Crystal Palaces, Crystal Balls, and Crystal-Clear Illusions of Progress: from World's Fair to the World Wide Web

Robert Rydell is Professor of History and Director of the Montana Humanities Institute at Montana State University. He has written books that examine the power of the world's fairs to define the modern world, especially to lend legitimacy to America's growing imperial ambitions after the Civil War. Rydell demonstrates ways that international exhibitions reveal intersections between the cultural politics of race, class and gender and afford important insights into the complexities of globalisation.