Anthropology goes to the fair : the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition Cover Image

Book

Anthropology goes to the fair : the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition / Nancy J. Parezo and Don D. Fowler.

Parezo, Nancy J. (Author). Fowler, Don D., 1936- (Added Author).

Summary:

As scientists claiming specialized knowledge about indigenous peoples, especially American Indians, anthropologists used expositions to promote their quest for professional status and authority. Anthropology Goes to the Fair takes readers through the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition to see how anthropology, as conceptualized by W J McGee, the first president of the American Anthropological Association, showcased itself through programs, static displays, and living exhibits for millions of people "to show each half of the world how the other half lives." More than two thousand Native peoples negotiated and portrayed their own agendas on this world stage. The reader will see how anthropology itself was changed in the process.

Record details

ISBN: 9780803237599 (cloth : alk. paper)
ISBN: 0803237596 (cloth : alk. paper)
Physical Description: xiii, 536 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm.
Publisher: Lincoln : University of Nebraska Press, c2007.

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:

Includes bibliographical references (p. 469-510) and index.

Formatted Contents Note:

Organizing the Louisiana Purchase Exposition -- WJ McGee and the science of man -- Planning the anthropology department and model Indian school -- Assembling the "races of mankind" -- Presenting worthy Indians -- The Model Indian School -- The Philippine Reservation -- The anthropology villages -- The polyglot pike -- Being a living exhibit -- In the anthropology building -- Anthropological performances -- Celebrating the fair and going home -- The experiences of an exposition.