Proposed papers on the trademarking of a fixed iconic American identity both at the World’s Fair and after, especially in the 1950s. Connections to Ethnicity and Whiteness and attempts to standardize or contain American identity are especially welcome. Topics such as nationality and transnationality; unified and divided national identities; the rise of corporate sponsorship and the dissemination and exportation of American brands; the “branding” of American identity itself; global capitalism; immigration and citizenship; loyalty oaths and divided loyalties; citizenship and national “brand loyalty”; inventing normalcy via RCA’s television and early programming; cultures of containment and security; Disney and American history.; national symbolic and public statuary; and, of course, the exhibits of the World’s Fairs themselves. Moderator: Shirley Geok-lin Lim.

Email Detailed Abstracts and brief CV by Dec. 5. Contact below.