PEACE CORPS IN THE 21 ST CENTURY: A RHETORICAL ANALYSIS

31volunteers can interpret and work within that world. Along these lines, the work ofvolunteers has a considerable impact on the way we view the peoples of other nations aswell.Today’s Peace Corps volunteer is no longer the Pioneering Frontiersman ofKennedy’s era. The changing recruitment strategies reflect a change in Americancultural values and situations abroad. The volunteer of today does not endure rigorousphysical examinations and boot camp trainings as have volunteers of the past. Thevolunteers live relatively comfortable and safe lives. Today’s volunteers are less likely towork in the dirt alongside a farmer (although some still do) and more likely to teach in aclassroom, work with a local government, or create an information technology system.Volunteers of today send emails and talk on cell phones alongside their host countrynational partners. Today’s volunteer is the face of Americans to the outside world.Arrangement of this studyIn this chapter, I have detailed the history of the Peace Corps. And I havedemonstrated how the history of service in America has led to new conceptualizations ofvolunteering. Both a historical glance at the Peace Corps and characterization of the 21 stcentury provide a foundation upon which to analyze the contemporary Peace Corps, itsrecruitment strategies, current volunteer perspective, and the future of the organization. Imove toward Chapter Two by asking how our shifting values changed the Peace Corps’recruitment strategies.In an effort to understand the Peace Corps organization in the 21 st century,Chapter Two will analyze the new Peace Corps’ slogan and fundamental recruitment