Natalie Pickens | 2026 I.S. Symposium
狈补尘别:听Natalie Pickens
Title: I Have Seen the Future: 黑料社or Memories from World’s Fairs of the Atomic Era
惭补箩辞谤:听Anthropology
惭颈苍辞谤蝉:听French; Philosophy
础诲惫颈蝉辞谤:听Anne Nurse
From it鈥檚 a small world to conspiracy theories and a serial killer to the ice cream cone, there is very little in the modern day that is not related to the World鈥檚 Fair in one way or another. On top of the new technologies and cultural showcases, the Fairs are notable for attracting visitors from all around the world, and act as a backdrop for many cherished memories. Even as the World鈥檚 Fairs begin to disappear from our cultural zeitgeist, there is no shortage of passionate fans, archivists, historians, and former fairgoers sharing their thoughts and photos.
This I.S. examines visitor memories from the 1962 Seattle World鈥檚 Fair and 1964-1965 New York World鈥檚 Fair. I conducted a literature review, identifying themes of Futurism, Nationalism, 鈥淗umans as Animals,鈥 and Memory. My theory dives into Cultural Performance, Presentation of the Self, Imperialist Nostalgia, and Episodic versus Semantic memories. I found that memories of the World鈥檚 Fairs are largely episodic, symbolizing that these were events that deeply resonated with visitors in the moment, and 60 years later.
Posted in Symposium 2026 on May 1, 2026.
