"From Displaying to Understanding Human Diversity. Anthropological Knowledge Production and the Professionalization of Anthropology in Late Nineteenth-Century France"

This chapter has explored how anthropological expositions and fairs were closely intertwined with the development of anthropological knowledge. European exhibitions served as experimental spaces for both analysis and cross-cultural contact, but also revealed the limitations of such encounters. By the late nineteenth century, there was a growing recognition—especially in France—that more thoughtful and refined methodologies were needed. Living ethnic displays at major exhibitions did stimulate anthropological inquiry, yet often did so by bringing non-European populations to imperial centers for observation. Nevertheless, moments of critique and self-reflection emerged among both observers and practitioners, hinting at a shift from centripetal (inward) to centrifugal (outward) research approaches. From the 1880s, French anthropologists increasingly questioned whether exhibitions could truly capture the full cultural, psychological, and emotional realities of those on display. This awareness signaled the need for a distinct ‘cultural’ anthropology and reflected a broader move away from ‘armchair’ scholarship towards field-based observation. Still, the connection between anthropological knowledge and ethnic exhibitions persisted, as shown by events in France and Italy into the twentieth century, which continued to shape discourses of imperial domination and racial difference. Scientific paradigm shifts, as this history shows, are rarely linear or straightforward.