Seeing the World through Their Eyes: Visual Recruitment Rhetoric of the Peace Corps

• In Event: The Top Papers in Visual Communication

Abstract

As one of the longest running international aid organizations, the Peace Corps has played a major role in constructing the American vision of the developing world. The image of the “other” is expressed through the organizations’ recruitment rhetoric and volunteer photographs found on web sites and blogs. A rhetorical analysis of these visual elements uncovers an major difference between the 1960s Peace Corps and 21st century cultural values.

Author

• Casey Maugh, University of Southern Mississippi