Research

At the four departments of the AOI, research is carried out on the languages, literatures, religions and philosophies, the history, society, politics and economics of China, India, the Islamic world and Japan in the past and present. Our research employs methods and theories from cultural studies as well as from the social sciences. All research is based on expertise in the original languages, which allows the philological study of original texts, fieldwork studies in contemporary contexts, as well as direct access to and participation in academic debates taking place in Asia and the Orient. Gender Studies in Zurich has a decidedly extra-European focus and, as a systematic discipline, helps to establish transversal connections between the key areas of research in the Institute’s departments.