Swedish sinology and cross-disciplinary research cooperation: insights into transcultural genre concepts and genre grids in literature

Abstract

In Sweden since the 1990s, partly as a response to rapid globalization and cultural exchange, there has been increased interest in cross-disciplinary research cooperation within the Humanities and Social Sciences. Cross-disciplinary research programs also have become increasingly important for Swedish sinologists, especially scholars within the field of Chinese literature, both ancient and modern literature. In this article, I will discuss one of the more influential research programs: Literature and Literary History in Global Contexts (1999–2006), which was financed by the Swedish Research Council. The program enrolled more than 20 scholars from the fields of Oriental Studies (including four sinologists), African Studies and Literature at several Swedish universities. These scholars did comparative research on the notions of literature and genre across times and cultures, and on interactions between literary cultures in the modern world. I will reflect upon the research results on genre theories, and discuss some of my insights gained on transcultural genre concepts and genre grids as a participant in the group of scholars working with genres with a comparative approach within this program. Finally, I will briefly introduce some current cross-disciplinary programs and publications involving Swedish sinologists that have been inspired by this experience of working in large, cross-disciplinary research programs on comparative literature in Sweden, such as the program Cosmopolitan and Vernacular Dynamics in World Literatures (2016–2020).