Abstract:
This poster features a postcard instruction case study for a first-year course at Loyola Marymount University (LMU). Through collaboration between a Special Collections instruction librarian and a Rhetorical Arts faculty, we have built a scaffolding pedagogy with modern advertising postcards to enhance student learning of rhetorical skills and social justice issues.
Description:
This poster features a postcard instruction case study for a first-year course at Loyola Marymount University (LMU). Through collaboration between a Special Collections instruction librarian and a Rhetorical Arts faculty, we have built a scaffolding pedagogy with modern advertising postcards to enhance student learning of rhetorical skills and social justice issues. Social justice is a focus of the Rhetorical Arts course at LMU, with a core learning goal of developing Eloquentia Perfecta to cultivate student acumen in speaking and writing for the common good. Known as “rack cards”, originating in the 1990s and early 2000s, these advertising postcards exemplify critical social issues such as environmentalism and homelessness. With poignant messages and visuals, these postcards are forms of activism and resistance. Through active learning with the postcards, we enter into a dialogue of social issues and possibilities for change. Reflecting on primary source literacy and media literacy, this poster shares active learning strategies for students to engage critically with postcards as media in visual and rhetorical expression. It also showcases virtual instruction with postcards using digital tools.
