Omaha, Nebraska's Costly Signaling at the Trans- Mississippi and International Exposition of 1898
Year: 2012
Type: article
Abstract: At the close of the nineteenth-century, Omaha, Nebraska hosted the Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition of 1898. Despite financial depression, drought, and war, the city chose to allocate its limited financial, time, and energy resources to the Exposition effort with no guarantee of success and little potential for profit. This thesis aims to make sense of this seemingly wasteful or irrational event by exploring its possible function as a costly social signal of Omaha’s qualities to potential residents, businesses, and city partners. Utilizing data from historical, geophysical, and demographic resources, this thesis assesses the Exposition as a costly signal and the degree to which this signal proved successful. In doing so, a greater understanding of the function of world’s fairs in general, and the potential of costly signaling in historical archaeology research will be determined. Adviser: LuAnn Wandsnider
Source: Lincoln (University of Nebraska)
Author: Courtney L.C. Ziska
Language: English
Topic: Sport and Mega-Event Impacts
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2128090177