Section XIII Chapter 8 288- 307 Summary and Analysis

The only essay in this section is titled "A Theory of Expositions". Eco begins this essay by discussing the qualities of the World's Fair or Expositions. He first suggests that they act as a form of inventory cataloging the various structures, furniture, art, home décor, etc. In a certain sense, expositions are like a display of all of the creations of mankind shown one last time before the end of days.

The next quality suggested is that expositions are like a collection of goods. In this sense, the items are elevated to the level of art or curiosity. They are no longer simply goods with an exchange value. The witnessing of these goods takes on an almost museum like quality, similar to the writings of Eco in "Travels in Hyper Reality".

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