Workshop titled "Greeks in 1930s Shanghai: Life and Community in a City of Transformation."

Organized by Dr. Yorgos Moraitis and Prof. Gelina Harlaftis
Place: IMS-FORTH, Rethymnon, Crete
Date: 6 May 2025

This workshop explores the intricate social, economic, and cultural networks that shaped Shanghai and its transnational connections in the early 20th century. Against the backdrop of a rapidly modernizing and politically unstable China, migrant communities, social movements, and entrepreneurial elites navigated shifting power structures and cultural transformations. 

Greek collectives in China emerged as a means of protection and solidarity in the absence of diplomatic representation, forming associations that provided support and a sense of belonging. At the same time, merchant elites from Zhejiang leveraged commerce, political engagement, and strategic networking to ascend from modest beginnings to influential positions in Shanghai society. Their trajectories illustrate how business, politics, and social mobility were deeply intertwined in the city’s public sphere. Parallel to these social shifts, Shanghai’s cosmopolitan culture fostered a new generation of independent women who redefined modern femininity, challenging traditional norms through literature, film, and social activism—though many also faced marginalization and hardship. 

By examining migration, gender dynamics, and economic power, this workshop highlights the ways individuals and communities shaped—and were shaped by—the evolving urban and geopolitical landscape of Shanghai and beyond.

Chair:

Dr Yorgos Moraitis, University of Crete & IMS-FORTH


Speakers:

Alexis Methodios, Ph.D. student, Ionian university, "Greek communities in China 1900-1950"
Dr. Aglaia De Angeli, Senior Lecturer in Chinese Modern History, Queen’s University Belfast, "Shanghai flappers: Society and customs"
Prof. Christian Henriot, Professor of modern Chinese history, Aix-Marseille University,  “Commerce, Politics, and Social Ascent: The Making of Merchant Power in Republican Shanghai” 
Professor Gelina Harlaftis, University of Crete & IMS-FORTH, “Greek Shipping in the Chinese ports, 20th century”
Simon Ward, Director, URSA Shipbrokers & Guest Lecturer, Dept of Maritime Studies, University of Piraeus,“Brief history of Chinese shipbuilding in the 21st century, from a Greek shipowners’ perspective”