meme composition and transcontextual agency

The first image, a meme I created, represents the Matrix character Morpheus. The meme text reads “WHAT IF I TOLD YOU” at the top of the image, followed by “THIS PRESENTATION IS CALLED ‘MEME COMPOSITION AND TRANSCONTEXTUAL AGENCY: ENVISIONING A PEDAGOGY OF MULTIMODAL PUBLIC RHETORIC’ BY JACK HENNES”. This presentation was given at the 17th Annual Student Research Colloquium, held at St. Cloud State University. My presentation abstract follows: Composition instruction emphasizing new media is centered on promoting rhetorical awareness on the wide range of textual practices our students engage in, whether in private or public spheres. Text and its materiality, manifestation, representation, and distribution across cultures and communities remains at the forefront of new media composing in a happening space for writing. In this presentation, I critically reflect on my pedagogical approach in guiding writers as they composed memes to combat cultural issues. These artifacts were then distributed in a public space, a location for the distribution and (re)distribution of cultural perspectives across varying contexts. In turn, I stress the importance of rhetorical awareness, pointing to new understandings of composition pedagogy as an opportunity for the production of cultural artifacts for public audiences. My conference paper can be accessed via this link: http://jackhennes.wordpress.com/2014/04/15/meme-composition-and-transcontextual-agency-envisioning-a-pedagogy-of-multimodal-public-rhetoric/