
Marina Svensson
Professor

I studied Chinese, Asian studies, history and other topics at Lund University, where I also received my Ph.D. in Chinese in 1996. I am since 2014 Professor of Modern China Studies and since October 2016 the director of the Centre. I am currently also responsible for the Ph.D. programme.
My research is interdisciplinary in character and focuses on a range of different topics related to contemporary Chinese society.
- Human rights
- Cultural heritage
- Journalism and media
- China’s digital society
- Documentary film and photography
- Digital ethnography
Current research
One of my current research interests concerns the role of photography and documentary films in China. I analyse the role and development of photography and documentary film in Chinese society and its political constraints. I address topics such cultural and identity politics, civic engagement and activism, documentation of pressing social issues, and different platforms and institutions involved in photography and documentary film such as art institutions, photo and film festivals. I have organised several documentary film festivals that involves other countries in the region, including Youth in Asia, Urban Developments in Asia, and Memories and Trauma in Asia and Activism and Documentary Film in Asia. I have also been involved in organising lectures and photo exhibitions.
Another research interest concerns challenges to academic freedom in China and the implications this has for education and research on China.
Publications
Displaying of publications. Sorted by year, then title.
Walking in the historic neighbourhoods of Beijing : walking as an embodied encounter with heritage and urban developments
Marina Svensson
(2021) International Journal of Heritage Studies, 27 p.792-805
Journal article“Crazy Jack” and the “Gay CEO” : Visions, Entrepreneurship, and the Chinese State in the New Digital Economy
Marina Svensson
(2021) Journal of Current Chinese Affairs, 50 p.63-85
Journal articleOf Visions and Visionaries : Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in China
Marina Svensson, Barbara Schulte
(2021) Journal of Current Chinese Affairs, 50 p.3-11
Journal articleStyrd forskning i Kina hotar akademisk frihet globalt
Marina Svensson
(2021) Utrikesmagasinet
Journal articleLocal Voices and New Narratives in Xinye Village : The Economy of Nostalgia and Heritage
Marina Svensson
(2020) The Heritage Turn in China : The Reinvention, Dissemination and Consumption of Heritage
Book chapterChinese universities : restrictions on academic freedom and global implications
Marina Svensson
(2020) China : Shifting Power and Human Rights Diplomacy , p.119-127
Book chapterAcademic freedom is under threat around the world – here’s how to defend it
Eva Pils, Marina Svensson
(2019) The Conversation
Journal articleAcademic Freedom : universities must take a stance or risk becoming complicit with Chinese government interference
Marina Svensson, Eva Pils
(2019) The Conversation
Journal articleAlltför dåliga kunskaper om asiatiska samhället i Sverige
Andreas Johansson, Marina Svensson, Björn Jerdén, Henrik Chetan Aspengren
(2019) Dagens nyheter (DN debatt)
Newspaper articleHuman Rights and the Internet in China: New Frontiers and Challenges
Marina Svensson
(2019) Handbook on Human Rights in China
Book chapterPlattformssamhället i Kina : ett övervakningssamhälle i ett eget ekosystem
Marina Svensson
(2019) Plattformssamhället : den digitala utvecklingens politik, innovation och reglering , p.230-250
Book chapterChinese New Year through a Photo App : A Photo Exhibition
(2019)
ExhibitionChinese heritage in the making : Experiences, negotiations and contestations
(2018) Asian Heritages
BookMapping the Chinese Heritage Regime: Ruptures, Governmentality, and Agency
Marina Svensson, Christina Maags
(2018) Asian Heritages , p.11-38
Book chapterHeritage 2.0: Maintaining Affective Engagements with the Local Heritage in Taishun
Marina Svensson
(2018) Asian Heritages , p.269-292
Book chapterDOCUMENTING THE EARTHQUAKE
Marina Svensson
(2018) Made in China: A Quarterly on Chinese Labour, Civil Society, and Rights, 3 p.76-79
Journal articlePhoto Sharing on Kuaipai kuaipai : Visions, affordances, individual uses and community building
Marina Svensson
(2018)
Conference paper: abstractChallenges for China Research and State of the Field in Europe : Lessons for Sweden
Marina Svensson
(2018)
OtherVisualizing labour and labourscapes in China : From Propaganda to Socially Engaged Photography
Marina Svensson
(2018) Made in China: A Quarterly on Chinese Labour, Civil Society, and Rights, 3 p.56-61
Journal articleRural Transformations and Urbanisation : Impressions from the Ningbo International Photography Week
Marina Svensson
(2018) Made in China: A Quarterly on Chinese Labour, Civil Society, and Rights, 3 p.68-71
Journal articleThe Networked China Researcher
Marina Svensson
(2017) Asiascape: Digital Asia, 4 p.76-102
Journal articleThe Rise and Fall of Investigative Journalism in China: Digital Opportunities and Political Challenges
Marina Svensson
(2017) Media, Culture and Society, 39 p.440-445
Journal article reviewDigitally Enabled Engagement and Witnessing: The Sichuan Earthquake on Independent Documentary film
Marina Svensson
(2017) Studies in Documentary Film, 11 p.200-216
Journal articleThe Networked China Researcher: Challenges and Possibilities in the Social Media Age
Marina Svensson
(2017) Asiascape: Digital Asia, 4 p.76-102
Journal articleThe Stability Imperative: Human Rights and Law in China
Marina Svensson
(2017) Pacific Historical Review, 86 p.582-583
ReviewShow us life and make us think: engagement, witnessing and activism in independent Chinese documentary today
Dan Edwards, Marina Svensson
(2017) Studies in Documentary Film, 11 p.161-169
Journal articleEngagement, Witnessing and Activism: Independent Chinese Documentary Filmmakers’ Different Positions, Approaches and Aesthetics
(2017) Studies in Documentary Film, 11 p.161-261
Editor for a journalMediated visions: IT entrepreneurs and internet visions in China
Marina Svensson
(2017)
Conference paper: abstractConnectivity, Engagement and Witnessing on China's Weibo
Marina Svensson
(2016) The Internet, Social Media, and a Changing China , p.49-70
Book chapterEvolving and contested cultural heritage in China: the rural heritagescape
Marina Svensson
(2016) Reconsidering Cultural Heritage in East Asia , p.31-46
Book chapterSubaltern China: Rural migrants, media, and cultural practices
Marina Svensson
(2016) Chinese Journal of Communication, 9 p.325-327
ReviewHuman Rights and the Arts: Perspectives on Global Asia
Marina Svensson
(2016) Pacific Affairs, 89 p.399-401
ReviewThe Evolving Heritagescape: Actors and Narratives in Xinye village
Marina Svensson
(2016)
Conference paper: abstractLife as Heritage: Narratives, Experiences and Mediated Performances of Transmitters of Intangible Heritage in China
Marina Svensson
(2016)
Conference paper: abstractNanluoguxiang: Imagined Heritage and Changing Communities
Marina Svensson
(2016)
Conference paper: abstractMediatization and cultural heritage: Plural voices and new platforms
Marina Svensson
(2016)
Conference paper: abstractThe Networked China Researcher: Challenges and Possibilities in the Social Media Age
Marina Svensson
(2016)
Conference paper: abstractFotografi i Kina, propaganda, samhällsdokumentation och konst
Marina Svensson
(2015) Kinarapport , p.6-9
Journal articleVoice, power and connectivity in China’s microblogosphere: Digital divides on SinaWeibo
Marina Svensson
(2015) China’s Contested Internet , p.227-256
Book chapterYu Jianrong: From Concerned Scholar to Advocate for the Marginalized
Eva Pils, Marina Svensson
(2014) Contemporary Chinese Thought, 46 p.3-16
Journal articleVoice, power and connectivity in China’s microblogosphere: Digital divides on SinaWeibo
Marina Svensson
(2014) China Information, 28 p.168-188
Journal articleGender Equality and Empowerment in China: Discourses and Experiences in a Comparative Perspective
Marina Svensson
(2014) Education, Media and Sexuality Health Services for Girls and Women: 20 Years Experience of China's Policy and Practice , p.207-235
Book chapterTechnomobility in China: Young Migrant Women and Mobile Phones
Marina Svensson
(2014) Passato e Presente
ReviewInternet in China and its Challenges for Europe: Dealing with Censorship, Competition and Collaboration
Marina Svensson
(2014) ECRAN
ReportHeritage’s Place: Heritage Narratives in City Promotional Films
Marina Svensson
(2014) Branding Chinese Mega-Cities: Policies, Practices and Positioning , p.168-179
Book chapterFrom Nonperson to Public Intellectual: The Life and Works of Yu Jianrong
Marina Svensson, Eva Pils
(2014) Contemporary Chinese Thought, 45 p.3-17
Journal articleReporting Law and Injustices: Investigative Journalists and the Legal System
Marina Svensson
(2013) Chinese Investigative Journalists’ Dreams: Agency, Autonomy, Voice , p.157-177
Book chapterAgency, Autonomy and Voice among Chinese Investigative Journalists: Rethinking the Role of Journalism
Marina Svensson, Elin Sæther, Zhi'an Zhang
(2013) Chinese Investigative Journalists’ Dreams: Agency, Autonomy, Voice , p.1-16
Book chapterGendering Investigative Journalism: Norms and Practices Inside and Outside of the Newsroom
Marina Svensson, Haiyan Wang
(2013) Chinese Investigative Journalists’ Dreams: Agency, Autonomy, Voice , p.91-110
Book chapterRepresentative Bearers of Tradition: Grassroots Preservation and Official Policies
Marina Svensson
(2013)
Conference paper: abstractFörfäder och klaner på den kinesiska landsbygden: Hot mot partiets maktmonopol eller kulturarv att förvalta?
Marina Svensson
(2012) Kinarapport , p.21-28
Journal articleSamhällsdebatt, aktivism och välgörenhet på mikrobloggar (weibo) i Kina
Marina Svensson
(2012) Kinarapport , p.31-41
Journal articlePå partiets villkor
Marina Svensson
(2012) Scoop : tidskrift för grävande journalistik , p.94-101
Journal articleMedia and civil society in China: Community building and networking among investigative journalists and beyond
Marina Svensson
(2012) China Perspectives , p.19-28
Journal articleLineages and the state: re-inventing lineages and ancestor ceremonies as cultural heritage
Marina Svensson
(2012) Organizing rural China, rural China organizing , p.157-172
Book chapterHeritage struggles and place-makings in Zhejiang province: local media, cross-regional media interactions, and media strategies from below
Marina Svensson
(2012) Mapping media in China : region, province, locality , p.193-211
Book chapterThe Performative, Sensory, and Embodied Experiences of Heritage: Spatial Changes and Heritage Construction in Rural and Urban China
Marina Svensson
(2012)
Conference paper: abstractHeritage’s place: Heritage and narratives in city promotional films and independent documentary films in Beijing and Shanghai
Marina Svensson
(2012) , p.168-179
Conference paper: abstractMaking Law Work in China
Marina Svensson
(2011) Making Law Work : Chinese Laws in Context
Book chapterCultural Heritage Protection in the People’s Republic of China: Preservation Policies, Institutions, Laws, and Enforcement in Zhejiang
Marina Svensson
(2011) Making Law Work : Chinese Laws in Context
Book chapterHuman rights in China as an Interdisciplinary Field: History, Current Debates and New Approaches
Marina Svensson
(2011) Handbook of human rights
Book chapterQuyu zhili yu jixiao
(2011)
BookMaking law work : chinese laws in context
(2011) Cornell East Asia Series, 154
BookTourist Itineraries, Spatial Management, and Hidden Temples: The Revival of Religious Sites in a Water Town,” in Tim Oakes and Donald Sutton
Marina Svensson
(2010) Faiths on display : religion, tourism, and the Chinese state
Book chapterGender Equality, Citizenship and Human Rights: Controversies and Challenges in China and the Nordic Countries
(2010) Routledge research in comparative politics, 32
BookRights and responsibilities in a gendered world: equality in/between China and the Nordic countries
Marina Svensson
(2010) Gender Equality, Citizenship and Human Rights: Controversies and Challenges in China and the Nordic Countries
Book chapterPublic Accountability and Rule of Law in China: Can Investigative Journalism Promote Social Justice and Human Rights?
Marina Svensson
(2009) Utsikt mot utveckling - Meeting Global Challenges in Research Cooperation , p.183-191
Conference paperUndersøgende programmer i Kinesisk tv: drama, dybdeborende journalistik og propaganda
Marina Svensson
(2009) Globale medier i verdens brændpunkter : religion, politik og kultur , p.43-59
Book chapterMänskliga rättigheter i Asien
Marina Svensson
(2009) Mänskliga rättigheter : ett ofullbordat uppdrag
Book chapterKina idag
(2009)
BookOL i Kina: Når regnskapet gøres op
Hatla Thelle, Karin Buhman, Jonas Grimheden, Marina Svensson
(2008) Politiken
Newspaper articleProblemet är att lagarna inte efterlevs
Marina Svensson
(2008) Tvärsnitt - om humanistisk och samhällsvetenskaplig forskning
Journal articleMänskliga rättigheter i Kina – trender och diskussioner inför OS
Marina Svensson
(2008) Kinarapport
Journal articleThe Many Faces of the Chinese Media: Lessons from the Spring of 2008
Marina Svensson
(2008) AsiaPortal InFocus Blog
Journal articleRuidian xiangtu jianzhu baohu
Marina Svensson
(2008) Xiangtu jianzhu wenhua yichan baohu yu yanjiu [Research on the protection of vernacular heritage]
Book chapterNew Crime in China: Public Order and Human Rights
Marina Svensson
(2008) China Information, 22 p.158-160
ReviewBeyond liberal democracy: Political thinking for an East Asian context
Marina Svensson
(2008) Journal of Asian Studies, 67 p.249-250
ReviewKina och OS: Propaganda och mediehändelser i en globaliserad värld
Marina Svensson
(2008) Internationella Studier , p.52-62
Journal articleKampen för rättigheter: En ny sorts aktivism bland jurister, advokater och journalister
Marina Svensson
(2007) Kina: 10 röster om mänskliga rättigheter
Book chapterChina's Psychiatric Inquisition: Dissent, Psychiatry and the Law in Post-1949 China
Marina Svensson
(2007) The China Quarterly , p.481-482
ReviewHuman rights and legal rights in China: The localisation of rights struggles
Marina Svensson
(2007) Governance globale e diritti dell'uomo
Book chapterIn the ancestors' shadow : cultural heritage contestations in Chinese villages
Marina Svensson
(2006) Working papers in contemporary Asian studies
Working paperEthical dilemmas : balancing distance with involvement
Marina Svensson
(2006) Doing Fieldwork in China
Book chapterBeyond Culture: Rights Talk and Activism in China
Marina Svensson
(2006) Human Rights in the Pacific Rim: Imagining a new Critical Discourse
Book chapterMänniskohandel och trafficking i Kina – ett globalt problem med nationella förtecken
Marina Svensson
(2006) Kinarapport
Journal articleJiangnans vattenstäder - det fiktionaliserade och kommersialiserade kulturarvet
Marina Svensson
(2006) Kinarapport
Journal articleThe media as the judge: the role of the Chinese media in addressing injustices
Marina Svensson
(2005) NIAS-Nytt
Journal articleKinesiska museer – symboler för modernitet och nationalism
Marina Svensson
(2005) Kinarapport
Journal articleThe Chinese human rights reader : documents and commentary, 1900-2000
Marina Svensson, Stephen Angle
(2001)
BookThe Chinese Debate on Asian Values and Human Rights: Some Reflections on Relativism, Nationalism, and Orientalism
Marina Svensson
(2000) Human Rights and Asian Values: Contesting National Identities and Cultural Representations in Asia
Book chapterPolitical opposition, violence, and non-violence in 20th century China
Marina Svensson
(1999) Nonviolence in Asia: The Art of Dying or a Road to Change?
Book chapterThe Chinese Conception of Human Rights. The Debate on Human Rights in China, 1898-1949
Marina Svensson
(1996)
Dissertation