Internet memes are funny and silly. Teens love them. Adults love them. I love them. Sometimes, I get lucky and stumble on a meme that tickles my inner history nerd just right- by summarizing hundreds of years of modern world history into, "Caaarl, that kills people!" This is a real social studies class, covering the real, extremely important and serious topic of communism and its effect on the world. 

 Each class session will be centered around a meme we will spend the duration of our meeting unpacking. 
Students will complete a final project in which they create their own meme relating to our class content. 
It may sound silly (and it is) but learning through memes is an amazing way to turn today's visual culture into something productive. Students will develop the important social studies skill of analysis in this fun, content packed class. Elements of geography will also be present as we look at how communism changed the globe. There will be some short readings provided to accompany the class.

Students may be directed to Antimatter.Systems to create memes in a supervised (by me) studio. 

Class 1: Gib me dat for free!
What is communism? Who are Karl Marx and Frederick Engels? How did this idea come about? Also, what would communism look like if it was done "properly"? 

Class 2: Caaarl! That kills people! 
The implementation of communism in Russia, and how they kind of did it all wrong and ended up killing a lot of people as a result. 

Class 3: The KGBeatles: John Lenin, Paul Marxcartney, Ringo Stalin, and George Maozedong.
The spread of communism in the 20th century that the global implications. 

Class 4: Dark humor is like food... not everyone gets it. 
Communist case studies during the Cold War: Mao's cult of personality, Korean & Vietnam wars, Cuba

Class 5: Mr. Gorbachev... tear down this wall! 
The fall of the USSR and the "end" of communism. 

Class 6: Much European, much socialism... wow!
The differences and similarities between communism and socialism.How socialism works (and doesn't work) in Europe, and where else it exists today.

Class 7: When I grow up, I'm going to be a dragon!
Communism's pull today in the United States: we will look at current world billionaires and the economic conditions that allow them to pay less in tax than some of America's poorest. Also; the distribution of the world's resources. 

Class 8: What will we do when the robots take over?
The global legacy of communism today as well as the future of our way of life in the face of automation.
 We will also present our own communism memes and discuss them.