Theodore Talk — When the World Came to Chicago: The World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893

Register for this presentation at https://tinyurl.com/2rz27nfa

In 2003, Eric Larson’s book, The Devil in the White City, sparked widespread popular interest in the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, 1890s Chicago, and world’s fairs, generally. While readers were enthralled with the grisly details of the murderous H.H. Holmes, the world’s fair was more than just a setting for a true crime tale (and was not, in fact, the location of the murders); it was an important moment in Chicago’s history that set a trend for subsequent fairs for decades.

 In this lavishly illustrated talk, Dr. Nicholas McCormack will examine a brief history of world’s fairs and the context for Chicago playing host to the first one in the United States. You’ll learn how the fair was designed, what its intended purpose was, and its impact on Chicago and the future of world’s fairs, especially Chicago’s second world’s fair in 1933-34. There is a vibrant scholarship — a historiography — of world’s fairs that highlights serious issues such as colonialism, classism, and racism, which many popular tellings of the Columbian Exposition and other world’s fairs either ignore or distort. This talk will engage with those debates and issues as well.

Register for this presentation here.
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Theodore Talks take place on Zoom the fourth Sunday of each month at 2:30 p.m. (CT).

 Remember, Theodore Talks are always offered FREE in an effort to provide more value for your membership.

Questions? For more information, contact Brad Lucht.