Markus Bachofner
Abstract
This dissertation investigates how media use practices of recipients of political internet memes within digitally networked communication spaces influence the discursive construction of political identity. Internet memes have become a central component of digital communication cultures and function as accessible, visual forms of political communication. Through their humorous, satirical, and often ambivalent modes of representation, they convey political messages, structure senses of belonging, and facilitate processes of negotiating social and political positions.
Drawing on concepts from Cultural Studies, particularly Stuart Hall’s Encoding/Decoding model and Du Gay et al.’s Circuit of Culture, internet memes are understood as cultural artefacts whose meanings emerge through the interplay of production, circulation, reception, and appropriation. In addition, Symbolic Interactionism, the concept of “Doing Media,” and the notion of Cultural Citizenship provide the theoretical framework for analysing processes of identity formation in the context of digital media use. Political identities are thereby conceptualised not as fixed attributes but as continuously discursively produced and negotiated through everyday media practices.
Methodologically, the study adopts a qualitative research design. In a first step, selected political internet memes are examined using a visual-narrative image analysis. The analysed memes subsequently serve as stimuli for several focus group discussions with users of social networking platforms in order to uncover collective processes of interpretation and appropriation. Building on these findings, in-depth semi-structured interviews with selected participants are conducted to explore individual patterns of reception, identification processes, and forms of political self-positioning in greater detail.
By doing so, this dissertation contributes to communication and media studies by highlighting the significance of political internet memes as instruments of contemporary political communication and cultural participation. It demonstrates how visual digital content not only reflects political attitudes but also actively participates in the construction of collective belonging and political identities.
