Background
Wikan was in 2004 awarded the prestigious Norwegian Fritt Ord Award for "her insightful, openhearted and challenging contributions to the public debate on the value conflicts in multicultural societies". She has studied sociology at the University of Oslo (1965-66), social anthropology at the University of Bergen (1967-68) and Arabic at the American University in Cairo (1968-69). She does not have a degree at the undergraduate or postgraduate level, but went straight onto her PhD degree.
Wikan has been a visiting professor at a number of universities across the world, among them Harvard University, USA; Beersheba University, Israel; L´école des hautes études en sciences sociales (EHESS), Paris; and London School of Economics (LSE). Wikan has conducted field work in Egypt, Oman, Yemen, Indonesia, Bhutan and the Nordic countries.
Research interests
Thematic: Cultural theory, religion, poverty and development, gender, health, emotions, communications, immigration and integration, social welfare, human rights, and honour.
Regional: Egypt, Oman, Yemen, Indonesia, Bhutan and the Nordic countries