# Event Details

- **Event Name**: Roland Betancourt - "Disneyland and the Rise of Automation"
- **Event Start and End Date**: Tue, 18 Aug, 2026 at 04:00 pm – Tue, 18 Aug, 2026 at 05:00 pm
- **Event Description**: Roland Betancourt will discuss "Disneyland and the Rise of Automation: How Technology Created the Happiest Place on Earth."  A Q&A and signing will follow the discussion.

At the Co-op.

About the book: When Disneyland opened to the public in 1955, it demystified the hidden world of factory automation through its extraordinary new attractions. In this fascinating book, Roland Betancourt tells the story of how the visionary engineers and designers at Disney transformed the technologies of the postwar assembly line into an entertainment experience unlike anything the world had ever seen.

"Disneyland and the Rise of Automation" traces the origins and evolution of these technical innovations during the theme park's first three decades in operation, exploring how engineers reimagined the systems and machines of industrial manufacturing and the military. The magnetic tape used to test ballistic missiles was repurposed to animate the talking macaws in the Enchanted Tiki Room. Programmable Logic Controllers, widely used on automotive assembly lines, brought to life the spectacular rides of the Matterhorn Bobsleds and Space Mountain. Betancourt shows how these and other attractions helped to allay fears about automation and job displacement in 1950s America. Along the way, he situates Disneyland's remarkable creations within a broader history of the technologies that increasingly order and construct the world around us, from the Fordist factory to artificial intelligence.

Essential reading for anyone interested in engineering, corporate histories, or popular culture, "Disneyland and the Rise of Automation" invites us to consider how technology and the logic of automation become integrated into our lives through entertainment.

About the author: Roland Betancourt is Chancellor’s Professor at the University of California, Irvine. He is currently the Andrew W. Mellon Professor at the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts at the National Gallery of Art. A 2023 Guggenheim Fellow, he has published books on Byzantine visual culture, gender, and sexuality, including the prize-winning Byzantine Intersectionality.

About the interlocutor: To be determined.
- **Event URL**: https://allevents.in/chicago/roland-betancourt-disneyland-and-the-rise-of-automation/200030573406311
- **Event Categories**: Art, literary-art
- **Interested Audience**: 
  - total_interested_count: 0

## Ticket Details


## Event venue details

- **city**: Chicago
- **state**: IL
- **country**: United States
- **location**: 5751 S Woodlawn Ave, Chicago, IL, United States, Illinois 60637
- **lat**: 41.7902
- **long**: -87.59611
- **full address**: 5751 S Woodlawn Ave, Chicago, IL, United States, Illinois 60637

## Event gallery

- **Alt text**: Roland Betancourt - "Disneyland and the Rise of Automation"
  - **Image URL**: https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events3/banners/7c46f80b46a44cebfc2f716901a4160129018ae3081dffe080464b4a8449d6d2-rimg-w1000-h666-dcf8f8e8-gmir?v=1786980251

## FAQs

- **Q**: When and where is Roland Betancourt - "Disneyland and the Rise of Automation" being held?
  - **A:** Roland Betancourt - "Disneyland and the Rise of Automation" takes place on Tue, 18 Aug, 2026 at 04:00 pm to Tue, 18 Aug, 2026 at 05:00 pm at 5751 S Woodlawn Ave, Chicago, IL, United States, Illinois 60637.
- **Q**: Who is organizing Roland Betancourt - "Disneyland and the Rise of Automation"?
  - **A:** Roland Betancourt - "Disneyland and the Rise of Automation" is organized by The Seminary Co-op Bookstores.

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