Process Paper
Thesis: The World's Fairs presented a center for the interaction of different civilizations to exchange their culture while exploring revolutionary inventions. The exposure of different countries' lifestyles and customs was a common feature of every fair because there were displays of various societies shown through booths and replicas of villages. The circulation of neoteric conventions and ideas on a global stage helped to connect the world. Although the transfer of differing manners of life was a significant aspect of the World's Fairs, the technological advancements were a greater element to the fairs as it allowed the world to modernize together.
While researching different ideas and topics that fit with the theme, we were drawn to the world’s fairs. Although neither of us have ever been to one and we hardly knew what an actual fair encompassed, we decided to look deeper into the subject. We were intrigued by the differences of the fairs from the first to the most recent. There were new inventions shown, important pieces of architecture made, and full participation from several countries. We understood that people today do not find these fairs particularly significant but we felt their contributions to history were too great to overlook. After realizing the extensive amount of cultural exchange occurring throughout the history of the expositions, we chose the World’s Fairs as our topic.
Our topic goes along with the theme because the world’s fairs displayed cultural exchange in three aspects discussed in our thesis. They are the spread of ideas, exposure of customs and lifestyles, and the transference of technological advances. People at the expositions were able to share their ideas with foreigners who brought those ideas back to their country. It was also common for participants to dress in traditional clothing and perform ceremonies exposing their heritage to others. Last, new inventions are shown at the fairs almost every year allowing for other countries to gain the same technological advancements and modernize together.
We split our research into three major parts: the establishment of the world’s fairs, old fairs, and modern fairs. The old fairs were the ones we considered results of the Industrial Revolution while the modern fairs took place during the technological movement. For the old fairs, we ended with the St. Louis World’s Fair in 1904 which was just around the turn of the century. The majority of the old fairs happened during the 19th century and the modern ones take place during the 20th and 21st centuries.
Finally, we created our entry by forming a website. We thought the website would be the best way to portray our topic in an organized fashion. We chose nine fairs, four old and five modern ones, that we felt showed the most cultural exchange and were the most recognizable to keep people interested in our project. We kept our information in the three categories that we split our research so it followed a chronological path. We also added visuals and multimedia to thoroughly explain our points.
While researching different ideas and topics that fit with the theme, we were drawn to the world’s fairs. Although neither of us have ever been to one and we hardly knew what an actual fair encompassed, we decided to look deeper into the subject. We were intrigued by the differences of the fairs from the first to the most recent. There were new inventions shown, important pieces of architecture made, and full participation from several countries. We understood that people today do not find these fairs particularly significant but we felt their contributions to history were too great to overlook. After realizing the extensive amount of cultural exchange occurring throughout the history of the expositions, we chose the World’s Fairs as our topic.
Our topic goes along with the theme because the world’s fairs displayed cultural exchange in three aspects discussed in our thesis. They are the spread of ideas, exposure of customs and lifestyles, and the transference of technological advances. People at the expositions were able to share their ideas with foreigners who brought those ideas back to their country. It was also common for participants to dress in traditional clothing and perform ceremonies exposing their heritage to others. Last, new inventions are shown at the fairs almost every year allowing for other countries to gain the same technological advancements and modernize together.
We split our research into three major parts: the establishment of the world’s fairs, old fairs, and modern fairs. The old fairs were the ones we considered results of the Industrial Revolution while the modern fairs took place during the technological movement. For the old fairs, we ended with the St. Louis World’s Fair in 1904 which was just around the turn of the century. The majority of the old fairs happened during the 19th century and the modern ones take place during the 20th and 21st centuries.
Finally, we created our entry by forming a website. We thought the website would be the best way to portray our topic in an organized fashion. We chose nine fairs, four old and five modern ones, that we felt showed the most cultural exchange and were the most recognizable to keep people interested in our project. We kept our information in the three categories that we split our research so it followed a chronological path. We also added visuals and multimedia to thoroughly explain our points.
