Ralf Grüttemeier, born in Zweifall, Germany, in 1961. Ph.D. from the University of Amsterdam. Professor of Dutch Literature at the Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg.
Fellow (1 September 2008 – 31 January 2009)
LITERARY THEORY, DUTCH AND GERMAN LITERATURES
In the five months of my stay at NIAS I made substantial progress with my book “A short history of authorial intention”. The research that was conducted under ideal circumstances led to writing the first drafts of the introduction and of the three chapters that still had to be written: “Authorial intention in the Middle Ages”; “Authorial intention and New Criticism”; and, “Authorial intention and Merlyn”. Also my understanding of the book as a whole was sharpened over the past months. I now have a clearer and more differentiated view of the changes of the concept over time, the strategic dimension of the debate on authorial intention, and how it is interwoven with its institutional context.
All this was only possible thanks to the perfect conditions of NIAS and the inspiring dialogue with other fellows. I think it is hard to overestimate the importance of this dialogue.