Journal Of Memetics

http://www.cpm.mmu.ac.uk/jom-emit/

Those of us who think of PatternsAsMemes should consider contributing to this new journal. -- WardCunningham

From the introduction ...

The Journal of memetics is a new peer-reviewed academic journal. The editors feel that a journal on memetics can be an important place for scientists and professionals to discuss their views and research in memetics. The first issue is scheduled for May 1997. The journal will be published on the Internet without subscription fee.

The journal of memetics seeks to develop the memetic perspective, with space devoted to relevant evolutionary issues and other related topics. We seek to discuss issues concerning memetics such as:

Mechanisms involved in evolutionary processes. Comparisons of different models of evolution are especially welcome.
Philosophical or theoretical issues concerning epistemology and evolution
Boundaries of the evolutionary approach
Empirical research
Fundamental approaches aiming at structuring the field of memetics as a science

... In 1976, RichardDawkins invented the word meme, defining it as the new replicator, a unit of cultural transmission, or a unit of imitation. The initial description of meme by Dawkins is rather vague, as he admits himself, which is a possible reason for current diverging views on what a meme really is, and how the memetic model can be used. We are confronted with an avalanche of books, essays, and publications scattered over different journals and disciplines, with dialogue flashing up here and there in an unstructured manner. Many dialogues disappear after only a brief lifespan. This chaos exists because a general framework is lacking.

... The memetic view provides a powerful framework to compare and connect what appears at first sight to be very different processes in different disciplines. Since the editors feel that memetics may prove to be useful and clarifying, we decided - after thorough discussion - on naming this journal the Journal of Memetics, complying with the hope of DouglasHofstadter that this field of inquiry should be called memetics. Because of the current vagueness of the concept meme, a subtitle of the Journal was needed. Evolutionary Models of Information Transmission, briefly EMIT, was selected by the editors as the most informative summary with regard to the field of interest to be covered by the journal. This subtitle expresses our view that memetics is connected to the broader paradigm of evolutionary studies in human, computer and biological sciences.

For a dissenting view, see MemesShmemes

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