A ‘civilized’ commerce: gender, ‘race’, and empire at the 1893 Chicago Exposition

2002/04/01 by Mona Domosh · 1 voice · 1 citation
Arts and Humanities · Business, Management and Accounting · #American History and Culture #Fashion and Cultural Textiles #Historical Studies and Socio-cultural Analysis

paper · doi:10.1191/1474474002eu242oa

openalex publication_date 2002/04/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28

Abstract

The 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition held in Chicago represents a turning point in American history, a point when the United States moved from an era of nation-building to one of empire-building. This paper examines the links between these eras through an analysis of the ideologies that underpinned two types of exhibits at the Exposition - depictions of Native-Americans, and commercial displays of American products sold overseas. I argue that the turn-of-the-century discourse of civilization that helped legitimize American economic imperialism was formulated from within, and built upon, the discursive construction of Anglo-American/Native-American relationships.

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Discussions

• Probably not helpful because it's about the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, but: Domosh, Mona. “A ‘Civilized’ Commerce: Gender, ‘Race’, and Empire at the 1893 Chicago Exposition.” Cultural Geographies 9, [bsky, 0 points, 0 comments]