Literary concepts of the Dutch juridical and political elites in the 20th century and their relevance for literary history and field theory

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Ralf Grüttemeier
• Subject Area: European and American Literary and Cultural Studies
• Term: since 2019
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 421847035

The ideas of professionals in the fields of politics and law on what literature is, usually find the attention of literary scholarship only when there are some kind of scandals or judicial/ political interventions in the field of literature - not only in the Netherlands. In those cases, writers, critics and literary scholars mostly characterize the judicial or political statements about literature as not adequate or outdated. However, a systematic historical reconstruction of the concepts of literature of professionals in the fields of politics and law does not yet exist with regard to the Netherlands. This is where the DFG-project of the applicant comes in. This project has two parts, of which one looks at the concepts of literature of politicians in the Netherlands in the twentieth century (concentrating on the debates in the Dutch parliament) and the other at the concepts of legal experts (concentrating on the advocates active in all literary trials known in the Netherlands). Until August 2024, this project will deliver a first systematic reconstruction of dominant and less-dominant concepts of literature of professionals in the fields of politics and law in the Netherlands in the twentieth century. The renewal proposal that is presented here will focus on two main focus points. First, in how far can the reconstruction help to sharpen the established image of the development of the Dutch literary field in the twentieth century. In this context, also the potential need for adjustments or corrections of Dutch literary history will be discussed. Not only concerning the representation of political and judicial experts, but also concerning the established ideas on what are generally regarded as the dominant literary groups at specific historical moments. Second, the renewal project applied for here will aim to create a theoretical model of the three involved fields literature, politics and law in relation to the field of power. A model that will try to go beyond the case of the Netherlands. The resulting model should help to analyze the interactions between literature, politics and law more precisely, within and among the different fields. Furthermore it should help to relate the results of the project to other countries and theoretical models.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants