Upcoming Seminar (12/2): Selling Sex in Interwar Salonica: Prostitution, Mobility, and Urban Space

[Dimitris Antoniou]

Dear list members,    

The Stavros Niarchos Foundation Public Humanities Initiative (SNFPHI) and the University Seminar in Modern Greek at Columbia University are organizing the seminar Selling Sex in Interwar Salonica: Prostitution, Mobility, and Urban Space, which will take place on Tuesday, December 2 at 16:00. History PhD candidate Dimitris Mitsopoulos (Columbia University) will explore the history of sex work in interwar Salonica, situating it within the city’s transformation from a multiethnic imperial port into a nationalized urban center in the aftermath of the Ottoman Empire. Professor Seçil Yılmaz (University of Pennsylvania) will be the discussant. Click here to register and receive the paper and link for the seminar. See below for the full description and details. We look forward to seeing you!  

With all good wishes for a wonderful Thanksgiving,    
Dimitris

Dimitris Antoniou
Associate Research Scholar and Lecturer in Hellenic Studies,
Department of Classics
Associate Director, Stavros Niarchos Foundation Public Humanities Initiative
Columbia University

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SELLING SEX IN INTERWAR SALONICA: PROSTITUTION, MOBILITY, AND URBAN SPACE

Dimitris Mitsopoulos (Columbia University); Seçil Yılmaz (respondent, University of Pennsylvania)
Hamilton 613 and Online
02 December, 2025

16:00 - 17:30 EST

History PhD candidate Dimitris Mitsopoulos will explore the history of sex work in interwar Salonica, situating it within the city’s transformation from a multiethnic imperial port into a nationalized urban center in the aftermath of the Ottoman Empire. Drawing on police records, League of Nations reports, and press, his seminar will consider how prostitution was shaped by overlapping processes of refugee resettlement, wartime militarization, state management of venereal disease, and the restructuring of the urban space.

*Seating is limited. Registration closes at NOON on Monday, December 1st. If you do not have a Columbia ID, you will receive a QR code to access the campus. Non-CU affiliates will be swiped into Hamilton Hall between 3:45-4:00 PM.