memesBernie Sanders memes Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Additional informationNotes on contributorsMary RiceMary Rice is an Associate Professor of Literacy at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. Her research and teaching focus on supporting the design and doing of inclusive digital learning.