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LECTURES
SCENE-SETTER
LECTURES
A HUNDRED YEARS OF SHANGHAI’S EXPAT HISTORY IN A HUNDRED
MINUTES (OR LESS)
 Tess'
talk, as the title implies, is a zip
through the history of the Western presence in Shanghai, from 1842
to 1949. Early on Shanghai became a city of Western emigrants, and
Tess gives a short anecdotal history of each wave of
foreigners who came to Shanghai, explains their contributions to
the growth of the city, and what they left behind for posterity.
Reviewers say: “She is lively, engaging, often irreverent, and
leaves her audience gasping for breath after her lively romp
through a century of Shanghai's colorful history.” (This can be
followed by a walking tour of several varied
locations. Contact Tess by e-mail
here).
A HUNDRED YEARS OF SHANGHAI’S JEWISH HISTORY
IN A HUNDRED MINUTES (OR LESS)
 It
also follows Shanghai’s Western emigrants in
chronological
order, but focuses on the Jewish presence. Her narrative starts
with the Sephardic businessmen of the 19th century, moves through
the 1933-1941 inflow into Shanghai of Jewish refugees from Nazi
Europe, and ends in 1950 when most of the Jewish refugees had
again traveled on to other countries. Her talk is lively,
anecdotal, and includes extensive information on the 1943-45
Japanese-created “Designated Area for Stateless Refugees” – better
known as the Jewish Ghetto.
THE GOOD OLD DAYS IN A "NEW" SHANGHAI
Tess
tells what it was like to live in a city that had just emerged
from a chaotic decade: an overcrowded and drab cityscape of no
cars, no luxuries, of rationing and restraint, but one with its
old Western architecture intact -- and absolutely wonderful.
Expanded by readings from her recent memoir, PERMANENTLY TEMPORARY
- From Berlin to Shanghai in Half a Century, Tess regales her
listeners with tales of "baseball-bat" chickens and
Snickers-eating rats, and other stories, both funny and sad, from
her Shanghai sojourn from 1981 to the present.
 FOR ART DECO FANS
Tess also has a Powerpoint presentation, preceded by a brief
introductory lecture on Shanghai’s expat history, entitled
SHANGHAI ART DECO. These are images from Tess's and Deke’s latest
joint book
by the same title, and the presentation received rave reviews at
the World Congress of Art Deco in Melbourne ten years ago (and
subsequently at Art Deco Societies in Seattle, Chicago and New
York City).
TOURS
Tess plans to return to Shanghai every spring for the International Literary Festival
and will again be leading some tours. |
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