Abstract:

Applying rhetorical theories to non-traditional forms of text is important and necessary in the world of composition to further understand and research the many different types of rhetoric. QSL postcards from the 1920s and ‘30s are a perfect example of a sub-genre of composition worthy of study because of the semiotics, discourse, and community which are represented on them in text and in image. This research, consisting of written text and a web project, will focus on a set of QSL cards collected by one ham radio operator during the 1920s and ‘30s and will demonstrate the importance of rhetorical and semiotic study of multi-modal text.