World Exhibitions and Educational Nation-Building. French Teacher Delegations to Paris in 1867

Nineteenth century world exhibitions served as meta-media for the circulation of educational knowledge. Focusing on the Exposition universelle in Paris in 1867, this article discusses how the French Ministry of Public Instruction made use of the exhibition in order to communicate with its subordinate personnel. Primary teachers from all over France were invited to Paris. Pedagogical lectures were held. As evidenced by their reports, teachers brought new ideas back to their rural workplaces. The exhibition thereby facilitated the standardisation of a national educational space which in itself was part of the larger process of the educationalisation of the world.