The project pursues a set of interrelated research aims designed to advance the study of documentary literature in contemporary European contexts.

Rethinking fictionality and authentication in documentary literature

The project aims to examine literary texts that do not conform to binary models separating fictional and non-fictional discourse, particularly those that blur distinctions between narrator and character perspectives. By revisiting theories of authentication and fictionality through the concept of the mimetic contract (Foley 1986)—in dialogue with earlier models such as Lejeune’s autobiographical pact—the project reassesses how contemporary literature integrates factual modes of discourse within fictional frameworks. In doing so, it addresses the broader question of what “documentary” signifies in contemporary European literature and how documentary writing challenges established notions of literary representation. Building on Wolfgang Iser’s inquiry into the status of fiction and non-fiction, the project approaches documentary literature as a site where the foundations of literary craft are critically negotiated.

Examining referentiality and mimetic communication

A second research aim is to investigate the problem of referentiality in documentary and documentary-inflected literary texts. While acknowledging long-standing claims regarding the instability or crisis of reference in modern and postmodern fiction, the project argues that referentiality remains a central concern in contemporary documentary writing. Drawing on Roman Jakobson’s insight that the poetic function renders reference ambiguous rather than obsolete, the project examines how factual discourse embedded within fictional texts reactivates questions of reference, mimesis, and truth claims. Referentiality is thus treated as a dynamic and contested process that is integral to acts of mimetic communication.

Situating documentariness historically and comparatively

The project aims to conceptualize documentariness as a fundamentally social and historical phenomenon. Focusing on European literature since 1989, it analyzes similarities and differences in the use of documentary materials across diverse literary traditions and situates these practices in relation to earlier historical periods. Through this comparative perspective, the project explores the historicity and genre-specific variability of the mimetic contract, emphasizing that factual and fictional modes of writing are not fixed essences but historically contingent forms shaped by changing literary conventions and socio-cultural conditions.

Advancing comparative and collaborative research

To realize these research aims, the project combines individual research in libraries and archives with sustained collaborative work. Research activities include joint meetings, workshops, and conferences, as well as collective discussion and comparison of case studies. Given that the project addresses ongoing literary processes, field research in relevant cultural and linguistic contexts forms an integral part of the research design. Through this collaborative framework, the project aims to systematize existing knowledge and develop new interpretative models that are currently lacking in both national and international scholarship on documentary literature.