About us

The department currently conducts education and research in the Arabic, Chinese, Japanese and Korean languages, as well as area studies within the two main areas: Asian Languages and Cultures and Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures.

History

The Department of Oriental Languages was established at Stockholm University during the 1960s, with research and education in Asian and Middle Eastern languages and cultures, mainly Arabic, Chinese, Japanese and Korean.

During the long history of the department, research and education have also been practised in Indology and courses have been given in the Turkish, Hebrew and Persian languages – among others. The name of the department – Oriental Languages – was changed in 2022 to its current name: Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies.

For a period of time, there was also a center for Pacific Asian Studies. Originally, the department was divided into separate sections for these different subjects but with some mutual autonomy.

History of the subjects at the department

Chinese Language and Culture

Japanese Language and Culture

Korean Language and Culture

Middle Eastern Language and Culture

Building

The department moved into its present buildings, House F in Södra husen at campus Frescati in 2022.

The Association for Oriental Studies

The Association for Oriental Studies (Föreningen för Orientaliska Studier) was formed in 1968 by students and teachers at the Department of Oriental Languages at Stockholm University.

The foremost activity of the Association today is the publication of the magazine, Orientaliska Studier, but also other publications. Occasionally seminars are arranged linked to current topics in our field and to our publications.

The first issue of Orientaliska Studier was published in 1969 and the 100th issue coincided with the 30th anniversary of the founding of the magazine in 1999.

The Association for Oriental Studies