Meme is a term coined by Richard Dawkins in imitation of the word
gene. It indicates a unit of reproduction in the world of ideas. Memes are subjects to
- Reproduction (they are copied),
- Mutation (the copying process isn't perfect) and
- Selection (the probability of reproduction is influenced by properties of the meme)
and hence they undergo evolution.
You can find some Memetics Papers here:
http://users.lycaeum.org/~sputnik/Memetics/