Aneliya Ivanova
"Angel Kanchev", University of Ruse (Bulgaria)
https://doi.org/10.53656/str2024-5s-17-res
Abstract. Humor in the classroom has been the subject of analysis and research for decades, and there is hardly an educator who would deny that well-presented and thematically related humorous elements create a positive and intriguing atmosphere in the class and contribute to reducing the students' tension and increasing their initiative in the learning process. It is also well known that good humor is the one which relates to the interests and attitudes of the audience. What type of humor will be understood and well accepted by a generation that does not know a world without meme culture in its various manifestations? When R. Dawkins introduced the term "meme" in 1976, he hardly imagined that he was giving a name to a phenomenon that would grow to such an extent that, almost half a century later, the director of the Center for Digital Culture at Kings College London would say: "memes are one of the clearest manifestations of the fact there is such a thing as digital culture." Is there a place for meme culture in the digitized learning process and does it have the potential to improve the communication between the lecturer and the students? The presented below material will look for the answers to these questions.
Keywords: motivation and engagement; improved communication; humor in the classroom; meme culture; students’ perceptions and attitude
