This research project investigates the interactive poetics and cultural implications of the innovative PUBLIC INTERACTIVES that were installed at various pavilions at the Shanghai World Expo held in 2010.

Research materials include 40-hours of video documentation of the design and use of interactive experiences including: 1) large-scaled screenic/cinematic presentations (including 2-D, 3-D, and 4-D immersive experiences); 2) large-scale animations (moving paintings, architectural projections); 3) crowd-based interactives; 4) individualized interactives, 5) large scale responsive environments, and 6) individually customized mass interactives.

Output of this research project will take the form of a new mode of digital scholarship that includes a print-based journal article that is augmented with edited video clips of interactives-in-use.  The article, titled “The Cultural Work of Public Interactives: The Future at Hand at the Shanghai World Expo,” discusses how the Expo interactive exhibits functioned as “technologies of persuasion” to circulate narratives about the technological future and to engage participants in the creation of identities as national as well as global citizens.  The scholarly argument will thus be expressed in two media: in the text of the article and embedded video that enables readers to view the interactives in action.