Greeting Through Postcards: A Multifaceted Investigation on Family/Lover-Themed Postcards of 1970s in Turkey as Material Cultural Objects

Kükrer M.

2nd INTERNATIONAL IZMIR CONGRESS ON HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES, İzmir, Türkiye, 14 - 16 Ekim 2023, ss.73, (Özet Bildiri)

  • Yayın Türü: Bildiri / Özet Bildiri
  • Basıldığı Şehir: İzmir
  • Basıldığı Ülke: Türkiye
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.73
  • Süleyman Demirel Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

Postcards hold a significant place in several fields, such as art, photography, printing, and tourism. As objects of multi-faceted cultural significance, they relate to specific iconographic traditions. Postcards have been subjects of research in the areas of modernization, colonialism, propaganda history, and gender studies. This study analyses the family/lover-themed postcards widely circulated in Turkey during the 1970s and scrutinizes various interconnected factors. The discussion begins by examining the ritualistic function of postcards as transmitters of greetings. Bell highlights that the fundamental conceptualization of “greetings” is not ritual, but rather “ritualization” in connection with the idea of power. Postcards, as part of celebration practices that encompass power dynamics, also have their share. Greetings with postcards primarily concretize specific moments of public activities. As a repetitive act, it is also a form of political communication like all other celebration instruments. Within the framework of “what is celebrated” and “how it is celebrated” on special occasions, the presence of both a visual on the front and a space filled with short writings on the back of the postcard provides an open field for interpretation. Considering this, through an interpretive approach, the visuals on the front of these postcards will be examined within the context of “representations of happiness,” and the formulaic writings on the back will be analyzed in the context of the “poetics of greeting.” Ultimately, this study presents an interpretation of postcards as material cultural objects, shedding light on their significance in the practice of remembering and politics of celebration.