Personal profile

Dr. Sun Xiaowen currently serves as a lecturer at the School of Philosophy, Renmin University of China, while also holding research fellowships at the Institute for the Study of Buddhism and Religious Theory, as well as the School of Global and Area Studies, RUC. Her academic focus lies in the intersection of Islam and Politics in the Middle East, along with exploring social movements within the Islamic world. She attained her PhD in Arabic Language and Literature from Peking University in 2018, with her dissertation on Salafism in Saudi Arabia being recognized as the Best Doctoral Dissertation at Peking University. Dr. Sun was previously a visiting fellowat the Center for International Studies (CERI), Sciences Po from 2016 to 2017, and held a post-doctoral position at RUC from 2018 to 2020. She has contributed to the field with several publications in esteemed Chinese journals, such as Studies in World Religions and The World Religious Culture and has led a project funded by the National Social Science Fund of China (NSSFC).

Courses：

Selected Readings on Islamic Classics

Arabic Language and Islamic Culture

Publications：

“Political-Religious Reform and Reconstruction of Social Discourse in Saudi Arabia”（沙特政教关系变革与社会话语重构）， The Journal of International Relations, No. 6, 2023.

“On the Politico-religious Relations in Saudi Arabia and the Construction of Sectarian Discourse”（沙特政教关系与教派主义话语的构建）, Studies in World Religions , No. 1, 2023.

“A Historical Survey of the Communist Movement in Egypt”(对埃及共产主义运动的历史考察), Contemporary World and Socialism , No. 3, 2020.

“An Analysis of the Relationship between Wahhabism and other Contemporary Islamic Trends”（瓦哈比主义与当代主要伊斯兰思潮关系探析）, The World Religious Cultures , No. 2, 2020.

“On Political Salafism: Thought, Evolution, and Dilemma”（政治萨拉菲主义：思想、演进与困境）, Studies in World Religions , No.5, 2019.