At the University of Hamburg, researchers are exploring how internet memes function as a form of visual and linguistic communication. In the DFG-funded project “Visual and Non-Visual Expression of Perspective, Part 2,” Prof. Dr. Stefan Hinterwimmer investigates how meaning emerges from the interplay of text and image in memes, and what this reveals about interpretation, cognition, and digital culture. Memes are now ubiquitous across social media, yet we still lack a deep understanding of how their multimodal structures shape perception and social interaction. By analysing diverse meme examples and conducting experiments on interpretation, the project aims to classify types of language–image interactions, identify the mechanisms that make certain memes especially effective, and shed light on the role of memes in political and cultural discourse. This research not only advances fundamental questions in semantics and visual communication, but also opens up new perspectives on how meaning is constructed and shared in digital environments.
Read the full article in German here.