ISIE’s Third Annual Online Symposium
‘Emerging Scholars: New Voices in Expo Research
22 March 2024
The 2024 symposium brought emerging scholars and established experts together to generate new ideas about the history and legacy of international expositions. The program emphasized new and developing strategies for research, curation, and preservation in order to maximize outreach opportunities. The event facilitated both scholarly and popular understandings of the significance of these global events that serve as mirrors of concurrent (both real and visionary) political, cultural, and technological conditions of the times in which they were held. We hope that participants left the symposium with both new understandings and insights into the study of expositions as well as stronger connections to the global community of scholars from a vast range of disciplines involved in the study of expositions.
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In addition to paper sessions, the symposium included a roundtable event focused on the Institute, as well as opportunities to informally socialize and network with others sharing related interests.
Program
10:30am EDT: Welcome and Introduction​
Dr. James Fortuna, University of St Andrews
Constanza Robles, PhD Candidate, Boston University
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10:45am EDT: Session 1: Crafting Immersive Experiences: Visitor Interactions and Exhibition Design
Session Chair: Charles Pappas, Senior Writer, Exhibitor Magazine​
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​​Wang Shu, World Expo Museum, Shanghai, The Medium is the Message: Evolution of Communication and Information Dissemination at the Expo
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Lian Feng, Inspire Brands/United States Department of State (2022), Exploring the Impact of Youth Ambassadors: An Analysis of Program Structure and Recruitment Processes​
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Li Qian, Tsinghua University, Theme Development and National Image Construction of World Expo Pavilions in the Era of Transformation​
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Toby Shulruff, Arizona State University and Levi Wyman, New York University, The Journey to Osaka & Expo 2025: The importance of pavilion design for ‘co-creating the future’
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12:30pm EDT: Session 2: Questioning Global Narratives: Cultural Reflections and Competitive Histories
Session Chair: César Corona, CEO, ExpoMuseum.com
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Ali Reza Shahbazin, McGill University, Montreal, The Queen and Her World: Iran Pavilion at EXPO 67
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Robin Thomas, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Oriental Encounters in the Occident: Architecture of the Ottoman Empire and British India in the 1893 Columbian Exposition​
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Ketty Iannantuono, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Competitive forms of anchoring the past at world's fairs: the Greek pavilion at the 1911 International Exhibition of Art
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2:00pm EDT: Session 3: Beyond Borders: Architectural Utopias, Political Stages, and Paradigms of Representation
Session Chair: Guido Cimadomo, University of Málaga, Spain
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Morgan Ross, University of Oklahoma, Visions of Heaven: The 1893 World’s Fair Transportation Building as a Gateway to Paradise
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Wim Boerefijn, Independent Scholar, Fascist Italy’s Universal Exposition E.42 in Rome as A Stage for Imperialist Triumph
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Anna Gonchar, Technische Universität München, Exhibition Design as a Political Statement. State Representations at the International Press Exhibition 1928
3:30pm EDT: Session 4: Charting New Horizons: Exploring Future Frontiers - Round Table Panel Discussion
Charles Pappas, Senior Writer, Exhibitor Magazine
César Corona, CEO, ExpoMuseum.com​
James Fortuna, Historian, PhD, University of St. Andrews​
Constanza Robles, PhD candidate, Boston University
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End of Day: Social Gathering & Book Giveaway
Stay for our social hour to connect with expo colleagues and continue conversations, as well as a chance to win a copy of Flying Cars, Zombie Dogs, and Robot Overlords by Charles Pappas in our book giveaway!!!
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This symposium was made possible thanks to generous support from the College of Architecture, Planning, and Landscape Architecture at the University of Arizona and the Centre for Transformative Media Technologies at Swinburne University, Australia.