ELISTOKAINO

Research Unit Coordinator: Christos Hadziiossif
Research Group: Apostolos Delis, Christos Tsakas.

The Research Unit 4 with subject Innovation in the Greek and Mediterranean Shipbuilding Technology, 19^th-20^th centuries, is a part of the Project "ELISTOKAINO": the History of Innovation in Greece, 19th-20th centuries, which is part of the strategic plan for development of the Institute for Mediterranean Studies (IMS)/ Foundation for Research and Technology, Hellas (FORTH). The project aims to a multidisciplinary contribution in the understanding of the issue of innovation in Greece through the study of different aspects of Greek experience. Equally important is to highlight and analyze some key case studies from the history of mentalities, science, economy and art as well as the social preconditions of success or failure of the business and technological innovations in Greece.

Objectives

Shipping was diachronically an extremely important economic activity for the Greeks, which affected their cultural identity up to our days. Therefore, the innovative actions in shipping and shipbuilding are important indices of the attitude of the Greek society towards innovation. Despite the continuity of the shipping activities, the strongly interrelated shipbuilding industry is characterized by discontinuities and significant changes to its economic organization, applied technologies and the bearers of innovations (shipwrights, engineers, businessmen). Thus, the research is about the wider issue of the acquiring and transfer of skills in the production. The Research Unit will study diachronically changes and discontinuities in Greek shipbuilding within the wider Mediterranean context from the pre-1821 period up to 1970. It will be based on bibliography and archival sources from Hydra, Spetses, Hermoupolis and Athens as well as from Southern France, Genoa and Livorno.