Jackman Humanities Institute - Scholars in Residence - 2025

Mapping the Leftist-Feminist YWCA in China, 1927 to the 1950s

Supervisor: Prof. Anup Grewal

The Shanghai Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) Industrial Department was an important institution of leftwing feminist and labour organizing from the late 1920s into the early years of the socialist People’s Republic of China. Student RAs will curate archival material from World YWCA, the journal Green Year, and related print media. Researchers will develop an analysis of the activities of the Industrial Department, the changing discourses around women’s and labour rights, and interactions with the broader leftist, nationalist and anti-imperialist movements of this period. Fluency in Chinese will be a strong asset. 

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