World's Fairs on the Eve of War : Science, Technology, and Modernity, 1937-1942

Since the first world's fair in London in 1851, at the dawn of the era of industrialization, international expositions served as ideal platforms for rival nations to showcase their advancements in design, architecture, science and technology, industry, and politics. Before the outbreak of World War II, countries competing for leadership on the world stage waged a different kind of war with cultural achievements and propaganda appealing to their own national strengths and versions of modernity in the struggle for power. World s Fairs on the Eve of War examines five fairs and expositions from across the globe including three that were staged (Paris, 1937; Dusseldorf, 1937; and New York, 1939 40), and two that were in development before the war began, but never executed (Tokyo, 1940; and Rome, 1942). This coauthored work considers representations of science and technology at world s fairs as influential cultural forces, and at a critical moment in history, when tensions and ideological divisions between political regimes would soon lead to war. Introduction: World's Fairs, modernity, and the demand for authenticity -- Modernity à la française : the 1937 Paris Exposition -- Fantasies of consumption at Schaffendes Volk : National Socialism and the four-year plan -- Whose modernity? : utopia and commerce at the 1939 New York World's Fair -- Modernity on display : the 1940 Grand International Exposition of Japan -- EUR : Mussolini's Appian way to modernity -- Redefining cultural conflict : the first postwar international exposition. Robert H. Kargon, Johns Hopkins University, Karen Fiss, California College of the Arts, Morris Low, University of Queensland), Arthur P. Molella, Smithsonian Institution. Includes bibliographical references and index. "Since the first world's fair in London in 1851, at the dawn of the era of industrialization, international expositions served as ideal platforms for rival nations to showcase their advancements in design, architecture, science and technology, industry, and politics. Before the outbreak of World War II, countries competing for leadership on the world stage waged a different kind of war--with cultural achievements and propaganda--appealing to their own national strengths and versions of modernity in the struggle for power. World's Fairs on the Eve of War examines five fairs and expositions from across the globe--including three that were staged (Paris, 1937; Dusseldorf, 1937; and New York, 1939–40), and two that were in development before the war began but never executed (Tokyo, 1940; and Rome, 1942). This coauthored work considers representations of science and technology at world's fairs as influential cultural forces and at a critical moment in history, when tensions and ideological divisions between political regimes would soon lead to war."--Site web de l'éditeur Most of the existing literature about world's fairs tends to focus either on one particular event, or only on fairs in the US. This book takes a novel approach by studying five fairs and expositions from across the globe, and before the Second World War. It is one of the first books to consider representations of science and technology at world's fairs as influential cultural forces.