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Europe at the Expo : the pavilions of the European Community in universal expositions
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Florence : European University Institute, 2022
EUI; HEC; PhD Thesis
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REMES, Anastasia, Europe at the Expo : the pavilions of the European Community in universal expositions, Florence : European University Institute, 2022, EUI, HEC, PhD Thesis - https://hdl.handle.net/1814/74842
Abstract
In recent decades the cultural underpinnings of the European integration process have attracted more in-depth attention as scholars have unpacked the European Community’s efforts to stimulate the process of cultural Europeanisation. My research builds on the literature underlining the importance of political symbolism in the consolidation of the Community. I argue that international exhibitions, traditionally understood as diplomatic theatres for the display of symbolic nationhood, fulfilled a similar function for the European Community. This thesis is the first comprehensive study of an important platform for the discursive legitimation of the Community: namely, the European Community’s pavilions in Universal Expositions. More specifically, it examines Europe’s contributions to the Expos in Brussels in 1958, Montreal in 1967, Seville in 1992 and Shanghai in 2010. This thesis is based on research carried out in over a dozen archives in Europe and Canada, as well as oral history interviews with the European officials, architects and designers involved in developing the pavilions and curating the exhibitions. The chapters dealing with the four case studies analyse the preparations that preceded the Expos, and the products of these negotiations. I reveal that the exhibitions included narratives on the Community as both a modernising force in Europe and a protector and promoter of European culture. Furthermore, I illustrate how the Community pavilions argued for a stronger global position for Europe, whilst spreading an image of the Community’s positive influence throughout the world. I use a visual methodology which leans heavily on the analysis of sources such as photographs of the pavilions and exhibition displays, videos and brochures. By focusing on the discursive legitimation strategies in the Community’s Expo participation, this thesis sheds new light on the history of European cultural policy and public diplomacy.
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Defence date: 15 July 2022
Examining Board: Prof. Dr. Federico Romero (European University Institute); Prof. Dr. Corinna Unger (European University Institute); Prof. Dr. Alexander C.T. Geppert (New York University); Prof. Dr. Kiran Klaus Patel (Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich)
Examining Board: Prof. Dr. Federico Romero (European University Institute); Prof. Dr. Corinna Unger (European University Institute); Prof. Dr. Alexander C.T. Geppert (New York University); Prof. Dr. Kiran Klaus Patel (Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich)
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Chapter 1 ‘The ECSC Pavilion at Expo 58 in Brussels : Promoting coal, steel and a European soul' of the PhD thesis draws upon an earlier version published as chapter 'Exhibiting European integration at Expo 58 : the European Coal and Steel Community Pavilion' (2021) in the book ‘World fairs and the global moulding of national identities : international exhibitions as cultural platforms, 1851–1958’
Chapter 2 ‘The European Community at Expo 67 in Montreal : a multifaceted diamond' of the PhD thesis draws upon an earlier version published as chapter ''A multifaceted diamond’ out of steel : exhibiting the European Communities at Expo 67' (2019) in the book ‘Image of a nation : country branding at World Expos’
Chapter 2 ‘The European Community at Expo 67 in Montreal : a multifaceted diamond' of the PhD thesis draws upon an earlier version published as chapter ''A multifaceted diamond’ out of steel : exhibiting the European Communities at Expo 67' (2019) in the book ‘Image of a nation : country branding at World Expos’