Author Type

Graduate Student

Date of Award

2020

Document Type

Thesis

Publication Status

Version of Record

Submission Date

October 2026

Thesis/Dissertation Advisor [Chair]

McKay, Becka

Abstract

Strategies of Disconnection is short story collection focusing on memes or rather the intersection of modern internet meme culture, meme theory, and Christianity, capturing the realities of an era of memetic upheaval (in 2016 the search term “Meme” overtook the term “Jesus” in popularity) when the digital and the spiritual seem to overlap, both contending for attention. Memes are culturally analogous to genes, both serving as entities driven toward survival and reproduction. Yet, and entities analogous to genes, memes find themselves contending for survival. These stories inhabit the perspective of memes as characters attempting to acknowledge existence alongside their genetic counterparts: An unnamed creator who falls for Lucy, the first set of hominid bones, an actor who avoids notoriety after having played the role of god, and internet troll Anon, who lives on 4chan.

Extent

179 p.

Comments

Includes bibliography.|Thesis (M.F.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2020.|FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection|Includes bibliography.

Identifier

FA00013469

Format

pdf

Download

Available for download on Thursday, October 06, 2196

Share

COinS