Le traitement de l’exposition universelle de Paris 1900 dans La Presse et La Patrie

This M.A thesis studies the Paris 1900 World’s Fair through the analysis of newspaper articles in La Presse and La Patrie. In doing so, this research situates itself at the crossroads of numerous historiographical fields. In the second half of the 19th century, both the press and the World’s Fair undergo significant changes. These changes affects newspapers in the way they look and are printed, but also in their content. For the World’s Fair, they evolve and culminate in the celebration of the 19th century in Paris in 1900. The changes affecting the press and the World’s Fair beg questions such as : How is the press talking about the presence of Quebec and French Canada at the Fair? What place do the Others take in the press discourse regarding the Fair? Is there a difference between the discourse surrounding the European nations, and those that are viewed as « Oriental » nations at the Fair? Firstly the newspaper articles that make up our body of sources are separated into four different categories: advertising, political articles, entertainment articles and chronicles. This analysis, though not exhaustive, will examine the significance that the Paris 1900 Wold’s Fair had in the La Presse and La Patrie newspapers. Secondly, the discursive analysis of these articles helps us understand the way Canada presents itself at the Fair. The press reveals how the Canadian exhibits were displayed, and consequently how the country tried to present itself on the international stage. The newspaper’s discourse also illustrates Canada’s will to appear on the same level as other euroamerican « civilized » nations, such as France, Germany or even the United- States, both culturally and economically. Also, the newspaper exposes how Canada perceived the Occident and it’s racialized view of other races. The later are often exhibited during the Fair in « human spectacles » that occasionally take place throughout the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. Canada’s presentation of itself at the World’s Fair and the broad strokes of Canada’s ideals at the time, as shown through the newspaper articles, demonstrates unequal racial power relationships stemming from the justification of Occident’s colonial domination grounded in a European scientific racialism.

Accepted: 2023-10-25T18:42:13Z