Sinology

Sinology was originally a philological discipline, but has in recent times expanded to cover China-related research in the humanities and social sciences. During the past few decades Sinology has come under influence of area studies, China studies, but the characteristic trait of Sinology is that research is mainly based on materials written in Chinese. At Uppsala University, research is conducted in a number of areas:

• Linguistic studies include Chinese grammatical constructions, and the role of loanwords in shaping the modern language. China's ethnic minorities and minority languages in China, and historical sociolinguistics along the Silk Road.
• Literary studies in Sinology cover classical and modern Chinese literature in a global context. Particular attention is paid to female poets from different dynasties, literary and genre theories, and the development of modern fiction.
• The social science research addresses the image of China in 18th-century Sweden, issues of press freedom, gender and labor market questions, and Chinese media.
• As regards language education, research focuses on Swedes learning Chinese, phonetic challenges, grammar, teacher trainee education in Chinese, and the use of modern methods and teaching materials.