Leading research areas - Humanities, Law, And Social Sciences
Bilingualism and second language acquisition
Second language acquisition research focuses on people’s abilities at different ages and in different situations to learn languages other than their ‘mother tongue’, which increases our understanding of the language problems faced by immigrants, as well as many other issues. A nationally-leading research programme on ‘High-level Proficiency in Second Language Use’ has received substantial long-term funding support from the Bank of Sweden Tercentenary Foundation (Riksbankens Jubileumsfond).
Philosophy and linguistics
Research in philosophy and linguistics extends our knowledge of how we express ourselves and how we understand one another. Philosophy tackles essential questions about language and thought, while linguistics deals with empirical questions such as the sound systems of languages and contrastive linguistics. At Stockholm University there are eighteen full professors in philosophy and linguistics.
Economic, health and social inequality
A number of institutes linked to Stockholm University are researching the motivation and consequences of social inequalites, including the investigation of individual, political, and institutional aspects of these issues. Through the utilisation of unique databases, such research is able to investigate the patterning of social, economic and health inequalities, including, for example, how differences in life expectancy are influenced by education or income.
Transnational anthropology
Current patterns of globalisation bring with them unprecedented movements of people, information, ideas, and cultural products across national boundaries. The field of transnational anthropology studies how cultural movements and human relations express themselves in different parts of the world. This in turn helps illuminate such phenomena as migration, international organisations, and the Internet, in terms of their global impact and the processes of globalisation worldwide.
Commercial law, intellectual property law and law and informatics
Research on business law and insurance law at Stockholm University has made important contributions to the development of the Swedish legal system. In addition, research on intellectual property law, including copyright and patents, and informatics, dealing with the computerised storage and transmission of information, is another area of major importance.
Archaeology and history
With fourteen full professors active in these areas as well as a unique archaeological laboratory, Stockholm University provides an outstanding milieu for research on people’s living conditions and social history from ancient times to the present. Research in such areas utilises not only texts but also artefacts and other materials bequeathed from the past.
Cinema studies
Research on cinema studies at Stockholm University has a strong international profile. It is focused on motion pictures in various forms, the contexts they inhabit, and the mechanisms that influence our changing media habits. Through collaboration with the Swedish Film Institute and the Bergman Archive, which was lauded by UNESCO for contributing to ‘the memory of the world’, researchers at Stockholm University have access to unique archive material of immense international interest.
Political economics
Stockholm University has a number of expert researchers working in this field, with research related to the similarities and differences between the political economies of different eras and different societies. Many researchers have links with Stockholm’s renowned Institute for International Economic Studies, which has an established track record in front-line research both in Sweden and internationally.
Cognitive and social aspects of aging
When we age, our memories and ability to learn are affected. At Stockholm University, researchers are conducting internationally outstanding research on the causes and effects of such processes through large-scale investigations of large populations. One major aim of such studies is to identify the early signs of dementia, as well as identifying those social conditions that might protect or endanger the vitality of the elderly.
