Since the Crystal Palace Exposition of 1851, international expositions have been recognized by historians and enthusiasts alike as sites of popular entertainment and commercial opportunity. Yet, as an emergent body of scholarly literature has indicated, these international fora also served as sites of profound diplomatic exchange and cultural expression that often led to lasting geopolitical consequences.

To better understand the role of diplomacy at the international expositions of the early twentieth century, this panel will examine three lesser-known cases and draw our attention to three different parts of the world. From familiar principal diplomats or designers to lower-level politicians or protestors, this panel explores the contributions of a range of state actors, representatives, or subjects of locations often overlooked, including Chile, the United States, and Mali. This panel deploys a variety of methodological approaches while weighing the success of instances of local assertion of cultural or national identity against the hegemonic authority of an outside power. While acknowledging recent historiographic developments, this panel will also showcase an eclectic blend of primary source materials that give voice to marginalized populations and documents the struggle to maintain, or in some cases even construct, a sense of national identity. Beyond contemporary press analysis and the exploration of ego documents such as diaries of exposition organizers, statesmen, and guests, our panelists will consider diplomatic and personal correspondence, newsreel footage, and elements of material culture that range from paintings and statuary to buildings and feature films.

James Fortuna’s paper examines the anti-Nazi sentiment that came to define the first several weeks of the 1939 New York World’s Fair and considers the ways in which popular and official support for the Czechoslovakian contribution to the exposition denied Nazi Germany’s claims of European dominance. Constanza Robles Sepúlveda’s paper, meanwhile, unpacks the visual strategies of soft power on display at an exposition held during a moment of intense competition between Spain and the United States at the turn of the century. For its part, Peter Clericuzio’s paper argues that in highlighting the architectural production of the colonized, international expositions such as the 1931 Colonial Exposition in Paris actually laid the foundations for postcolonial nation-building in West Africa by identifying key elements of regional cultural heritage.

This panel reveals that the international expositions held in the first half of the twentieth century did more than distract the masses at times of economic depression or conflict. On the contrary, the case studies presented here make clear that by lending agency to designers, diplomats, and everyday people, these events had the potential to serve as rallying points for those wishing to mediate the battle for influence between ruler and subject, creator and country. In so doing, this panel contributes a new understanding of the role of diplomacy at international expositions and demonstrates the significance of incorporating lesser-known case studies into our analysis of twentieth-century geopolitics. By rigorously limiting the speaking time of our three panelists and commentator, we anticipate having ample time for robust discussion and audience participation.