The World’s Fairs and Expositions area covers all aspects of research on world’s fairs and universal expositions, including theme-specific events such as commemorations, horticultural exhibitions, and biennales.

We look for research ranging from historical fairs to nearly contemporary events, or news of forthcoming fairs. We encourage contributions from a range of disciplines—historical, art-historical, architectural, museological—as well as interdisciplinary approaches. We are interested as well  in comparative approaches or thematic analyses that consider multiple expositions.

For the 2022 conference, given the planned siting in Seattle, we are especially interested in papers on Seattle’s own Century 21 Expo, as well as other West Coast fairs (San Diego, 1915-17 and 1935-36; San Francisco, 1915 and 1939-40; Spokane, 1974; Vancouver, 1986). We also especially encourage research on fairs that will, in 2022, be marking their sesquicentennial (the 1972 exhibitions in London, Christchurch, Lima, Lyon, and Kyoto) or centennials (the 2022 fairs in Marseilles, Christchurch, Tokyo, or Rio de Janeiro). But contributions on all fairs are welcome.

This is a thought-provoking group, and we  encourage a collegial atmosphere. We invite proposals from professors, independent scholars, graduate students, and undergraduates (with the guidance of a professor). Abstracts (250 words) and brief (one-page) cvs should be submitted to both of the area co-chairs, Laurie Dalton (laurie.dalton@arcadiau.ca) and Thomas Prasch (tom.prasch@washburn.edu).