Im Jahre 1860 erschien Multatulis Max Havelaar. Der Roman, der in Amsterdam und der ehemaligen ostindischen Kolonie der Niederlande des 19. Jahrhunderts spielt, sorgte für viel Aufsehen. Die Qualität des Romans rechtfertigt eine vielfältige und fruchtbare Forschung jedoch nicht nur im sprachübergreifenden, sondern auch im interdisziplinären Sinne. Auf dem Prüfstand stehen narratologische, poetologische und intertextuelle Lesarten, zudem wird der Max Havelaar wissenschaftshistorischen, postkolonialen und ideologiekritischen Analysen unterzogen. Die Autoren dieses Bandes, internationale Literaturwissenschaftler, die sich im Dezember 2010 anlässlich einer Fachkonferenz an der Freien Universität Berlin versammelt haben, erweitern und aktualisieren mit ihren Beiträgen die nationale und internationale Multatuli-Forschung und betrachten den Roman in einer vollkommen neuen Perspektive.
One hundred and fifty years ago, in 1860, Multatuli's Max Havelaar was published. Set in 19th century Amsterdam and in the then Dutch colony of the East Indies the novel caused a considerable stir among contemporary readers. The quality of the novel justifies multiple and fruitful research not only outside the language borders but also in an interdisciplinary way. That is the goal of this book: to do research on narratological, poetical and intertextual aspects of Max Havelaar, and moreover to make it the subject of postcolonial, ideological and historical analyses. In this way, during a conference at the Free University Berlin in December 2010 literary scholars not only widened and brought the Multatuli research up to date, but also examined the novel from new perspectives.
One hundred and fifty years ago, in 1860, Multatuli's Max Havelaar was published. Set in 19th century Amsterdam and in the then Dutch colony of the East Indies the novel caused a considerable stir among contemporary readers. The quality of the novel justifies multiple and fruitful research not only outside the language borders but also in an interdisciplinary way. That is the goal of this book: to do research on narratological, poetical and intertextual aspects of Max Havelaar, and moreover to make it the subject of postcolonial, ideological and historical analyses. In this way, during a conference at the Free University Berlin in December 2010 literary scholars not only widened and brought the Multatuli research up to date, but also examined the novel from new perspectives.